Night time Visitor
The lake closed over her nose and mouth as Sara sucked in a lung-full of cold, black water. "I must remember it's a dream, wake up!" On her next breath, she opened her eyes and saw the red alarm clock shining, 12:02 AM. Again, it's been three nights in a row, same dream, and always at the same time, "How is this happening"? I wonder. Sweat dripped from her hair and drenched her Pyjamas. Sara staggered to the bathroom, turning on all of the lights to shake off the feeling of the dream that still stuck to her.
Steam from the shower filled the bathroom and Sara breathed it in deeply. She could still feel the stuffiness of her dream. She dropped her head and closed her eyes. They snapped back open as a whirlpool suddenly sucked all of the steam into the drain at her feet. In the same instant, a ghostly hand slid across her shoulder. She screamed and slammed her body against the shower wall, turning the showerhead to the left with her head on the way. The water scorched her neck, shoulder and hand as she tried to stop the flow out of the showerhead.
Adrenaline, pain and fear drove her firmly from the shower. The room was bright. Normal. Her body shuddered from the icy cold; she reached for a towel to warm herself. The towel scrubbed her badly burned shoulder and she hissed in pain. It relaxed her and she headed to the kitchen where she kept the emergency Savlon.
In the kitchen, the First-Aid wrap was already laid out, with fresh gauze, waiting for her. The truth went away again. . .
The elderly woman spoke calmly, "Here, I'll get that for you. It was my fault, but it IS incredibly difficult to get your attention!" Sara was in shock, "How is this woman in my house, I locked all the doors?" The woman placed a cup in her hand. "Here drink this, tea, it calms the mind" You'll need it." Sara sipped without a word, numb to the un-reality.
"I can't stay long," said the elderly woman. "Apparition takes so much energy. Easier to show up in a dream, but you kept drowning me out!" She let out a little chuckle.
Shock and distrust turned to annoyance and the pain in her shoulder made her angry. "Well, you've got my attention now – what do you WANT?"
"It's not what I want, but what you want, my dear."
"Enough with the riddles, I want you to go leave me alone."
"That's one option. You've been given a choice. You are due to die, terminal cancer sorry to tell you this way" The elderly woman let it sink in. "I'm here to prove that we do go on, that there is another life, after we move from this world."
"That's supposed to be comforting?" The hair on Sara's arms stood up.
"For many people it is. Your choice is this: tell people what you've experienced here tonight – give them hope, or die in two months." As the last word left her lips, the woman started to fade away into nothing.
"It's up to you dear; hope can be a powerful weapon . . ."
For the first time in days, Sara felt calm. She placed a cotton robe delicately on her freshly-bandaged shoulder, took a sip of coffee and dialled the phone.
"Margaret, you will never guess what happened"...
By Rayman 17
