"In the Dark"

Chapter 8: Dreams and Deadlines

Lena's eyes fluttered open, groggily taking in her surroundings. She was met with a wave of surprise, as if she was seeing her room for the first time. Her mind felt foggy, like she was trying to shake off a long, intense dream. Her eyes felt swollen, her eyelids heavy, as if she'd been crying in her sleep. Her face was pale, drained of its usual warmth.

As she slowly sat up, her mixed heritage was evident in her features. Her father's American roots were reflected in her bright green eyes and curly brown hair,
while her mother's Nigerian ancestry shone through in her warm, sun-kissed skin, falling in between her parents' tones with a subtle golden undertone. The rich blend of her heritage was evident in her features, a true testament to her mixed background.

Lena's mind lingered on the dream, a sense of wonder still suspended in her thoughts like a lingering mist. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she tried to grasp the dream's meaning, her curiosity tangled with a hint of unease. Her thoughts swirled in circles, unable to shake the feeling that the dream was trying to convey something important, something just beyond her comprehension.

She recapped the dream in her mind, chuckling softly at the memory of laughing at Chinwe under the table, and the "over-sabi" brother who had tried to open the letter. She had learned that word from her Nigerian mother, who would always call her "over-sabi" whenever she meddled in things she didn't understand. "Too knowledgeable for your own good," her mother would say with a laugh, shaking her head. She thought about the brother in the dream, and how he had tried to snoop on her private moment. If it were real, she thought with a sly smile, she would have hit his head so hard with a wide fry pan or something, he was too nosy for his own good. The brother, always snooping, always trying to know everything. She shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling, her mind still racing with thoughts.

As Lena lay in bed, her mind wandered to memories that made her heart ache with longing. She thought about herself in the dream, laughing and carefree, surrounded by people she loved. She missed that feeling, the joy that came so effortlessly.

She remembered the friend who had run into the rain to console her, to search for her when she had disappeared from the party. The friend who had held her close and whispered words of comfort, promising to always be there for her.

And then there was the image of a woman, standing across the road from her mother's shop, her face contorted in grief. Lena had watched from the window as the woman cried uncontrollably, her son's life cut short in a tragic accident. The memory of that pain and sorrow still lingered in Lena's mind.

"Lena's thoughts drifted to Max and the mysterious letter that had left her shaken. She playfully cursed him for scaring her that day, remembering the scribbled words on the card that had seemed so ominous at the time. "Too bad I didn't get the chance to call him and give him a piece of my mind," she thought, smiling wryly. "I would have given him an earful, something like...
''Max, you sneaky, mysterious, scribble-happy menace!'" She chuckled to herself, thinking about how she would have loved to have had the chance to tease him.

"Am I crazy for reminiscing about all this?" she asked the empty room, grinning mischievously. "Or are you, dear reader, crazy for following along on this wild ride?" She giggled again, feeling a sense of freedom in her laughter. "Maybe we're all a little crazy, but at least we're in this together."

As these memories flooded her mind, Lena felt a lump form in her throat. She missed the joy that came so easily, the love that flowed freely. She missed the people who had touched her heart, the ones who had shown her that life was precious, and love was worth fighting for.