Faking Sanity

Dreams and Illusions (Ch.1)

"Who are you?" I called, reaching out as her dark hair blew in the gentle wind that stirred the rose petals. A white dress that extended to her knees covered most of her pale skin. Her feet stood amid the rose bushes, bare and bleeding. She started turning to me, her hair hiding all of her face. Round red lips mouthed something that I could not understand. Then she turned away. "What? I don't understand." My hand dropped to my side, taking a step forward I felt the sharp rose thorns pierce my foot, jumping back I cried out, startled. The blood-red rosebuds twitched, one of them peeling open. The girl giggled, standing in the middle of the small field of roses. The twenty or so roses seemed to squirm as her laughter filled the air. A large gust of wind stirred the dirt, I shielded my eyes from the dust, opening them to find myself staring blankly at the ceiling. Lowering my arm that had been 'shielding the dust' in my dream I looked to my clock. 3:21 AM, a small moan escaped my lips as I rolled over, trying to fall back asleep. Yesterday I had woken up at 4:32 from the same dream, only in that dream, none of the roses had blossomed and I had only called out, I hadn't actually stepped into the thorns. Shifting I felt a sting in my foot, maybe I just imagined it. I tried to go back to sleep but a warmth on my foot drizzled across my heel. Lifting the blanket I stared at my left foot that was bleeding slightly. A single drop of blood slithering down my ankle. I lay there a moment, staring in shock before I noticed blood on my toenail of my right foot. I must have squirmed and cut myself. Leaving my room I passed my parent's room where dad was snoring loudly again. In the bathroom the cabinet above the sink creaked as I opened it. The cabinet was crammed with all sorts of medications and bandages. Rummaging through a box of band-aids I finally found a small one that didn't have Disney princesses all over it. Covering the cut on my ankle I closed the cupboard and marched lazily back to bed. A chill ran down my spine as I felt a pair of eyes burn a hole in my back. Turning around startled I exhaled heavily as the empty hall stretched out, nothing there. It was creepy feeling like someone was watching me, I need to stop playing those stupid horror games with Marcus. Back in my room I stepped over the pile of laundry that I've been trying so hard to ignore and slid under the covers. It's 3:38 now, I have about three hours before I have to get ready for school. A dreamless sleep engulfed me after a few minutes of tossing and turning. It felt like I had just fallen asleep when my alarm blared, slapping it I missed the off button but successfully sent it flying across the room. Great. The annoying beep forced me up, turning it off I sighed heavily before putting it back on my dresser. Stretching my arms I flipped on the light, squinting as my eyes adjusted to the brightness. My jaw popped as my mouth stretched with a large yawn. Pulling open my drawers I grabbed the first shirt that my fingers touched. I did the same for underwear, socks, and jeans.

"Sage!!" Mom called up the stairs.

"What??" I called back, opening my door as I slid my shirt on.

"Where'd you put my keys??" She walked up the stairs, looking around frantically as her red curls bobbed on her shoulders.

"Back in your purse." I pointed to her room.

"I thought you said you would hang it on the key holder?" She said as she hurried into her room.

"No, I said I would put them back where I got them and they were in your purse." I followed her into her room and watched her rummage through her bag.

"Aha!" She shouted triumphantly as she pulled out the keys and rushed past me. "Bye honey! Have a nice day!" She kissed my dad before running out the door, her jacket halfway on. I went back to my room and finished getting dressed. Fifteen minutes later I had finished a bowl of cereal, tied my shoes, and checked my backpack to make sure that all of my homework was finished. Zipping up my jacket and setting my backpack on my shoulders I opened the door, locking it behind me. My headphone cords swayed as I walked to the bus stop, a cool breeze reminding me of my dream. It's strange, I've never had a recurring dream before, and I usually forget my dreams as soon as I wake up. The sweet scent of roses was carried in the breeze and I looked to my left to see a girl standing across the street, her back to me. Her white dress blew gently in the soft breeze, along with her dark hair. I stood a moment, staring in disbelief. She started turning around but as she did a large semi drove between us. After a second it had passed, and she was gone. I felt a tap on my shoulder, turning I saw Jenneca. She gestured for me to take out my headphones, I took out my left one.

"Hey you shouldn't listen to music so loud." She said, before she started walking in the direction of school.

"It wasn't that loud." I replied, pausing my music and tucking my phone away in my pocket.

"Really?" She said sarcastically, turning to me with a grin. "Then how come you didn't hear me calling out to you?"

"I zoned out a sec, that's all." I said, glancing back at where the girl had stood, a single blood-red petal in her place.

"Well if you zone out any longer we'll be late." Jenneca sang, turning on her heel and marching towards school.

"We still have thirty minutes before school starts." I replied, walking behind her.

"You forgot didn't you?" She said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"What?" I asked, shoving my hands into the pockets of my thin hoodie.

"Today is Mr. Sandlers' last day, we were all gonna decorate his classroom before school while he's at the teacher's meeting." She huffed, shaking her head.

"Oh, right." I mumbled, still thinking about my dream. It's not that recurring dreams are super abnormal and it's only repeated once, it wouldn't bother me if it weren't for that girl. She seems strangely familiar, and people don't just disappear. Was she even really there? My thoughts were interrupted by Jenneca punching me on the arm.

"Hey dummy snap out of it!" Jenneca glared at me.

"Sorry, were you saying something?" I stared at her blankly and her cheeks puffed up.

"Hmph!" She whipped her hair back and stomped off towards school.

"Hey! What did I do this time?!?" I called after her, running a hand through my hair in frustration. I'll never understand her if she storms off every time she's upset, which is often.

"Hey man," I heard the familiar voice as I received a hard 'Slap' to the back. "Jenneca mad again?"

"Is it that easy to tell?" I moaned, turning around to see that no one was there. I swear I heard Tony's voice just now, my back even stung where he always hits me. A chill ran down my spine as I hurried to school, walking fast in a slight panic. Taking fast breaths I could feel something was really wrong. Why am I seeing and hearing things when no one's there? Lifting my shirt off my shoulder I saw a large red hand print. Tony usually hits me hard, but not this hard. School was just up ahead, hopefully things would be normal there. Come to think of it, where'd Jenneca go? She sped up but I should still be able to see her...something is really wrong. My heartbeat sped up as did my pace. Breathing raggedly I watched the school get closer as I sped forward. A gust of wind kicking up, I looked behind me to see rose petals spinning in the wind. They encircled me as the wind stopped, landing at my feet. Standing still for a moment I stared at the rose petals, one resting on the band-aid on my cut foot. A chilling laugh filled my ears, it was the same as in my dream. A loud cackling that chilled my bones so badly that I shook violently. It calmed, quieting into a soft eerie giggle before fading as the wind. I stood amidst the scattered petals, sweat dripping down my face as I began to feel feverish, swaying as the petals seemed to bleed around my feet. That awful blood-red surrounding my feet. Unable to move, I stood in the dreadful silence.