Bloody Souvenirs

Chapter 3

My eyes snapped open suddenly as something mercilessly interrupted my slumber. I was confused for a second as to where I was and what I was doing there. But the disorientation didn't last long as it came rushing back to me that I was lying on the bed of my own room. The bedside clock showed it was 3 AM.

I had gone to sleep at night, after Matt had come home. I remember being utterly exhausted and falling asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.

I sighed, wondering what it was that had woke me up at the unearthly hour of 3 in the morning. I had dreamed of something, of that much I was sure. I just didn't know what it was.

The dried branch of the chestnut tree gently tapped against the window pane as it lightly swayed in the wind, which was making slight howling sounds as it whizzed by. There was a bright full moon outside, bathing everything in the silvery glow of its light.

The lights in the room across from mine were still on. Seriously? Was that dude nocturnal or something!? What would somebody be doing up at 3 AM anyway? The curtains were drawn but I could see his dark silhouette against the bright yellow light of his room. It looked like he was pacing back and forth. Weird.

A yawn overtook me as my eyelids slowly started to droop close. He might be nocturnal but I wasn't. I needed sleep. Turning around my side, I pulled the warm covers closer to my body and tried to fall back asleep.

Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep again. Trying various poses in hopes of finding a comfortable one, I tossed and turned until the first rays of the morning sun entered my room.

...............................

I walked down the stairs of the house, trying to rub the sleep off my eyes. I hadn't been able to sleep well last night, hence the dark circles underneath my eyes that hadn't gone away even after spending 20 relaxing minutes in the bathtub.

"Morning, Pandalyn." Matt said with a smirk when he saw me.

I rolled my eyes, "Pandalyn? Seriously?"

He laughed, "Haven't you looked in the mirror today? You actually look like a freaking panda!"

I punched him playfully, making him spill some of his cereal and milk on the dining table, "You wouldn't be making fun of me if you had been jolted awake in the middle of the night and had been unable to sleep again."

"And why did you jolt awake in the middle of the night?" he asked.

"I don't exactly know." I replied as poured some orange juice from the jug into a glass. "I think I had dreamed of something but I can't remember."

"I'm startng to think you didn't lose your memory because of that head injury." he smirked. "You're just that forgetful."

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are." he laughed. "You can't even remember a dream you had last night!"

"That's got nothing to do with forgetfulness, you know?" I argued, "And as a second thought, I think I do remember some of that dream."

"Mm hmm? Then tell me what you saw." he said, his mouth half full with the cereal he was eating.

"I saw Mom and Dad." I replied.

His spoon, which was halfway to his mouth from the bowl, clattered down at the table. "You what?"

"Matthew," I looked at him, concerned. "I said that I saw our parents. What's the matter?"

"Uh, nothing." he said as he picked up his spoon again and tried to re-compose himself. "What exactly did you see?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, genuinely confused at his strange behaviour. After a while I replied, "Nothing particular. It was just Mom, Dad and me playing in the garden of a house. I'm thinking I'm starting to remember a bit of them. I don't know why you weren't with us, though."