Equitable Souls

The Changes

One day, I was walking home from the grocery store (the only place my parents would let me go by myself) when a little girl fell from a tree and landed directly in front of me. I was always on edge, so the sound she made when she dropped made me so scared that I dropped the snack that I bought and crouch on the ground. Damn, those dreams really fucked me up. But anyway: I caught a glimpse of the girl before she got up and ran away. From the view I had, she looked exactly like the little girl in my dream. I was scared. But as scared as I was, I still ran home. I wasn't about to stay out here and risk me seeing things when there's no one around to help me. 

When I got home I was sweating, panting, and murmuring something about a girl. My parents, by this time, were used to my odd behavior, so they didn't come rushing over to me. The one time I needed someone to talk me out of my delirious episodes no one came to help. So I went to my room to sulk alone. Eventually, I went to sleep and the dream that I had dreamt so many times before, began.

This time it was different. I was the one that was chained to the tree. I was feeling pain ten times worse than I ever had. It was like burning from the inside out while animals are clawing at you. Then it would get cold. So cold that it burned and I couldn't move and I couldn't breathe. My lungs were on fire and I was about to say goodbye to this dream life, but then it changed back to the burning. At least I could breath. In the distance I could see the kids who were usually chained to the tree. They were all facing the same difficulty of keeping themselves on their feet that I had faced. The little girl that "shared" the pain with me was the one who was having the most trouble with getting to me. She was getting frustrated and when she would fall, she would scream and kick. I had never met that girl, but somehow she was desperate to get to me. I was beginning to get used to the pain and my clouded vision was beginning to clear. I think the pain recognized that I was gaining hold of myself because as soon as began to move the pain doubled, my vision clouded again, and I was back to square one. I had to wait, helplessly, for someone to share my pain with me. 

While I wasn't paying attention, or as much attentions as I could pay, I didn't notice that the little girl had gotten very close to me. She was so close now that if we could've held hands if we could've extended our arms. We were both too exhausted, so I would have to wait for her to take those last steps to close the gap between us. I counted the seconds it took her to get to me: 27. It took her twenty seven seconds to close the gap, but as soon as she touched my arm, the dream shifted dramatically. I was no longer in pain or chained to a tree. We weren't even in the forest anymore. We were in a small room with all white walls, flooring, and ceiling. The little girl was standing in front of me, but the rest of the kids were not with us. As I began to get up, the little girl grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. "Hello Will," she said, "We've been awaiting your return."