Up With The Birds

Chapter 18

"Lana? Are you okay?"

I lurch forward out of the dream. Visions of London evaporate from my mind. The sheets beside me are empty. Who said my name?

"Nightmares again?" Harry asks me as he sips his coffee.

It's just my husband, Harry. I sigh and rub my temples.

"Yeah, but I think this may be the last one," I tell him. He puts his mug on the vanity and sits down on the bed by me. Harry massages my shoulders.

"So it was about your past," he pushes on. "Are you ready to tell me about it yet? Or is there still more to remember?"

"I'm about to write down this last part. It seems to complete the puzzle. Then you can read it through my eyes, and you'll understand." I give him a weary half smile.

Harry kisses my neck and rests his chin on my shoulder.

"I know this has been rough on you. Pulling back these nightmares must be horrific. But who knows? Maybe it will get you the clarity you need. And if the story is juicy enough, I can turn it into a book," he jokes.

"It might just be worthy of that," I laugh.

Harry and I have been married for ten years now. I remember the day he met me. He was on his way to an office when I bumped into him and he spilled tea all over my white blouse. We both apologized simultaneously. Harry was a wreck because he ruined my shirt, and I kept offering to buy him a drink.

So we went to a local cafe, and things took off from there. We have amazing chemistry. Our relationship is like one big dance. One of us makes a move, and the other follows along. I love him to death.

I haven't told him about my past with Chris yet - I haven't told anyone. The police were never informed, they just found the ashes of the building and a few remains from the bodies of my family, as well as Minus' gang.

But they couldn't locate me for questioning. I disappeared without a trace. Guy, Jonny and Will have never spoken to me. I feel guilty for leaving before I said goodbye, but we needed a clean cut. I don't know what Chris told them. Probably just that I ran away while we were in the woods.

Whatever he told them, they're all still best friends. They started a band called Coldplay, and they've gone massive. It's weird to see Chris on TV, and to hear his voice on the radio when I drive to work. Sometimes it makes me emotional, other times it doesn't.

And I've always sort of felt like he was trying to talk to me through his lyrics. Some of the songs are exact quotes of phrases he spoke to me. The Scientist is a particular heartbreak. And Major Minus is so obvious that I get psyched out. But there's something about I Ran Away that really seems to resonate with me. Maybe it's because I ran away from our memories.

Chris seemed to be pretty messed up for a year or so. He stayed out of public eye, and his album was nothing but heartache. Now, though, he seems to be happy again. And I'm glad. I'm glad that he's moved on.

I've been trying to get closure for a long time now. After I left Chris forever, the trauma just seemed to push all of the memories out of my mind. I couldn't remember the exact details no matter how hard I tried. So I started to have visits with this psychic. Despite my suspicions, she's been incredibly helpful.

Somehow, she's been able to get the memories to emerge in dreams. And slowly, piece by piece, I've been reliving my early life in London all over again. I write down every dream so that I don't forget.

"Let's go out for breakfast," Harry says. "You deserve a special treat."

"Oh please," I emphasize. "All I've done is sleep."

"Fine, you don't want food." He tickles my sides and kisses me while I'm off guard. "Let's celebrate with something better."

Harry pins me down and smirks.

"Recite the Pledge of Allegiance or prepare to face my wrath," he demands.

"Harry!" I gasp. "I'm a 40 year old woman, and I haven't been in the United States since I was sixteen. Did you really expect me to remember that?"

"I take that as a forfeit. And for the record, I didn't."

Harry kisses me up and down, and I enjoy every moment of him. He's the perfect husband - caring, compassionate. Honest.

"Don't you have a job to get too?" I ask before he can unbutton my pants.

"Shoot! How come you remember silly things like that? Give me a rain check on this - because I will get you," he says as he runs through the house.

"I'll recite the Pledge before you can get to it," I chuckle.

"Love you, and all that good stuff. See you!" Harry calls as he leaves.

Once he's gone, I get to my laptop and type out my dream as vividly as I can. It all makes sense. Well, it doesn't actually. There's no logical explanation for why Chris would've done all of that, no matter what he says. But at least I know what happened now.

Rain assaults my house. It oozes down the windows in wet streaks. I smile warmly and enjoy the quiet sound of it. Today I deserve to relax. I'm finally through with the memories.

I pour myself a cup of coffee from the pot that Harry brewed, and toast a cinnamon bagel. Maybe I'll have a movie marathon to celebrate. I could binge-watch American Horror Story, or re-watch Friends. Harry wants me to watch DeathNote with him sometime, so that's off of the table.

I choose to watch Silence of the Lambs instead. There's nothing like an old favorite to get me ready for a pampered day.

Towards the end, as Clarice Starling goes deep into her suspenseful investigation of Buffalo Bill's house, there's a knock on my door. I squeal and my heart races.

Timidly, I go up to the door and open it, looking intensely at the person outside.

I'm staring right into the ocean eyes of my past.

Sorry about the wait, I've been getting pretty busy with sports 😅There are two chapters left and it just breaks my heart that I have to let go of this story! I'm going to try to make these last parts as amazing as possible. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.