Nightmare

It's twelve o'clock at night and the world is silent. She woke up very frightened.

"My dream," she said aloud to herself. "My dream was-"

Scarlett was unable to come up with the description of her dream. For the first time since she could remember, Scarlett actually had a nice dream. All these years, she thought that her mind was only capable of nightmares. Physically she tried to fall asleep but mentally she was wide awake. After a while, Scarlett decided to take a walk through the neighborhood of darkness, hoping this would influence her nightmares to come back. Enjoying the breeze of dawn, she thought of her dream once more. It was the ending that stuck with her. An ending that was unfamiliar. An ending that years ago Scarlett thought would never come. In the dream she was surprisingly happy. Last time she checked there was always a mask of terror planted on her face. When was the last time she enjoyed a dream? Maybe I should see a doctor. Should I start therapy? Am I going crazy? Endless thoughts came racing through her mind.

Haunted by her lovely dream, Scarlett went back inside and attempted the sleeping process again. As she climbed into bed, her dream flashed before her eyes being blurry up until the end where she flashed a foreign smile. Unable to go to sleep, she looked at her clock and seeing that it was now seven forty-five, it was time to get ready for work.

Any other day, Scarlett would be enthusiastic about going to work. She loved her job, but today she wasn't so sure that she would be able to concentrate on her tasks. Scarlett decided that calling in sick was the best choice, after all she was mentally.

"Fantasy Resort Spa this is Heather speaking."

"Hello Heather, this is Scarlett. Can you tell Brian that I won't be coming into work today?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine but I don't want to come into work with the way I'm feeling."

"Okay I'll let him know."

"Thanks so much."

With that she hung up the phone. Being desperately tired Scarlett fell asleep.

Loud music played in the background as Scarlett laughed with her best friend Stacy.

"Let's go on that ride."

"Oh my gosh, no. There's no way I'm getting on. I hate rollercoasters."

"Please for me?"

"Fine."

As the ride began speeding up, everyone started raising their hands in the air enjoying themselves. Almost simultaneously both Stacy and Scarlett looked at each other and started screaming at the speed of the ride.

Waking up in a cold sweat, Scarlett was now beyond terrified. I really need to go to therapy. It was ten o'clock and Scarlett prepared herself for the day. After getting dressed, she headed out to her car and drove to the nearest Therapy Center.

Once on the road, Scarlett became scared of the endless possibilities that could happen during her therapy session. What if they don't believe me and send me to a Psychiatric Ward? With this thought in mind, she smirked. Arriving at the center, Scarlett parked her car and anxiously ran inside.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hi, I'm wondering if there is any therapist available for me to speak with."

"Okay. There is one, her name is Norma. Let me go ahead and call her. Can you just take a seat?"

"Okay thank you."

Walking to the chairs in the waiting area, Scarlett heard the woman's voice on the loud speaker announcing that Norma had a visitor. In less than five minutes a woman with an I.D. that read Norma arrived at the front desk and was sent towards her.

"Hello I'm Norma. What's your name?" she asked extending her hand out to be shaken.

Scarlett shook her hand as she said "My name is Scarlett."

"Well Scarlett can you follow me to my office please?"

Norma turned and following her into the office, Scarlett quickly sat down. After closing the door Norma asked "What brings you here to the Therapy Center today?"

"I strongly believe that I'm going crazy. For years I've had nothing but nightmares, but last night I had a wonderful dream. So wonderful, it was scary."

"What's the problem?"

"I'm going crazy."

"I'll be right back."

As Norma walked out of the room, Scarlett felt a feeling of nervousness with a hint of excitement. Almost as soon as she left, Norma returned.

"Scarlett, this is Brad."

"Hello Brad. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Scarlett. I'm here from a Psychiatric Ward and-"

"And I'm supposed to go with you right?"

"Yes if you don't mind."

At that moment Norma stepped in seeing that the situation was bringing tension in the air.

"Well it's just that you told me your situation and I thought maybe therapy wasn't the answer. I thought maybe you needed some other type of help."

"No need to explain Norma," Scarlett said with a reassuring smile. "Thank you."

Later, driving into the parking lot of the Psychiatric Ward, Scarlett looked around trying to see where she would be for God knew how long. Entering the building, Scarlett paid attention to her surroundings, getting a feel of her environment. The walls were white with no windows nor decorations of any sort. Brian showed Scarlett to the room that she would be staying in explaining that she will be there for the next forty-eight hours. Only forty-eight hours? Why not eternity?

"We're just going to examine you and your actions. Whether you have a dream or nightmare during the time you are here, I need to be informed."

"Okay."

"Don't worry, you seem pretty normal but your situation is one I've never heard of before."

"So that's why I'm here."

"You are correct."

Brian showed a friendly smile and closed the door. Scarlett made herself comfortable and soon dosed off.

The zombie chased her down the hall and into a corner. With nowhere else to go, Scarlett turns around and waited for what came next. Seeing the zombie accompanied by a gigantic spider, Scarlett's face was shown with a facial expression of terror.

Even though she was sleep, Scarlett could feel a smile forming on her face. She knew sleep would come peacefully to her tonight.