Dream Journal

The Rather Small Window of Opportunity

The hotel that stood before me was breath-taking. Every aspect of it: the decor, the walls, even the layout was gorgeous. Hundreds of floors mapped out one at a time was absolutely stunning. I loitered around the ballroom, admiring all the artwork and craftsmanship, when a strange woman laid her hand on my shoulder. Startled, I spun around and faced her. Professional-looking, blonde, relatively average... my eyes scoured her face for any sign of recognition. Her grip tightened, and with her fake nails digging into my skin, she dragged me off through a door at the end of the room that I could have sworn hadn't been there a moment before.

Just inside the door was an empty room. The bottom half of the walls were wood paneling and the top half stucco white, while the carpet alternated hideous green and yellow checkers. The only thing that stood out was a long, slim window with a thick ledge at the top right of left wall of the room. No curtains hung on it, and nothing sat on the ledge. Nothing could be seen outside but clear, blue sky.

The woman turned to me, and an evil smile grew on her face. She scampered out of the room, twisting her nose and mouth like a rat, the only thing missing being her long, ugly tail. I hurried after her, but she'd pulled the thick door shut. Doubting that a complete stranger would really do such a thing, I yanked on the door handle. The door wiggled in the frame, but refused to budge. I backed toward the wall that held the window and waited. At last, the door opened. I bolted for it, but I was shoved back by a heavyset bald man wearing a long, black coat.

He reached his thick arms out and tried to scoop me up, but I wouldn't let him. He chased me toward the corner of the room, where I crouched down in fear. What did he want with me? He lunged at me, and in a panicked state, I jumped. But I didn't come down.

A sick feeling knotted my stomach. I looked down at my shadow, splayed across the bald man's back. I'm... floating? Not possible! My hands stretched out to grip onto something, but I couldn't find anything. I held my breath, not wanting anything to begin my descent back toward the floor. I willed myself with all my mind power to slide toward the window. The man leapt up at me, scraping the air with clawed fingers.

I stumbled along the wall near the ceiling and laid myself in the window horizontally. There was just enough room for my body to fit horizontally. The cool marble pressed against my side, cooling my splitting nerves for the moment. I breathed in and out shakily, barely able to move. I knocked against the thick glass with fisted knuckles, hoping someone would hear, but hearty laughing began the moment I tried.

"You think you're getting out that way?" the man chortled, "no way. You'll come down eventually." He crossed his arms and stared up at me like a hungry predator might look at its prey. I gulped, and sweat began to drip down my back. I continued to knock on the window, but didn't dare yell in case the old lady decided to come back with a ladder. The man couldn't reach me here. I was safe. But how much more of this could I take?

My knocking slowed to tapping, and my lungs were about ready to pop. No matter which way I tried to fixate myself to breathe better, I couldn't. The doors were locked. The man below wanted something with me. There was no other way.

I drowsily shut my eyes, but didn't want to sleep for fear that I'd roll from the window sill. Then, a little chirp met my ear. Just outside the window flapped a little, blue bird. Its beak parted, and I swore I knew what it was trying to say,

I'll help you. Just give me time.

I nodded to the little bird, thinking I must be crazy. But the bird came back. It jammed the end of its pointed beak into the glass. A satisfying noise met my ear, and a hair-thin crack snaked up the thick glass. The bird flew backward and out of my sight. My heart dropped. Was it dead?

But a silhouette flew back into the window, resting on my side. The man watched with wide eyes as the bird slammed into the window again, this time harder. The cracks slithered along the glass until they reached the panes along the edges and bounced back.

Thank you, oh thank you, I thought to myself. I rose my fist and it met the window. The window burst and glass rained down as a million diamond-like shards. My hands shook uncontrollably and the bones protruding from my knuckles were shrouded in blood and gritty bits of glass  I shut my eyes in relief and took a breath of the sweet, fresh air that flooded my lungs. A pleasant breeze swept through my hair, but I wasn't met with a sense of fear or shock.

"Hey, don't do that you little brat!" the man below called. I smirked and rolled to my left over the remaining bits of broken glass and over the window pane. A harsh breeze sucked the air from my lungs and filled my veins with pure adrenaline. I pulled my arms out and my sleeves fell at my sides like enormous blue sails. I took a confident breath and lifted off into the sky. I breezed by the tops of buildings that glittered like foil, but I knew better than to look down. You always fell when you looked down.

I told you I'd help. Thanks for waiting on me.

I looked over, but flying beside me now was a strange boy that I'd never met before. When he cracked a smile, his incredible blue eyes twinkled. I couldn't help but smile myself. The wind brushed through my hair and caressed my skin like a warm blanket. The strange boy and I flew around each other harmoniously for a few moments and took in the gorgeous seaside port below. The ocean glittered like a tub filled with sapphires.

There's somewhere I have to go. You'll go with me, won't you?

The boy asked suddenly. He didn't open his mouth, but I understood what he was trying to say. Without overthinking it, I nodded in reply, and he cracked a smile. He took my hand and we flew over the city and into a small country-filled farmland. The rolling hills and endless, waving fields finally broke apart into small houses and buildings. Strangely enough, no people bustled around below.

Then, I passed a familiar tree. I'd never seen it from this angle, but I knew just where I was. My house. I knew it like the back of my hand. I ran the fingers of my free hand over the shingles and the chimney as I flew over the roof of my house. The boy squeezed my other hand before I could begin to think whether or not my family was inside, missing me.

Our flying became slower as we came to the enormous building across the road from my house. We slowed and landed on the highest roof where an enormous pool of rainwater had collected. The boy let go of my hand when my feet hit the ground, but when I looked up to thank him, he was gone. How odd. It was a shame, I really liked him, too.

I narrowed my eyes and searched the sky for some sign of life, but saw none. Not a jet, not a cloud, not a bird. The air was still now, and the sun bright. The sky grew whiter and I grew more drowsy as I felt the experience of a lifetime drawing near its end. Everything grew white hot as well as the memory of what had just happened, and then fizzled to black.