Escape Reality

I

A loud gasp escapes my mouth as I rise yet again from my deep slumber in which I was having a horrible nightmare. The dream involved me losing my parents.

In the dream, I was sitting on my couch at home when my favorite show was interrupted and across the TV screen flashed the words "BREAKING NEWS: DEADLY PLANE CRASH".

Evidently, one of the engines on the plane failed and led to its fall. My parents were going to Houston to visit my grandparents; they had left an hour ago. I was hoping and praying my parents weren't on that plane.

I couldn't sleep for hours, and didn't well into the morning when I heard a knock at the door.

I ran toward it but stopped myself from opening at the last second. I looked at the peek hole and saw a woman and man, both dressed in police uniform.

My heart rate seemed uneven and I couldn't tell if it was beating faster or slower than usual because suddenly the silence that had enveloped me throughout the night was excruciatingly loud now. I'm letting my mind get the best of me, I don't even know if it's anything serious, I thought to myself.

I opened the door and was greeted by Officer Ramirez and Officer Taylor.

"Hello, is there a Juliet Banuelos living here?" the woman questioned me.

"Yes, yes that's me actually. What may I do for you?"

The man spoke first and said, "If you can please let us in, we have some important matters to discuss with you."

We all sat in the living room and the look on their faces said it all.

They were found dead on that plane.

I couldn't breathe. Not possible. I was just with them. They were with me, in our house saying their final goodbyes. Their final goodbyes weren't supposed to be literally final. They were in my reach.

I shook my head up at them and whispered no, but no sound came out.

The woman then spoke, "I am terribly sorry and we offer our condolences. Is there anything we can do? Can we contact another family member for you?"

I just kept shaking my head while tears started to form and spill over. I stood up and started pacing around the room trying to wrap my head around what I was just told but my thought process was on a loop telling me it was not true.

I considered the possibility of it being true, even though my heart wasn't faithful in it, I just considered it and immediately wished I hadn't.

My mother, Gloria. Sweet, charismatic and strong. Anything life threw at her and she pushed back twice as hard. We didn't have the best of a relationship but I knew under stressful consequences she was there for me.

My father, Roberto. Passionate, forgiving, and determined. He held himself up like a king and protected us like one. He was our rock, our security and warmth.

Gone.

Then it hit me. Like a freight train. Like a race car passing through. Like an arrow to an animal.

I started yelling and flailing everything near me. Vases on the tables, pictures off the shelves , and anything that made me think of them was destroyed under my hands.

I felt the officers hold me back as I sank to my knees and again I couldn't breathe. I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't move. I couldn't believe.

It wasn't long before I opened my eyes and starting seeing black dots form in my line of vision and then there was nothing.

That was the big main event in my dream and the rest didn't make the memory cut.

I put my head in my hands and tried to slow my breathing to which I realized something different about my atmosphere. My skin is pale, and this morning my skin looked really tan. I can't get a tan without getting a sunburn! Maybe it was just really dark in my room? The clothes on me look marvelous but they aren't mine. I don't own silky pajamas in a soft champagne color.

I look up and nothing looks familiar. The entire room is painted a light pink and almost everything in it is white. White carpet floor, white furniture, and white blankets. Did I knock out at some house party? I don't remember getting drunk... but then again that happens when you get super drunk. If that were the case though, I would have a hangover and nothing seemed to pounding. Well, besides my own heart. I removed the white blankets, and tried to find a mirror nearby.

I couldn't believe this person had everything in their room white. My mind could come up with numerous ways of getting everything dirty. It smelled really good in here though, like Japanese Cherry Blossom. Not booze. Just to rule out that I was drinking.

There were flashy gold heels on the floor and I cringed. Heels are the worst. If I wanted to inflict pain on myself I'd wear those. At that moment I glanced at my feet and my toes were painted pink. I don't remember painting my toes pink, especially because I would never do that.

The task at hand wasn't hard since this person had a huge vanity across from me and when I came into view my heart stopped.

The mirror reflected a tall, slim blonde chick with a killer tan. Green eyes, perfectly arched eyebrows, plump ripe lips and high cheek bones. I quickly turned around and realized I was alone in the room. It can't be.

I'm not thin, I don't have a tan and I most certainly do not have blonde hair. My heart rate seemed to have disappeared completely and the edges of my vision are starting to go black. To confirm what I just saw I turn towards the mirror again but the image hasn't changed. My hand timidly moves and the girl in the mirror moves with her. My chest is heaving at this point and the girl in the mirror copies that movement as well. There couldn't be another explanation.

I'm dreaming. Lucid dreaming since I'm aware that I'm dreaming. That thought alone helps me calm down and face what is in front of me. If I'm dreaming, there must be a way to wake up, right?

The strange thing is, I feel very much awake. But that's what dreams feel like sometimes; they feel real. Maybe if I relaxed more my brain would send signals throughout my body and I would wake up and be myself again. Just as I was about to take a deep breath to ground myself, the bedroom door opens and a tall young man strolls in.

He has jet black hair slicked to his side, glowing olive skin, wide set of brows and piercing green eyes that look at me suspiciously.

"Nina...are you okay?"

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Hey y'all! Thank you so much for reading the first chapter to my first story ever!!!

I'm so excited to share this, I'm doing something I love and I hope when I'm finished with this story one day, that at least one part of it resonates with you.

I also hope to improve my writing because I will eternally believe in room for improvement when it comes to my writing work; if you ever feel like giving me tips, don't hold back.

I learned from a English professor that in order to be taken seriously with written works of art, you have to take yourself seriously. With that being said, whenever I feel doubt I just tell myself, "I wrote it, therefore, I am a writer".

Again, thank you for reading and for your support.

Chapter II coming soon!