Forgetting Red

Nightmares are only the beginning

She was sitting there. Waiting. In the depths of the forest her patience kept her sitting on that fallen log. A basket at her side and her cape wrapped around her to keep in what little warmth she had. Soft brown locks, covered by her hood, fell over her face as the wind pushed against her back. This forest was not kind. It never had been. It was born of dark deep secrets. To keep them hidden and protected from those whom would wish to harm what lived in the place. In return though the forest had grown cold and dead. There was never a green tree in this place. Always dead and cold. THis was how it was and always would be. But she didn't mind. She was waiting for a friend. A very good friend.

This particular friend happened to be late. Though she did not worry. He was probably out hunting as usual. His daily pastime. After all some one of his nature had to keep busy some how. Otherwise he might very well go insane.

A sound came from behind the bush in front of her. Ah. Fashionably late again. A smile adorned her face and then something jumped out from behind the bush. Something that would haunt your nightmares perhaps if it had jumped out at you. A huge black wolf, bigger than a horse, stood in front of the girl. Her hand reached out slowly and the beast put his head under it slowly. And then they looked at me. The girl with the red cape...and the wolf with the huge body.....and then a scream.

___________________________________________________________________

My eyes blinked awake as my alarm went off to the tune of Monsters by Imagine Dragons. Eight o'clock as always. A sleepy hand ran over my face and I willed myself to turn to my side and look at my phone with a half held glare. Stupid thing. My finger swept across the screen of the iPhone and the music stopped. Fridays.....I hated fridays. Yes it was the last day of the week but come on. It's another eight hours at the workplace before you could actually enjoy the weekend. Whoever came up with that whole "TGIF" crap should rethink their values in life. My eyes drifted close again. Five minutes wouldn't hurt me.

Of course I was smarter than that and had set up another alarm to go off five minutes later. The sound was a fire alarm that was blaring right next to my ear. You would think after three years of doing that to myself I would have just gotten up with the first alarm. Groaning I turned off the second alarm and swung the blankets off of myself. 

My body auto piloted itself through the rhythms of getting ready. Shower, hair, clothes, makeup, teeth brushing, and running out the door with my purse and house keys in hand. Then the local coffee shop right next to my apartment building where I always got a medium sized caramel latte with three extra shots of espresso. Though that day I made it four. Something told me that the usual three was not going to keep me on my feet today. I was just happy that I hadn't fallen off the bed again. My back couldn't take another fall like that last one.

I had been reading right before I went to sleep. The only reason why I knew I had forgotten to put the books away was because when I jolted awake, I fell of the bed with the books and the corner of one dug right into my back. It was a bruise and a drag to the hospital later that I found out that if I had put any more pressure onto that spot on my back I could have very well lost the use of my legs. Not the best morning of my life.

After I got my coffee, I had to run to catch the subway again. I should really set my alarm up to get my ass up early that what I had been doing. I needed the sleep though. The amount of expresso shots I was about to ingest was evidence enough.

That dream had been troubling me for months on end now. At first it was just the girl and the forest. Nothing too bad. It was actually relaxing. That had started on my birthday in the summer. Again nothing too bad and it wasn't anything I would loose sleep over.

Then wolf came into play and I would wake up screaming and sweating. That lasted a good month, to the point where I almost considered seeing a shrink to see what it meant. Another week though and the dream became longer and right now I was stuck with the one I had for the last two months. Every night the same dream and every morning I felt just a restless as the morning before. I pinched the bridge of my nose gently and sighed. This thing was slowly ruining my life. I didn't go out anymore in order to get more sleep, my mornings sucked and each night I feared going to sleep so much I kept myself up till three o'clock in the morning. And that was a good night.