Dream

Chapter Two

The first few days were okay. I managed to focus in my classes, but so far I have made no friends. Sarah has been going out at night to party with her friends, and everyday she complains on how her grades plummet rapidly. This night, no party was held-- for the first time, Sarah was actually in our room for the night.

I tapped the end of my pencil on the sketch pad. "What to sketch..." One of my assignments was to sketch something creative, something 3D. It was a simple assignment.

You see, when I think I begin to daydream, go off into outer space where there are distractions everywhere. And so I let myself go, into marvelous daydreams.

It was a confusing puzzle. I appeared to be in an endless maze of blocks. I predicted I was in the center, there was a small tree whose leaves were gray, branches pure white along with the stump. Surrounding it was a twelve inch moat of water in the shape of a ring. Six inch canals flew in all directions. I began to find my way out.

A left, a right, a right, a right, a left. I found myself back where I had started. I tried different paths, but it led me back to the same small tree. "Lilian!" A voice called. It sounded as if it were coming from the tree. "Lilian!" It repeated. I approached, studying the tree as my name was yelled. "Lilian!" I reached out for a leaf. "Lilian!" It became louder. I reached contact with the gray leaf.

"Lilian!" Sarah was shaking me. "Oh my God!"

I blinked and turned to her. "Sarah, I had this odd daydream. I was in this maze, and I was trying to get out, and--"

"I don't care! Look, I don't want to hear about your daydream, it's a waste of time and it doesn't relate to reality." She laughed at me. "You're so stupid. All you do all day is dream, and if you're not doing that you're explaining your dream to someone else. Ha, dork." She snickered. "I--" I began, but she interrupted. "Look, I don't care. All I'm asking for is where you placed the bag of Cheetos." I sighed and pointed to the cabinet.

I started drawing my daydream, then. It was perfect. The walls were like white 3D building blocks, so there was a lot of shadowing and perspective involved in it. I drew what was perfectly in my head, as if I was pasting a photograph onto my sketch paper.

By the time I finished, I decided it was time to go to bed.

✪✪✪

I always had good dreams. Happy and confusing and down right entertaining, but this was the first nightmare I have ever experienced.

I was in my parent's home, in my bedroom. Tucked under my covers, it was completely dark, only the brightness of the moon shining it's light through my bedroom window, leaving shadows that crawled around every corner. A sudden burst of music caused me to jump. It came from my music box, beside my bed. I screamed, slamming it shut and hurling it to the wall, where it's cogs and springs flew. The shattered pieces lay silent on the floor.

But that's when the shadows became stronger. The shadows grew, they growled. I heard various screams-- four screams from outside my room. Each one was the voice of one my family members. My mother, father, Johnny, and Conan.

Then I realized the mistake I made. The music box, that once beautifully twirled and played a happy tune, was broken. I had destroyed the music box, that once was my protection.

✪✪✪

I woke up screaming and tossing. Beads of sweat we're running down my face, shivers crawling up my back. I sat up quickly, panicked, realizing that I was not in my room, but in the dorm E233. "Bad dream..." I murmured, as Sarah turned to me. "Oh, shut up Lilian! You're stupid dreams are annoying, you don't have to share them with me. You're crazy. You're an idiot. You'll never fit in, no one would ever like you. You'll live alone, you'll have no friends, you'll never fall in love. You're obsessed with your dumb dreams. They separate you from reality."

I hid in the covers, refusing to get up until I saw the sunlight through the window.

✪✪✪

I began to hate dreaming and day dreaming more and more. It wasn't even dreaming anymore. It was... Nightmaring, my own word for terrible day dreaming and dreaming. I ,nightmared' and ,'daymared' for weeks in college. From watching my family be murdered, to scary clowns hidden in the girl's locker room, several nightmares have killed me. Not literally, it's a metaphor. Metaphors don't really make sense. I mean, I claim that nightmares have killed me, though I am very much alive, cellularly respirating and moving like all other living Homo sapiens (Scientific name for humans).

It merely seemed as if I never got any good dreams, they seemed to be full of nightmares.

This is where my dreaming 'problems' became serious.

I sat in my seat for one of my animating classes. Of course, within the wonders of my head, I began to drift away.

I was surrounded by my family and others who helped me in the past. Items from my past dreams began to appear in front of them. I watched them as they smiled at me, taking items from my past dreams. I smiled back, though once as I did, the items snatched to their throats, choking them to death. I couldn't move.

I awoke screaming furiously as I was staring at the board. "Ms. Hunter! Are you okay...?" My Professor called, running towards me. "I had the most... Most terrible dream..."

✪✪✪

My parents were called. I had waited for them in the office.

My mother rushed inside and hugged me tightly. My brother, Conan, was beside my father, and Johnny was kneeling next to me, stroking my hair as my mother's grip tightened. "Lilian, dear... I signed you up for counseling."

"No... You couldn't have! Th--the last time you--"

"It's for the best. Your dreams have become nightmares, and it has to stop. It's already affected you, it can't change your future."

I only stared at her. Placing me in counseling is like dipping me into an acidic river, made of deadly elements that can melt your skin and roast your bones. "You're starting tomorrow. I am taking you." My mother finished, holding my hand. My hand went limp and stopped holding hers. "You're taking away my dreams. Thanks mom." I stood up and walked away.