Sweet Dreams

Chapter 4

"Dance with me." the words echo in my head as I lay in my bed, remembering the entire night. Every moment, every detail, every word. "James." I whisper. Just the sound of his name makes my heart race. I cover my face with the blanket on my bed and smile. I feel like a silly little girl. He's on my mind until I fall asleep. Suddenly, I'm awake. I sit up on the hard, dirt floor and look around. The air is filled with the scent of smoke and ash. I stand up and begin to walk forward. I bite my nails, nervously, when I stumble upon ashes. I kneel down and pick up a shriveled, black box. I open the lid and find the pictures of my brother and I, and the letter his old girlfriend asked me to send him. The edges of the letter were burnt. My eyes widen as the little dots of fire turn into dangerous flames. I throw the paper quickly when the fiery tails whip at my hands. I drop the box right before it bursts into flames. The pictures of us fly out and turn into ashes. I look down and watch the picture of me kissing his cheek change into little black flakes. A warm tear falls down my peachy cheek. I hesitate to contiue forward. I walk a few miles and begin to notice the trees around me now, are burnt. I pick up on of the brittle twigs and snap it in half. This happened today, where did it start? I walk another mile and a half, then I start to hear crackling noises. Then, clouds of smoke start to appear. The clouds become bigger, and the crackling gets louder as I keep moving forward. It gets hotter. I begin to run. Beads of sweat drip down my forhead as I jog through the steamy woods. Then, I see it. My house is burning.

The flames are so treacherous and blinding, that I fall backwards. My mind is dizzy from all of the smoke. "Help! Help!" I hear raspy voices shouting from inside of the old country home. Goosebumps cover my body as thought enters my foggy brain. "Ivy! Terrance! I scream and run mindlessly into the flaming house. "Help!" they yell again. I try to follow their voices. I pull my collar over my nose to avoid breathing in the deathly clouds. I slam into a door, it breaks open. Smoke pours into the little room. My eyes shift from corner to corner, trying to catch a glimpse of their golden waves, or twinkling blue eyes. Nothing. I sprint down the hallway to where their bedroom is. I burst through the door and find myself in a dark green forest. I turn around, the house is about a football field away from me. The dark red waves turn into a haze as I stare. The roof cracks, and the entire house caves in, right in front of my eyes. I can hear the faint screams of little toddlers as it crashes to the ground. "No!" I scream. I cover my ears and fall to the dirt. Hoping to block out the sound of the burning remains of what once was my home. I cannot  block the devilish snicker near me. I look around, no one. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see the flicker of light in the pitch- black forest. A dark silhouette comes from behind the trees. Kevin. He laughs evilly as he flips the metal lighter on and off. "Keh- Keh." I stutter. I can't get the word to come out of my mouth. "Yes." he says plainly. "But you're...dead." I try to say it quickly. The word leaves a painfull feeling inside of my chest. He snickers again and tosses the lit lighter to my feet. I jump back. "That's right." he laughs. He looks down, then he looks back up at me. His eyes are a piercing red. It feels as if he's stabbing me and shoving the blade in the longer his stare holds.

He screams, and dozens of crows circle around him. All of a sudden, a gigantic crow forms behind the tornado of black. It's screech so powerful, it blows me backwards into a pile of leaves. It steps forward and glares at me with it's massive black eye. I jump to my feet and run into the dark forest. The crow following closely behind. It stops for a second, then spreads it's wings. I feel it's wing force slice through the air as it takes off. I leap across the leafy ground after it's out of my sight. I keep going until I reach a peaceful pool of water. I dive into the cool liquid to wash off the black smoke stains on my skin. I rub the black and grey powder off off my arms and legs. I hear a distant caw and look to the sky. Nothing is there, so I lounge in the shallow pool. I slip out of my wet, white nightgown and hang it on an old tree branch to dry. After an hour, I slip back into it and continue walking through the woods. I reach an area where ruit trees flourish. I pluck one off of a branch and sink my teeth into it. I spit it out. It's filled with worms. I pick a few more and slice them open. All of them are filled with disguisting bugs. I leap through the orchards of  insect fruits and walk through a beautiful meadow. Tulips, daisies, baby's breath, pansies, and sunflowers cascade over the large green hills. I stop for a few minutes and lay near a bed of pansies. The wind blows over them and they bend over and gently brush against my face. It's like I'm being kissed by flowers. The sun rays caress my face with warmth. I feel...safe.

I stand up and brush the dirt from my nightgown. It feels like the wind is blowing harder. I hear a loud caw and look behind me. Then, the crow swoops down and grabs me. It flies high into the light blue sky. It's claws locked around my arms. I struggle to break out of it's grip. We fly into a foggy area, I can't see anything below or around me. It lets me go and I fall to the cold, hard ground. I slide on the dirt. I stand up and look around. The dark shadow of the crow disappears in the light grey mist. I tremble as the frozen wind nips at my bare feet. I decide to walk and look around. I pass a few headstones, I'm in a cemetary. I walk up to two headstones that were right next to each other. I look at the names engraved onto the dark grey cement pieces. Ivy and Terrance Lorence. I fall to my knees and begin to weep. They were only four...that's not long enough. I feel light taps on my shoulder, I turn my head and see a little girl. Her skin so pale, I can see through her. "What are you?" I ask quietly. She presses her finger to her lips and shushes me. He presses her hands to her mouth and giggles. I watch her as she runs and leaps into the ground where a headstone sits in front of. I walk over to it. Emilie Porter, it read. She was my friend Jane's twin sister. I barely knew her. She died when we were five. She fell out of a tree and snapped her neck. A shiver runs down my spine, and I keep walking.

I see the silhouette of an old, dying tree and walk towards it. I reach and find a plain headstone next to it. I sit down and draw shapes in the dust. Then, I hear a scraping noise. I look at the empty headstone and see little pieces of cement falling from it. I crawl up to it and watch. The letter M is carved into the stone. Next is an I. Then, two Ns. The little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. An I has been traced into the cement. I swallow hard as I watch the next letter appear. E. Tears stream down my face. Suddenly, the roots of the dead tree spring out of the earth. The little roots wrap around my ankles and pull me. I begin to reach for anything I can hold onto. Thicker roots wrap around my legs and pull even harder. I scream and breathe heavily. The roots grow even thicker and circle my waist. I'm not strong enough now. I release my grip on the rocks I was holding onto and let it pull me. I shriek as it drags me under. The earth closes up on me. The last thing I see is the silhouette of the crow that brought me to my death bed. I close my eyes and hold my breath. I open my eyes and I'm staring at the ceiling of my room. I breathe in and feel around me. The softness of my sheets have never been so comforting. "It was only a dream." I tell myself.