Dreams and Nightmares

Sorrowful daydream

Sitting in the back left corner of math class. Raises hand. Gets answer right. Talks about gossip with the girls sitting next to her. The lighting was perfect, the mood was perfect, and so the class was perfect. She noticed the strong winds outside the room's window, a tree furiously being shaken and suddenly being lifted up. She turned and faced her teacher who didn't seem to notice this, nor did anybody else. And so, she stood up and pointed the obvious as wind met earth. Mouths open, the class stared silently at what was a tornado rapidly expanding and coming directly towards the school. The teacher hurriedly went out to the hallway to warn everyone but, there was no one left to warn. Not a single soul was found. When he came back half of the class was missing. She went outside with him and the few students who remained, she wondered if the students had been evacuated to a nearby school, but then a thought crossed her mind: The school's basement. They hurriedly went down the stairs with three students and a teacher they found along the way. There they were, standing in front of the exit, all students stared into what was now a world dominated by thunder, lightning and a swirl of wind whom seemed to grow each second. Apparently they had sent the little ones out already, all on their own with just a faint memory of landscapes seen on the way to school to lead them home. The building shook. Pieces of rock fell in front of her nearly crushing her. "Go" they said. She gave the school a quick glance, and ran. She ran and ran and didn't look back. How could she? She knew there wasn't enough time. That school had been her home, she had built strong bonds with the people, the teachers were family to her, her whole childhood had been spent there. Tears ran down her cheeks, she didn't want to think about it. She concentrated only on her one goal: reaching her house and meeting up with her parents. That's all she had left. She imagined the feeling of comfort in her mother's hugs and the safety in her father's embrace. Halfway through her daydream her mind unexpectedly trailed off and started noticing the field she was running through. She put out her hand, gently touching the lavender flowers. She took in the scent and let herself go. Just like that. It seemed the storm was all in her head, and everything went from a dreadful nightmare to a delightful daydream. A lifeless piece of land in which the tornado walked through suddenly sprouted with grass, a rich green that seemed healthier than before. She was noticing the smallest details, the intricate patterns in the monarch butterflies' wings, the unique color of the tall grass, an orange so light and delicate, she started inhaling the fresh air, in some way it seemed... different. The good different. The type of different it was supposed to be. As Lilys started sprouting from the ground her vision slowly started getting blurry. What used to be a willow tree was now a blur of green and brown. Ever so slowly did she feel the image getting farther and farther away. She thought that's where it all ended, but it really had just begun. And she opened her eyes, and she looked to her side. She saw her little sister, staring at her with those big eyes who everyone claimed were the same as hers. And her eyes were filled with tears for she remembered her reason to live. The reason she had held on to in her darkest times, in her worst nightmares, and even in her most wonderful daydreams. And she smiled, and she had this feeling of gratefulness, and if you had seen her at that moment, she would've been the most beautiful girl in the world. The type you can take an aesthetic picture of without trying, they type that would make the perfect painting of. She was a mixture of happiness and sorrow. A tornado in a field full of flowers. And yet, she was stunningly gorgeous.