Midnight Unbound

Part Three

The dimmed golden lights roar to life then vanish leaving only smoke in the flames place. Only moonlight is illuminating the room, but only just. I no longer feel his embrace nor do I hear his soft breaths. Reaching, I feel nothing. The air around me is cold and lifeless. An almost deafening silence has spread to every known corner of my ears. Circling the room I search for any sign of warmth. Tripping over my dress and it tearing on my heel, tripping me. The cold tile of the floor stings my cheek as they collide. A boisterous Thunder claps and a flash of lightning strikes right beyond the window I have fallen under. The shock wave of the lightning shatters the glass sending razor sharp fractals scattering across the floor and across my skin. I can feel the edges pierce and tear my skin. A blood-curdling shriek escapes my lips in pain and terror.
      Launching up from my bed sheets, drenched in a cold sweat. The scream still fresh on my lips now quivering in fear as what I've witnessed. Rushing to the mirror across my bedroom and turning on the lights, I search my skin for any kind of marks. None. I almost can't believe that it was a dream. It's almost as if I can still feel the abrasions.  Attempting to catch my breath I look at the clock on my bedside table and see "3:29 am" in those classic dim red lights. I know from experience I will not be getting back to bed so easily so I put on my winter boots and grab my dad's leather coat from the coat closet in the living room. I always wear my dad's coat on my midnight walks. It's warmer and it's bigger.... and it reminds me I have a dad that cares for me. Depressing I know, but whatever soothes the mind.  I try to sneak past Tripp on my way out the door. That didn't work, and it never does. It's too cold to take him at this time a night. So the only Tripp I'll be taking on this walk is a guilt trip. I'm such a pushover when it comes to him but this time I have to stand firm. it's for his own safety. after assuring him I'll be home in a little bit like I always do it's out into the snow-covered streets of the neighborhood.
     I never go very far but I like to go to this bridge that goes over a busy street. At this time of night in this place, all the streets are dead and deserted. Hard rock blares through my headphones and drowns out the silence that I cant handle right now.  Turning back now headed home, I guess I was too into my thoughts or the song that I didn't notice an uprooted bit of concrete. Like in the dream, I trip. only instead of tearing a golden dress with heels, I fall flat on my face in the snow. Absolutely at my breaking point, I roll over and just stare at the moon with raging hatred as if it was the moon's fault I was a loser, or that my biological parents didn't want me, or this, or that. warm tears roll down my cheeks and into my hair from the corners of my eyes. I can't help myself. Sobbing in the snow like some lost, frustrated child. My eyes are burning and blurry, as I clear the tears away knowing I've been away from home long enough for the night. Finally having clear sight I focus on the moon one final time. This better be a fluke. The moon is light blue and larger than I've ever seen in real life. This cannot be happening. Absolutely not. Usually, my vision fades to black, but as I try to remain conscious my vision blurs and fades into a bright white light.
        I wake up warm and staring at my bedroom ceiling. Tripp is right next to me in bed. How did I get here? What happened? What the hell? These are all valid questions that need to be answered. But not at this moment because I just missed my 9 am lecture class that's across town. Again jolting out of bed and rushing all around my room attempting to get matching shoes on at least before I grab my bag and keys and run out the door.
     Finally getting to class I settle into my position for my ballet class as the others file in as well and we begin our warm-ups. Everything is as it always is, except there's a student missing today. Odd, this student is usually never missing. Within the next 5 minutes or so we hear the studio doors creak open, and it's him. The missing student, and the basis for my once good dreams. This is how I know he moves so gracefully. We are peers. But when I focus on him today a reddish almost pink hue slowly begins to surround him. I rub my eyes and look in the mirror to see if they're bloodshot. They're fine and the hue is gone. We continue with the class as usual and end with a curtsy and a round of applause. As the other students grab their bags and water bottles and leave. I always take a little extra time to cool off at the end of the class period. Usually, the guy from my class (and dream) leave with the rest of them but he is caught up talking to the instructor about our writing assignment. I focus on him again and again the hue starts to surround him, instead of looking away I hold my gaze and the hue deepens and swirls around him until its as if it's radiating from inside him. I try and focus on the instructor and a hue starts to envelop her as well but this hue a deep purple.
     Are the colors different for everyone? Or do they represent something? Oh no, please say I wasn't drugged last night! I quickly gathered my gear and began to fast walk to the library and go to one of the farthest computers from the front. I began to google what kind of drug could cause this kind of side effect and the only thing that even came close to what I was experiencing was some second-page result for a magic and witchcraft site. At this point, I was really desperate for an answer that I read through the site and "aura readers are a type of psychic ability granted to those in which regular sight is not enough to guide them on their journey." Okay so, it says the colors do mean something depending on what that person is to you and also what you are to them. "Not everyone has an aura because you do not have an emotional connection with everyone you see."
       I keep reading into the color meanings and as I get to the color that enveloped the guy from my dream, that very same color crept onto my cheeks as a deep blush. "This very vibrant yet deep color can mean a strong loving emotion or a very deep longing for." Logging off of the school computer I head to my next class and try to keep cool. During the next couple of weeks, it became increasingly easier to see how I was viewed by my peers which changed my whole aura as well. My attitude towards a lot of my classmates was becoming more and more friendly and believe it or not I actually think I made friends with at least one person in all my classes. Maybe this seeing "auras" isn't so bad. It even helped me communicate with my parents better. That, in turn, helped our relations as well. Of course, I already knew how Tripp felt about me. Still my best friend. The only thing this whole "auras" ordeal didn't help was the guy from class. Being the awkward introvert I am I still pretty much avoided eye contact if he ever looked my way. Ever since my daily life has gotten more "colorful" I've stopped having the dream where I have the power of light. Go figure. About a month has past and I find myself not looking at the colors surrounding the people in my life because I've used the colors for so long I can tell the emotion just by facial expression or body language.
       Every now and again I'll focus on the aura and watch the colors swirl and dance around the person they belong to. It's beautiful. Sometimes I'll even grab some pastels and try to draw it, It gets close but never does it justice. So more often than not I just watch and try not to get caught zoning out while staring.
     "No, not again, please," I whisper just before my vision goes black. Why do I feel so weighted? My senses are starting to come back to me and I notice a rhythmic beeping along with a hissing of a machine. Struggling to open my eyes but I cant tell where I am. Come on, open your eyes, dammit! The black starts to fade and the light comes through. Still blurry so I still can't tell where I am. I try to speak but I can't for some reason even though I can feel air passing through my lungs.