Running on Air

A young red haired woman stands. She isn't facing me. I can tell it was autumn, for the leaves where all painted the color of fire. Vibrant reds, rustic oranges, and soft yellows cloy my vision. I could feel the breeze in my hair and the sun on my skin.
The woman turns to me. She tucks a large strand of red hair behind her ear. I am taken back by just how clear her green doe eyes are. She begins to speak to me but I can not hear her. Her lips move but no sound reaches my ears. She smiles at me, she is breath taking.
The soft autumn tones complement her complexion. She is a stark contrast with her pale skin, but is beautiful all the same. I can't help but admire her. The scene paints the picture of serenity.
However it all comes crashing down when the silence is broken by the loud screech of tires. Suddenly the autumn day is no longer calm. The crimson color of blood paints the leaves and ground. The color is a striking end to the serenity, but it is beautiful still.
Jessie wakes up with a violent start. She clutches her chest as her heart attempts to jump from its confines. Her breathing is uneven and ragged. Jessie closes her eyes and begins to steady her breathing. She did not understand her dream, for she had never seen the woman before yet felt a strong pull to her.
Pulling herself out of bed she begins the trek to her small apartment kitchen. As she walks her mind wanders away. Jessie could distinctly remember the smell of leaves and the feel of the wind. She wonders why she could not hear. All of her senses where so vivid yet her hearing had escaped her. Maybe she was not meant to know what was said.
When she reaches the kitchen she checks the time, the clock reads 6:25 am. Jessie was sure she was not going to get anymore sleep. She regretfully starts a pot of coffee and waits, allowing her mind to wonder yet again. The only sound in her dream was the distinct sound of screeching tires. No impact nor screams could be heard. Just the soft breeze and warm sun felt against skin.
The coffee finishes and she pours herself a cup before starting her day. Jessie dresses quickly and makes her way out the door. She freezes. Slowly she turns her head but sees nothing, she could have sworn she had caught something in the corner of her eye. Dismissing it she continues on with her day.
Work is grueling as always. By the time lunch rolls around she is exhausted. Jessie finds a seat before opening her lunch. She eats in silence, her mind is quite, as if it has forgotten its own creation, the dream. Jessie does not think of the dream or the woman for the rest of the day.
Time passes and Jessie forgets all about her dream and the beautiful woman. Jessie does not think of the red head until she is at the park on her day off. She stands by a tree with leaves turning the colors of fire. Across from her is a crystal clear lake, no ripples on the surface, creating a smooth mirror.
She stares pensively across the lakes surface only to lock gazes with a striking pair of familiar green eyes. Across the lake stood the red headed woman from her dream. Jessie rubs her eyes as to rid herself of this illusion. To her surprise it works and the woman is gone.
This incident is the catalyst for weeks to come. The mysterious woman begins to show everywhere. She can be seen by Jessie at her work, across the street, and even a few seats over. Never has the woman spoke, but she always stares.
          Months go by before he mysterious woman come within reach. She was always to far away. Jessie is in her apartment when she feels a presence next to her, right at her side.
  "Hello Jessie" the words sounded like wind chimes, the voice was as beautiful as the woman herself.
          "It's nice to finally speak with you." Jessie says.
She wasn't sure how the woman had suddenly appeared, but she wasn't going to waste her precious moments with her on trivial matters. Jessie turns to see the woman. She is pale, unnaturally so, and her hair seems to have lost most of its shine. All in all she looks sick.
          "Are you alright?" Jessie asks hesitant to hear the response.
He red head smiles and reply's with "I'm alright. Honestly I have never felt more free."
Jessie turns to look at her head on but she is gone. She does not see her again for a few weeks but her words way heavily on Jessie's mind.
Jessie was never one to pry, but she felt that her situation merited a little nosiness. She began a search. She started with a simple google search but when nothing came up she had to refine her approach. Jessie sifted through weeks of local news papers using key words like "accident", "woman", "autumn".
She eventually stumbled across a headline for as small town that read "Woman killed in tragic accident". Jessie read the paper, but all she could gather was that a young woman was killed in an accident that year. Jessie knew this was her best shot at finding the woman.
She looked for a date and address. The paper said it occurred in the town right next to hers and ably a few months ago, about the time the woman had appeared. Jessie knew what she had to do.
She suffered through her final day of work before the weekend. She had packed for a few day trip to the next town over. The moment she got home Jessie threw all of her bags into her car and was quick to leave.
At about an hour into the drive Jessie felt a presence next to her in the car. She knew immediately it was the woman. When Jessie snuck a look at her she had her head tilted back her skin soaking up the sunlight.
Jessie found herself wondering what really happened to her. She look worse for wear, for she was deathly pale and her hair had become dull. Her eyes where ow cloudy and she looked as if she had not slept in weeks.
"What happened to you?" She asked, finally getting to the point.
" I think the real question is if you will realize. I'm ok. I feel....light.... like trying to run....but with nothing to stand on." The woman says
The cryptic response was not unexpected, but it was unusually vague. The red heads answer just creating more questions.
"Will you tell me or will I have to find out?" Jessie says turning to look at the woman, but yet again she was gone and the question did not reach her ears.
She continued her drive not saying a word, not even the radio made a sound.
When Jessie reached the town it was smaller than she had expected. There where little to no houses and even fewer residents. It was a wonder anybody even lives here at all. She supposed she could see the appeal, with all of the trees and soft lights.
"Welcome home" Jessie hears.
She was startled by how close the voice was. She did not have to turn this time, for it was the woman who moved to look at her. Jessie noticed for the first time that the woman was not all vivid. The read head was slightly translucent, for the trees behind her were ever so slightly visible.
" what's your name?" Jessie asks.
"You already know who I am." She says
Jessie raked her brain and combed through her memories, but she was certain she did not know who this woman was.
"It's time for me to join you. I know you've been lonely. You've always craved the company of others."
Jessie was taken back by the certainty in which the woman spoke the words. She started at the freckled girl. Jessie could see she was becoming more solid. As she become more vivid the town began to fade.
All Jessie could focus on was the beautiful woman before her. The town was now gone and replaced by a bleak whiteness. The redhead extends her hand.
"Come home Jessie."
Jessie take her hand and says
"I'll follow you till the end, Cas."