Eternal.

Chapter Fifteen

I fell asleep after two episodes of Doctor Who and a plate of chicken and brown rice. I dreamt of vines wrapping around an old marble looking pillar. In between two pillars was a hearth. The hearth left a reflection on the clean tile floor. Fire made up from nothing inside, and lit the whole room with its bright yellow flame. Fire. The flames held words in them. I searched the fire for them.

A flame that holds secrets

That’s something to see

But you’ll never hear them

Because they belong to only me.

I looked down and noticed I was wearing a long white dress. My hair ragged down to my hips. My hair was a different color. It was not brown, nor was it blonde. My hair was more of a maroon red. I noticed flower peddles tangled in it as if I were just laying in a flower bed. The room was huge. There was an archway that leads to a hall. The hall looked to be just as beautiful as this marble room. Next to the archway was a desk. The desk did not have a chair in front. It was pure gold, with molding that shaped leaves.

Looking closer at the desk, rested on top of it was a jeweled Chalice. In the center of the desk I could see an olive colored notebook that had the most silver binding I’ve ever seen. My notebook I thought. Somehow I was able to identify it. I felt myself glide my light feet across the floor over to the desk. In hefty bronze cursive letters wrote:

Brighid’s Notebook

My hand caressed its rigid binding. I thought about opening it. I wanted to see what lies on the paper inside. Part of me already knew what was inside it. The second I put my hand on the edge to open it, it faded away. The desk and chalice faded also, and so did the surrounding pillars and archways, and the hearth took the flame it held with it.

Everything was dark. My flowing dress and long hair were missing too. I heard birds chirping now. Outside. And I shot my eyes open. My room was quiet; the only light shined in through the tress from the sun. I hadn’t noticed before how dirty my window sill was. I looked at every brown stain and at first wondered where they came from. Then I tried to see something within the stains, my eyes fixated on each one carefully. But they just looked like stains.

I got up sleepily and dragged myself down stairs. Sliding my feet across the wooden floor down the hall towards the kitchen, I heard the refrigerator door open and close. Standing the doorway I saw my brother rummaging through the kitchen. “Morning” I said to make my presence. My brother chuckled and turned around with a package of American cheese. “Morning was two hours ago.” He said. “What time is it?” I asked crossing my arms squinting at a clock that’s across the room. He turned around and squinted at the clock himself. I laughed thinking about how my mother is far-sighted, but she has two kids who can’t see something that’s twenty feet in front of them.

“Ten… ‘O… six” He said trying to read it with what little vision he had. “Where’s mom?” I leaned up against the counter of the island as he finally pried open the package. “At work” He said, as if I should know, which I should. I still squinted at the clock able to see it better. “What day is it?” I asked as if I was woozy. He stopped. My brother stopped rustling with the bag and looked up at me. His blue eyes were dumbfounded by my disorientation. I looked at him like I really didn’t know. Honestly I don’t think I remembered. The dream that I had the night before was fading from my memory, but the feeling of being in it remained and left confusion where knowledge used to be.  “Wednesday” My brother said. “Oh.” I answered and maneuvered around him to make waffles, while he blabbed on about something I wasn’t even paying attention to. Throughout the day Aiden’s story stayed in the back of my mind. I kept it there. Something about it coming from his throat made me not want to forget it. But I didn’t want to stop and think about it. If I did I might start to believe it. I went out for a run and tried to think about everything else, but it kept creeping up to the front of my brain.