Luck of Reality

Luck of Reality (Full Story)

The nightmare began that evening.

The chair crashed, hitting the floor. She listened to the deafening footsteps and chilling screams around her, as she sat still and silenced on the couch. She was frozen as she stared into the eyes of her Grandmother's cold, limp and lifeless body. Time had slowed almost to a stop as she heard the whirling sirens of the ambulance, that were all too late. She couldn't believe what had just happened.

Mae woke up in a icy puddle of her own sweat. "It was just a dream," she thought, breathing deeply. It was a dream she'd had a lot since that night. The problem was "the dream" had happened, beginning of the all too real nightmare that had been haunting her since then. As she drifted back to sleep Mae imagened what life might be like if that night had never occured.

The morning sun streamed in through her window, brushing up against her face and urging her to wake, but her eyes remained tightly closed. Her bedside table soon buzzed with the all too familiar sound of her phone's alarm. She groaned and rolled off the bed, hitting the floor with a light thump. After getting dressed Mae closed the bedroom door behind her. She stood at the top of the stairway listening to the muffled shouts of her parents in the room below, today was a day like any other. She tiptoed down the stairs and shuffled into the kitchen, past her parent's bedroom.

She opened the fridge door, scanning for milk, swinging it, open and closed. She sighed and took a seat at the breakfast bar. She glanced up to see her mother, standing weakly in the doorway. She looked tired, with great bags under her eyes as she held herself in a slumped position. Mae almost felt sorry for her until she spoke and the smell of alcohol emerged from her cracked and bloody lips. Mae's grandmother had been the one holding her together, she was broken now, the lingering smell of cigarettes was proof of that. Throwing her bag over her shoulder Mae walked out the door, ignoring her mother's attempt at conversation.

Mae raced down the street on her bike, the wind whistling violently into her ears. Wiping away the blinding tears from her streaming eyes, Mae was too late to see the truck, towering above her, its lights now flashing, its blasting, deafening horn filling her brain with darkness.

Waking in her bed, Mae was surprised to be alive. Pulling away the blankets something stopped her jumping to the ground. Shadows covered the floor and they looked like they were slowly creeping up the side of her bed ready to reach her. This was a bit unsettling, but the shadows disappeared when she switched on her bedside lamp. She stepped out of bed and wandered into the kitchen, a little dazed and confused, taken aback by the smell of toast and the sound of bacon, sizzling on the pan. Mae rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Her mother turned her attention from the frying pan, to Mae who stood gaping at her. "You're finally awake!" She said her eyes a little "too" bright, her smile a little "too" wide. Mae was lost for words as she looked at her mother's smile that was so big it spread across her whole face. "It seemed a little creepy." Mae backed away, out of the kitchen and into the garden. "Don't you want brunch?" Her mother chirped making her way towards the back door where Mae stood. Mae shoved the door closed and ran towards the deserted street.

Sinking onto a park bench, her thoughts racing, Mae stared uneasily at the ground. Head in hands, she was barely aware of the remarkably tall girl with flowing red hair and piercing blue eyes, walking directly towards her. It was not until the girl sat next to Mae that she looked up and into those piercing blue eyes. Smiling the girl spoke as if they were old friends. "Let's go to my house, I have something cool I want to show you!" Mae raised her eyebrows, no one ever talked to her like this, she never had any friends. The girl hopped up, "Come on!" she exclaimed, smiling warmly. Mae, feeling strangely calm, decided to follow the girl.

Sitting on the girl's bed, Mae scanned the room. It looked like they shared similar interests. "Maybe we really are friends," thought Mae as she examined the full bookshelf, pulling out books she had once enjoyed reading. The girl, named Evelyn, was unknown to her, but Mae wrote this off as a big hit to the head. Mae smiled to herself, thinking maybe life was going to get better. Suddenly the bedroom door swung open, she was hungry and thankful that Evelyn had made them both lunch. But Evelyn scrambled towards Mae with a crazed look in her now cold, blank eyes. She pinned Mae up against the wall. Mae squirred uncontrollably as Evelyn held her arm tightly against Mae's neck, so her breath became shallow and raspy. Evelyn whispered,"You need to wake up. You must wake up."After she had said this her whole body turned into an inky black and melted into the carpet below.

Mae rushed out of the house, the sun had disappeared and the world had turned dark. Shadows were beginning to surround her, creeping up her shoes and burning though the fabric. In a panic Mae scrambled towards the now decaying forest behind her house. She rushed past dying trees so fast her vision blurred. Looking ahead she didn't see the tangling brambles underneath her. She tripped and fell into a bush full of thorns. A giant, ominous raven screeched over head, it was coming towards her, a trail shadows flying, swifty behind it's inky wings. It opened its mouth wide enough to consume the whole world. Mae stood, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She thought of the light that scared the shadows away and of her life back home, the life that might not have been perfect but was better than the complete darkness. Mae clenched her fists and opened her eyes. Determined to defeat the darkness Mae shouted, "I'm not scared anymore!" And she wasn't.

In the days that followed Mae's waking, Mae realised although her life wasn't perfect It was still worth living for. She grinned at her mother as she turned on the tap, but no water came out of it, only a thin, wispy, black shadow.