Dark Dreams

NAKED

I'd never felt so good in my life. I was lying on something so soft that it had to be made of the same material as clouds. My skin, my bones, and every cell in my body were in ecstasy. I was melting, becoming one with the cloud that was holding my almost weightless body.

I wished the feeling would never end.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

My arms felt so heavy.

I struggled to open my eyes, which seemed glued shut.

I was almost blinded by a ray of light.

I yawned again, stretching.

"Oh God," I said, opening my eyes wide. "Where am I?!"

I sat up, and I saw myself.

No, there's got to be a mistake.

My heart began to beat so hard that I could no longer breathe.

I tried frantically to cover myself. I was shaking and my teeth were chattering, making a noise like nutshells cracking.

I was lying on a bed in a room that I had never seen before.

I screamed, trying to hold back my tears.

I was naked.

I pulled the red silk sheet toward me and covered myself.

I screamed again.

I didn't want to hear the thoughts that were bombarding my mind.

"No... no" I moaned, sobbing. "No!"

I cried.

I cried until the salt water stopped wetting my tired eyes. From that moment on, the sobs became shaking and shuddering. I brought my knees to my chest and rested my head on my legs.

It was as if time stood still.

I stared into space, not looking for anything or anyone.

In my mind, an annoying hum echoed uninterrupted.

Suddenly, new tears lined my frightened face.

I had to do something.

I managed to swallow the little saliva I had left and got up, wrapped in the scarlet sheet.

I started pacing around the room without a goal or purpose. Every time my bare feet touched the white marble floor I felt even more dead inside. My legs almost gave way, forcing me to lean on the dark wooden dresser in the corner of the room.

I have to get dressed, I thought.

I opened a drawer but it was empty apart from a few towels. I continued searching.

Drawer after drawer, my anger increased.

Where the hell do rich people keep their clothes?

I ran toward the gilded closet across the room. I rushed to open it, as if I had just gone crazy. I threw unwanted objects over my shoulders, not caring.

"Better than nothing," I said, looking at a white silk Dolce & Gabbana dress with silver detailing, which was probably a nightgown. I put it on, avoiding looking at a body that I didn't recognize as my own.

What had happened the night before?

I looked down, ashamed of myself, when I saw the shoulder strap of my bag under the bed. I threw myself to the floor to pull it out. I would put on my skates and skate away from everything and... everyone. I grasped the bag with one hand and pulled it into the sunlight, where I noticed with deep sadness that my father's daisy had been brutally trampled: the few snow-white petals that remained were almost unrecognizable and were attached to a stem that was barely straight. It was as if my heart was in my mouth.