The Vampire's Dream

1: Dream House

My name is Catharine Rose, but everyone just calls me Rose. I prefer it that way, I never really liked my first name. Growing up I have always been close with my parents, I don't have any siblings although sometimes I wish I did. When I started college about a month ago, my parents decided to go on a road trip. Their plan was to drive up the west coast, then drive from Washington to Colorado to visit some friends, then drive all the way to New York. They are then supposed to go down the East Coast and down into Florida for a week before coming home to Texas. They just called me yesterday to tell me they stopped in Vegas and that they were extending their trip for a couple of weeks to give them some extra time here and there for things like this. That now makes it almost a full two months of them being gone. It's hard enough already , I have never been away from them for that long but I guess it's good for me to get some space.

Growing up I always had weird dreams. People thought is was odd that I could vividly remember every detail of a dream or that some dreams seemed to be like a story and occasionally when I slept it would be like reading a new chapter. Since my parents left I have been getting my weird dreams more often than I ever had, both reoccurring and story like ones. I have had this one dream so often that even when I am having it I still have this feeling that I'm in a dream, it never stops it from feeling real though. Like right now, I know I'm in a dream, but it still feels to real to be fake.

I look around and all I can see is the deep abyss of the ocean, I'm stuck under water. I look up to see light breaking through the surface toward me but fading just out of reach, I know that direction is up but I can't move. I try to kick my legs and use my arms to pull me towards the surface but to no avail, I don't move an inch. I feel my lungs begin to ache, I need air. I collect my thoughts and try to figure out what to do when another wave of panic hits and before I know it my mouth is open, and I take in a deep breath of air. I look around and I'm still under water but I can breath, a wave of calm hits me before everything goes black. I wake up in my bed as usual. This dream doesn't scare me anymore, I find it oddly calming. This isn't my only reoccurring dream, but the other is terrifying and I usually wake up sobbing, it never gets easier. That one is more of a memory than just a random dream though; Thankfully I haven't had that one in a while.

I have always had weird dreams, a certain few are reoccurring, but one dream continues like a story. I don't have this dream often, but when I do, it starts from where I left off last time. The first time I had it, I was standing outside of this mansion, the bricks around the outside looked a little worn. The pillars on the porch had vines twisting up around them. All of the windows were still in tact and no lights were on inside but the house still seemed to be drawing me in. It looked a little run down but for some reason I knew it was still in good condition and that I needed to go in. I slowly made my way to the house, I felt calm and safe like it were a house I had grown up in. As I reached the steps I jogged up them quickly and quietly, despite the slightly run down look of the stairs they don't make a sound. The door opened before I had a chance to touch it, but I still didn't feel creeped out by it, I felt welcome and like I was home. I stepped into the room and felt warmth envelope me. The old wood floor still looked brand new. There was a red, gold, and cream colored carpet running from the floor in front of the door to the back of the hall between the stair cases. On both sides of the room there was a staircase going up to the second floor. The staircase was made of the same wood as the floor and it curved slightly to give the room more definition, not to mention how much more beautiful it made the entire room. Just as I began to take another step everything went black, and I woke up.

I don't remember how long ago these started, but I do know that I have been through the dining room, living room, and the upstairs hall, but I have never seen the kitchen, or any of the other rooms. In my most recent dream of it, I was walking through an indoor garden. The siding was glass panels all the way around, including the roof, which had rounded edges that met at a point at the top. It almost looked like the top of a circus tent, just glass instead of the playful red and white fabric. The room was long, it seemed to go on forever. There were luscious green plants with all kinds of pink and red flowers everywhere. Some are bright pink hibiscuses and some are red roses, but the rest I don't know what kinds they are. The garden is beautiful, I hope I have one like that someday, but for now I have this little one bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Waco, Texas.