After Eternity

Chapter 10

I.

The sky was turning blue and there was an orange light appearing. Diana gazed at it with wide opened eyes. She gasped terrified, looking up at it. Then she looked around trying desperately to find a way to get out of there but there was no escape. Huge walls prevented her from leaving. She gazed in deep blue eyes; arms wrapped tightly around her. The blue eyes glittered with tears that were menacing to fall. The man's chest was coming up and down fast as he breathed. He too was scared. Diana gazed around one more time, she felt lost, it looked like a tower, the tower of a castle. There was a smell of rotten fish in the air that made her stomach churn. She saw a door and ran to it. She punched the door with both fists clenched.

"Let me out...I want out...." She yelled. The sky was turning brighter and brighter and there was an orange color in the sky already. The more the sky turned lighter the more panicked she'd get. She felt her skin getting warm, burning and her throat was so dry it was hard to breathe.

"Diana..." She heard a voice calling her and she looked back letting her clenched fists fall along her body resigned. Then she frowned as she could see clearly who her company in that strange place was.

"James?" She whispered. "Aaah..." She contorted and yelled as a burning pain attacked her. Her arm was catching fire and she yelled again feeling her whole body following. The pain was excruciating, and she yelled at the top of her lungs. He too was on fire and it was so hot, so hot...

"Ah..." She gasped sitting on her bed. Diana reached for the light on her bedside table and turned it on. Her heart was speeding and there were tiny drops of perspiration on her temples. She remained sat trying to calm down from such dream.

"Jesus..." She whispered running both hands over her face and expecting the rush over her body to subside. What was James doing in her dream? Where were they? The smell...oh she could almost still feel it, it was disgusting. Feeling calmer she turned the light off and lied down. The dream had been so vivid she couldn't shut her eyes and sleep. It seemed like her arm still hurt. She gently ran her hand over it to calm down the phantom pain and stared at darkness for quite some time until she decided to grab a book. Diana looked at the clock, it read 3am. "Nice!" She muttered sarcastically.

There were feelings people could not explain. The way she felt drawn to him was of this type. Ever since she laid eyes on him that she felt she could trust him, but this dream had been far more intriguing than the fact she felt like she had known him before. She couldn't concentrate to read; the book was falling randomly on her lap while she tried to go through every little scene of her dream. It was him; she was sure it was him, but he looked younger and the place...it didn't look like anywhere in San Francisco. Such towers were not common in the USA, in Europe yes. She was a Londoner, London is filled with towers like that, even near Thames where there are docks that smell as intense as in the dream, or that could be anywhere as we all know how dreams can transport us to any universe, even one we don't know at all. Still...that had to be the strangest dream she had ever had.

II.

It was a quiet morning in the office, and she was happy for it. The fact that she could barely sleep after waking up in absolute panic, and the horrific dream itself left her grumpy that morning. She didn't want to make a polite conversation; she wanted to be left alone. Pam had noticed how her humor was at a bad place that morning and was really gentle with her. She made little or no conversation, even on their way to work. Then, when she arrived in the kitchen she was glad to find it empty. Diana poured a cup of tea and sat on the black couch taking smalls sips on it and closing her eyes now and then seeking relaxation.

It was on one of these moments that she felt the door cracking open and much to her surprise James stormed in. She thought he was already upstairs for he was never late, and he was late that morning. They had stayed out until late so maybe he overslept.