Dreaming of Roses

Chapter 5

Caitlyn opened her eyes and felt fully snuggled up in her bed. "Oh, my head," she thought. Caitlyn's dad was sitting beside the bed. "You gave us a good scare Kittycat. It's one o'clock in the afternoon, you never sleep that late. What happened last night?"

Caitlyn turned her head to look at Jonathyn. "Dad, I really don't know. My head is really hurting. What time did we come home?"

"Jeff and Chloe brought you stumbling in after 2am." Jonathyn frowned. "That's way beyond your curfew."

"You realize I fell and bumped my head? I had no idea what time it was." Caitlyn's outburst surprised both herself and her father.

"You should have been paying better attention to the time. You're grounded for the next week. Your mother will make an appointment for you to see Dr. Jones on Monday to make sure you don't have a concussion." Jonathyn left the room with little patience for Caitlyn's behaviour, and closed the door behind him.

Caitlyn was extremely angry, which was very unusual. She was normally level headed and rarely showed much emotion, and had feelings swirling inside of her that she didn't understand. She turned over pulling the blankets with her and closed her eyes, but couldn't sleep.

She opened her eyes, and surveyed her bedroom. It was a cozy rectangle with a small closet.

The floor was well worn hardwood. Caitlyn's mom had bought an area rug with a lovely rose pattern - she couldn't help herself - but it hadn't quite fit in with the decor in the living room, so Caitlyn inherited it. The rug extended from her double bed to the doorway. The walls were painted a deep rose colour which helped to offset the roses in the rug.

She reached out to grab her phone from her nightstand and knocked it on the rug. Thankfully it absorbed the impact, she didn't need her parents panicking thinking she'd fallen out of her bed. Of course there were multiple texts from Chloe and Jeff. She messaged them both to let them know she was ok, and next thing she knew the phone rang.

"Hi Chloe."

"Caitlyn!! Are you ok? How are you feeling? Please tell me you're ok, I've been worried sick and didn't sleep all night."

"Yes Chloe, no need to be dramatic. I'm lying in bed and I'm grounded for the week, I told you."

"Wow, ok." The line went silent. Caitlyn felt a rush of shame. "I'm sorry Chloe, I'm really not feeling myself. Last night was...intense."

"I know. Can I come see you later? I know you're grounded, but will they let me come over?"

"I don't know, I'll ask and let you know. I'm feeling super tired again, can I message you later?" All of a sudden she could hardly keep her eyes open.

"Of course. Love you friend!" "Me too Chloe," Caitlyn replied. She allowed her droopy eyes to close.

***

Caitlyn looked around her. She was in a small walled garden. Each wall of the garden was covered with thick, forest green ivy. There were flower beds lining the walls, and each bed was full of bright flowers spanning all the colours of the rainbow.

She could hear water splashing in a circular fountain which had a large round bouquet of stone roses in the middle of the garden. The water seemed to be drawn up from the middle of the bouquet and flowed outwards over each flower. Four benches surrounded the fountain to create an open square.

A tall apple tree was in the far corner, and dainty white blossoms were gently falling from the branches.

"Whoa, where am I?" she thought to herself.

"Hello Caitlyn," she heard a gentle feminine voice behind her. She whirled around to find a woman standing behind her.

Questions tumbled from her lips, "Who are you? Where am I? What is this place?" Caitlyn asked. Mauve peonies were waving hypnotically in the gentle breeze behind the woman. She felt overwhelmed by the scent.

"You are in my garden. My name is Evelyn." The woman had beautiful eyes grey like the sea on a cold stormy day. Evelyn was tall and slim, wearing a gossamer white dress that reminded Caitlyn dusky of white streaming clouds. Her silky chocolate hair was long, and parted in the middle. A lacy white band wrapped around Evelyn's head.

Caitlyn felt her legs going weak, and sat on the bench beside her. She thought to herself, 'This is just a dream. But why does it feel so real? I can smell the apple blossoms.'

"Yes, I assure you, this is not just a dream. I've been trying to reach you my dear, but it's been difficult. Do you remember when you were little we used to play, right here in this garden."

It was so peaceful, Caitlyn felt her pain easing away as the fountain water trickled down.

"There, that should feel better. It's taken years, but I've built this sanctuary to protect us from him. I fear it might be too late, though. Your grandfather has started the ball rolling, and there's not much I can do to stop it."

"Who's my grandfather? How can you hear me speaking to myself? Please, I don't remember."

"My dear, I promise I will answer all of your questions, in time. I am taking a risk bringing you here while he is watching, but I believe he is distracted by his protege." Evelyn glided over and sat on the bench, and held out her hand in a gesture that seemed very familiar to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn took her grandmother's hand. It was smooth and lily white, with white tipped manicured nails. Evelyn squeezed her hand, which gave her confidence to look more directly at this strange woman who claimed to be her grandmother.

"Caitlyn, please tell me about your family."

"Well, I live with my mother and father, and my little brother. Mom and Dad bought the house the year before I was born, I think. I was born in Toronto, but we live at the edge of the city. We have a dog named Clover. Don't you already know most of this?"

Evelyn smiled, and answered. "Yes of course, but I want to ground you in your reality. Family bonds are the most important thing in your life. Are you close with your parents, your brother?"

"My parents, mostly. But today, I wasn't very nice to my dad, just before I woke up here", her neck and face started feeling warm, as shame crept over her. "I never get mad, I don't know why but he made me so angry!" Caitlyn yanked her hand away, jumped up from the bench and started pacing along the edge of the bench.

Evelyn's head bobbed down as her eyes closed. Caitlyn felt calmness and as her breathing slowed, she saw vibrating waves radiating from her. "Wh-what is that?" Caitlyn stammered. "That is one trick you can perform in this world when your emotions get the best of you."

Caitlyn stared at her grandmother, who couldn't have been more than 20. "Grandmother, what world is this? It is just a dream, isn't it?"

Caitlyn felt a cool mist dropping over the garden. "Yes Caitlyn, it is a dream. We will meet again soon, but I feel his gaze returning now. Please remember, I love you sweetheart!" Everything around Caitlyn seemed to shimmer.

"How will I come back?" Caitlyn cried, frantic with the need to learn more, but still unsure if this was a dream, or something more. The mist was becoming thicker.

"I will find you dear, be careful out there!" Caitlyn felt love and anxiety in Evelyn's words.

The mist finally covered Caitlyn completely, shrouding her from the garden. She suddenly woke up, in her own bed, shivering and in complete confusion.