The Scarlet Grimoire

Chapter 3

I am cuddled on the couch with the cats, watching Supernatural. I sigh as the cute brothers Sam and Dean save another family from the great unknown...

'How freaky would it be to see stuff like that?' I ask the cats. Jaggs is on my lap, fast asleep and Katya is on my side, busy grooming. I am in my most comfortable t-shirt and a pair of super baggy pants, curled up on the L-shape couch in my lounge.

I have been taking it easy after work, doing what I do best: being semi-vegetative on the couch, with a bowl of popcorn next to me and some TV series to keep me entertained. I have been ignoring calls the whole night, preferring to let it go to Voicemail. Missed calls include one from my Mom, probably ready to lecture me on getting a boyfried, and some of our friends, that have decided to go out on the town. I just couldnt be asked to be honest...

In the corner or my eye I see a green haze move from the open-plan kitchen counter across to the bedroom. I turn my head, blink and see nothing.

Great, I am not only a crazy cat lady at the age of 29, but now I am also seeing things...

Both cats look up from their comfortable spots and stare over the side of the couch ... into nothingness. If I was not right there, one would think that they were called by someone. Katya stretches and jumps off the couch, closely followed by Jaggs. Both wander into the bathroom, out of my line of sight.

'Okay then ....'

I shrug off their new behaviour and continue watching the programme. It seems like a few minutes of blissfull bubblegum-for-the-brain TV watching and before I know it, I am fast asleep...

I am standing, bare-foot in a woodlands area and look up at the trees. The area is vast and the trees are tall, all reaching for some much needed sunlight. The mossy ground is lit up with patches of sunlight and there are ferns and moss growing between the bark and rotten wood on the forest floor. I look around and take a deep breath to steady myself. My heart is racing and I feel light-headed, wondering what on earth I am doing here. I look around but nothing about the location looks familiar. Other than the feint sound of birds chirping in the distance, I hear nothing ... just my own irratic breath. Then .. a thud. No, wait ... a footstep. Then another.

I turn around but cannot see anyone. The tall trees are so tight together in the forest that there is no way to see anyone approaching, untill they are up close to you.

'Hello, is anybody there?' .... silence...

The sounds of movements make me nervous and I start moving away from the footfalls. If the person meant no harm, they would have called out or replied to me or at least walked into the light so that I can see them. Nothing. The footsteps come more frequenstly and I see fern rustle next to some of the thicker clusters of trees behind me. The eerie silence is bothering me and I start moving faster to get away from the unknown force creeping up on me.

I pick up the pace, as I hear the footsteps speed up behind me and before I know it I am running, faster and faster to get away from the sounds. My heart is racing and I frantically look around to find a place to climb or hide ... but no luck. Some of the low-hanging branches scratch my face as I run past them - focused on getting away from 'It'. At one point I stumble and get up, focused on getting away from the now fast approaching person or animal. The Forest seems to stretch for miles and I can see nothing but occasional white patches, creating bright halo's on the muddy-green and brown ground.

My lungs burn from running and sweat drop down the side of my face. My feet hurt from stumbling over roots and rocks and the white dress I am wearing is now smudged with moss, mud and the mulch of leaves. I can feel that my hair is wild and hanging in pasted tendrils in my neck. The footsteps have sped up into a steady run and are coming closer and closer to me ... I cannot outrun this attacker!

I am so focused on getting away from who or whatever is chasing me that I do not even have time to look back to see where they are - since the ground is becoming more and more uneven and plants and rocks are causing me to trip more frequently.

All of a sudden I smell something that reminds me of cinnamon and vanilla - mixed with the earthiness of mulch ... and a hand touches my shoulder...

I jerk awake and look around. No forest. No sun. No-one in the apartment but me ... and the two cats that are looking at me with big eyes.  Dean is singing to a Van Halen song on the TV and his brother Sam rolls his eyes at the song. I am on the couch, under the polar-fleece blanket, with the remote still on my lap, next to the the furry proof that Jaggs was on my lap earlier.

What the hell was that about?? The dream really rattled me and I get up to shake it off... noticing that there is still a feint smell of cinnamon in the air.

'Crazy Lady Walters must be baking again', I say to the cats. I really hope she is, since the aroma of cinnamon seems to be in my apartment and not wafting in from the opposite side of the complex like it normally does.

 I get up and stretch my body out. It feels like I just completed a marathon. I am actually tired from a dream! The surreal feeling of he woods is still in the back of my mind as I grab the bowl of popcorn and discard the remaining bits on the kitchen counter.

I shake my head as I stroll to my room ... dead-set on a peacefull nights sleep.