Strange Dreams: Chapter 6

The album must've ended, leaving the amber stereo light to flicker endlessly in the dark; there was no more music. I never climb back inside to shut it down.

I just slouch there, up on the rooftop, my head leaned back against the aluminum siding of the house. I'd open my eyes from time to time, lapsing between sleep & dreams. The stars above would blur before my eyes, & my head felt so heavy & muddled.

Heavy lids droop shut once again, & images seem to flicker erraticly behind them.

& my mind is silent. I am not used to being alone inside my mind....not anymore.

But I have no energy to do anything about it. So I stay there beneath the stars. Trying to see the images more clearly...


......


I am running, stocking feet sliding beneath me. Where the hell am I?

I run, through endless white hallways...they all look the same. I have this horrible feeling of being pursued. I stop & look around, but there's no one there. I scream for Griselda, but she still doesn't answer.

The lights flicker above me...those long, florescent lights that hum as though there are a zillion bees trapped inside them.

Buzzing. Trapped. No escape.

I turn a corner too quickly, & my feet slide out from under me. I crack my head against the wall, as I crash to the cold white tile.

Warm blood trickles down my face, & leaves an angry crimson streak across the stark white wall.

I wipe the blood from my eyes, & stare at the red mess on my hand. But only for a moment.

I have to run. There's no time.

I stumble to my feet, & race to the end of the long hallway.

Where I am faced with a window. With bars on it. Because I'm trapped. Because they put me here.

There is a large raven in the tree outside the window. "Griselda?!" I shout, the words jagged in my throat. How long have I been screaming? Why doesn't anyone hear me?

A bird screams. I jump, grasping the bars tightly. But it wasn't the bird at all, just a boy. A young man actually, a bit older than me. He's lanky & pale, & he keeps ruffling his shaggy reddish hair. He's all alone. But for the bird. He lets loose another avian shriek, & the bird soars right to him. She lands softly, & wraps her talons gently around his wrist.

He looks up, right at me. His eyes are fiercely green, & a small, jagged scar runs just under his left eye.

I get the feeling that he SEES me, really SEES me...Who is he?...


......


I awaken to my Mother's incessant pounding on my door, & bright sunlight on my face, & climb back inside the house.

Green eyes linger in my thoughts....