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Although the interior
of our apartment was fairly small it was very nice. Canvases
with similar floral designs printed onto them hung perfectly
spaced around the living room and in the kitchen the benches
were polished to perfection and I could see a clear
reflection of me off them. As I wandered through the
apartment, I found a doorway with tie die curtains and beads
hanging from the frame. Curious, I shifted the bead strings
aside and peeked inside the room. There were ornaments
hanging everywhere. Dream catchers, crystals threaded onto
fishing line and bamboo wind chimes. I recognised them all.
My dad and I had made a collection of these things when I was
young and I had hung every single one of them up on the
ceiling of my room. I felt churn of emotion in my stomach. I
stifled a cry. All of the memories still seemed so fresh, too
clear. As I clutched my arms around my chest I felt the inner
struggle for control come an outright war. How many nights
had I wished that my dad would be still alive? Every night I
got down on my knees beside my bed and sent a silent prayer
to my dad. This night was no exception.
* * *
I slept restlessly that night and I just couldn’t make
my brain shut up. It was around 2am that fatigue finally
overpowered any uneasy thoughts. I fell into a dream and
relaxed into its familiarity. I stood at the top of a hill
with a lighthouse overlooking the crashing waves on the beach
below. My dark brown hair danced in the light breeze brushing
against the soft skin of my cheek. I looked out over the
ocean and clear blue sky. In the distance dark storm clouds
rolled in towards the shore. I became confused. Why where
there storm clouds? This had always been my peaceful
escape from reality. No, what is happening? I
thought as a stronger, fiercer wind blew in from the water
and sea spray stung my eyes. The long grass at my feet swayed
and thrashed violently in the wind and a chill rose up my
back. Beneath me the ground shook, and groaned. There was a
slight crack and the solid soil underneath me fell. Black
water surrounded me and pulled me in all directions. It
knocked out all of the air I had left in my lungs and I
forced my arms to move and try to get me to the surface but
the current was too strong and deadly. Like a light in the
darkness my dad materialised and beckoned me to follow him
through the water. I didn’t know if I could but just
seeing his kind face gave me the motivation to push forward.
It was too late though, for the dream had begun to have
static lines around the edges and I was thrown into complete
darkness. I was covered head to toe with sweat and a figure
loomed near the doorway in the darkness. I shrieked loudly
and scrambled to find my covers and hide under them.
“Shh, Melanie it’s only me.” My mum
soothed. Oh, my bad.
Written by CanToo2 &
RunawayRachel.