The Light

    I sit up in bed still breathing hard as my mind tries to bring me back to reality. That dream was worse than the last. For the past month now I’ve been having inexplicable vivid dreams—no—night terrors. I brush my curly hair out of my face. It had matted itself over night. This was probably due to all of my tossing and turning. It couldn’t be helped. I reach for my phone to turn off the alarm. There were goosebumps covering the entirety of my arm. Though I did not feel could in the least. I feel the hair on the back of neck rise and find myself reaching up to pat them down. It was 6 am on my favorite day of the week. Payday, but I didn’t feel happy at all as I got out of bed and headed to the shower. I slowly take of my pajamas and step into the shower. The dream was still in my mind. Every time I closed my eyes I would see it. Not all of it, but just on scene in particular. The creature that loomed over me promising to inflict pain. I didn’t know what the creature was. It was red. That much I remember and crawled on all fours. The tail. But that’s all I could get from my memory. I had never seen anything like it. Not in any horror movie or show. It was disgusting, but it spoke…like a human. While I couldn’t remember the entire dream I remember the fear that. It was real. I am still afraid. I can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is coming.  The shower helped calm my nerves a little too much. Now I was running late to work. My curly hair was now in a low, uncomfortably tight bun; my makeup was done to make my bronze skin gleam; I’d thrown on a black dress that flowed beautifully around my knees. I don’t see the point to let those dreams take over my life. I might feel disheveled, but that was no reason to look it.     My mom would lose her cool anyway if she got word that I was walking around looking a hot mess. My mind is still racing as I zoom into the office, greeting the secretary of course, before rushing to my desk. When I get there I see my paycheck placed on my keyboard in an envelope. This almost makes me smile until I notice that there is another envelope placed directly beneath it. A matte black envelope. I move my paycheck without even glances at the contents and stare at the black envelope.     “Are you going to sit down?” Comes a voice from the cubicle next to me. I look to my coworker. I know that there is a frown on my face, but it was not directed at her.     “Talia...did you see who put this on my desk.” I say holding up the envelope. As I do I notice that my name is scrawled on it in red, metallic ink. I try not to cringe at the color choice. My desk neighbor meets my eyes her blue ones becoming curios.     “No, but your name is on it so that means it’s for you.” She blurts out. I roll my eyes at the less than obvious observation.  I stare at the envelope. “Well… are you going to open it?” Talia says.     “I don’t know. It could be anything.” My hands betray my words and soon the envelope is opened. Inside on paper just as black as the envelope there is a small note.            Danae,            Thank you for opening our letter. My partner got concerned that you may not. As I am sure you’ve noticed something is amiss. That something may have more to do with you than you wish. I would like to meet with you for lunch to discuss more about this. Maybe I can help you to understand what you currently don’t. I’ll send a car for you a noon.           Best,            Dr.A I blink and read the note one more time. Than again.     “Well…”Talia says impatiently. I debate on whether or not I should tell her the contents of the paper. She was a full-time employee here and while this might seem irrelevant I’ve noticed that full time women have nothing better to do but gossip. I on the other hand a nineteen year old intern had better things to do with my young years. I didn’t want everyone in the office to know my business so I just say,     “It’s a meeting reminder. Old-school in my opinion, but this works as well.” I lie. She furrows her brows at me, but it seems that she bought it. It’s not as if she could possibly know anyway. Intern meetings were completely different than those of full time employees. We served different agendas for the company.   Knowing that she wouldn’t question my further I sit down and login to my computer. There was work to be done and I needed something that could distract me from that note. This could be a prank. I didn’t know why, but I had a feeling that it wasn’t. I simply had to distract myself until noon and then I would have my answer.   Noon took it’s time arriving today. When the clock hits noon I quickly begin gathering my things and headed to the door. I was starving. As I walk to my beat up Nissan I remember the note. I look around the parking lot and I see a black sports car with tinted windows. Thinking that car couldn’t possibly be here for me I keep walking.      “Danae,” A masculine voice calls for me. I turn. It had come from the car that I saw earlier. I approach the car slowly and the passenger door opens. I see a man inside older than I. Maybe thirty in an all red suit.       “You’ll want to get in.” He tells me with a nice smile. “I have a lot to tell you and there isn’t a lot of time.” I squint my eyes at him.     “How do I know that you aren’t going to kill me?” I say. He laughs at this and I frown. I didn’t like being mocked.     “Think of all the information I have on you. Are you still alive?” He says. I nod slowly and get into the car. The door closes itself behind me. “Nice to officially meet you Danae, I am Dr. R” He says as he peels out of the parking lot.     “What did you want to tell me?”  I ask him. He waves a hand at me still focused on the road.      “We can discuss that over food.” He says “I know that you must have a lot of questions. This is what you must know for now. There is something awfully dark approaching and you need to keep an open mind to everything that I am going to tell you.” I look at him. This man was Caucasian and his hard was flecked with gray, but his eyes were familiar to me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up for the second time today.     “Do you know that you sound crazy?” I say. “Sending notes to strangers at their place of work and spewing on about evil.” I hadn’t even bothered asking how he had gotten my name or anything like that. Maybe that’s what I should’ve started with.     “Well…how can I be crazy you’re the one that got into my car? What does that make you?” He says. I am reading response when I’ve noticed that the car is stopped. We are parked in front of large restaurant that looks like one meal here could pay a month of my rent.     “Um… where are we?” I wonder.     “A family owned place. Very elite. I have a lot of convincing to do so you might as well enjoy what you’re eating.” He says.     “I…” He pushes a button opening both of our doors and steps out of the car. I follow suit…literally. The entrance of the restaurant has a black carpet leading the way to the front door. Before I can open the door someone pushes it open for me.     “Welcome Ms. Jones ,” the doorman says. He also knows who I am, but I have no idea who this man is.  He is dressed from head to toe and black. As am I. Great I dress like a door man. I pout at the thought, but walk in anyway. The inside of the restaurant is red and black. While the color red made me want to hurl I had to admit that the restaurant was beautiful. The black chandeliers were gorgeous and the black and red roses that they have chosen to decorate with were gorgeous as well.     “Come.” Doctor R calls. He was staring at me as if I was a child or something. I straighten my spine and try not to seem so impressed with the wealth that I felt around me. I follow him up the stairs to a more secluded area in the restaurant. The chills return and I shiver.     “Are you cold?” He questions as he slides into a large booth. The table is already decorated with tons of food. I sit before responding.     “I’m fine thank you.” I say. He passes silverware to me and fixes me a glass of wine.     “I don’-“I start, but he pushes the class towards me anyway.     “Trust me, you’ll want it for what I am about to tell you.” He assures. “Please, eat.” He says helping himself to the salad and bread on the table.     My stomach rumbles and I decide to skip salad. I cut myself a piece of the glazed salmon sitting in the center of our feast. I bite into it quickly and as I chew the doctor speaks.     “Have you been having strange dreams lately?” He questions. My hand stills stopping me from consuming the fish. I narrow my eyes at the doctor.     “Maybe I have…why?” I wonder. His eyes meet mine. They are an icy blue. Sharp in contrast to his red suit.     “Depends. How do you feel when you wake up from these…dreams?” He continues to question. I sigh and fight the shiver making its way down my spine.     “Like I don’t want to go to sleep ever again.” I tell him, “Do you know what they mean? Why I keep having them.”     “When darkness rises so does light.” He says as if that explains anything. “You can feel the badness coming can’t you.” He says. Instead or responding I scoop potatoes onto my plate. I think they’re garlic roasted.     “Danae, it is important that you answer these questions. Otherwise we can’t get to the bottom of this.” He says.  I look him dead in the eye.   “What am I to say?” I wonder. “That I a nineteen year old intern have any true sense between good and evil?”  I stuff potatoes into my mouth angrily. After doing so I reach for the wine. He was right. This was going to be needed if I was expected to be civil with this stranger.     “What do you have a sense of?” He wonders. I can’t help but wonder is he is mocking me or not. I open my mouth to make a retort, but he keeps speaking.  “Tell me that much. What do you think these dreams could be telling you?” I lean back in the seat feeling suddenly uncomfortable.     “All I know is that I don’t enjoy the way they make me feel. It feels like something bad is coming, but I couldn’t possibly tell you what it is. Each dream is different. Sometimes the thing that is evil is a literal monster and other times it’s…a human.” I say slowly. Saying all this out loud made me feel extremely foolish, but Dr. R seemed to be eating it all up.     “Is it ever both?” He wonders. I shake my head. He leans back. I hadn’t even realized that with each statement he had been gradually getting closer. As if that would make me see things from his perspective sooner.     “Now,” I mutter, “I thought you were supposed to be the one with all the questions. Whatever’s coming, how does it involve me?” It’s his turn to take his time answering, but I can wait.     “As I said light and dark. Not sure which you’ll be yet, but here’s to hoping that I was correct in bringing you to lunch and not the other.”     “The other…so you know what’s coming?” I say eagerly.     “Not necessarily. Like you said human or monster. Never both. I do know who might have the power to aid whatever is coming and who might have the power to stop it. Which would you hope to be?” He wonders.     “Um…neither.” I tell him honestly. At this he laughs and I feel as though something in the air has changed. For better or worse I cannot tell. He finally takes some salmon for his self and we eat momentarily before I speak again.     “What role do you play in this?” I wonder. He finishes chewing the food in his mouth.     “I am… to put it simply a guardian.” He says. “I will aid you in becoming what you must.” He explains.       “Hmm...” I say. “So what? I have the power to defeat evil? What kind of power?”     “Straight to the point aren’t you?” He says. I don’t know how he could possibly think that. We’d been talking for the past twenty minutes and I was just now bringing this up.     “Sure.” I mutter deciding to keep my inner dialogue to myself.      “Well, we aren’t sure yet. That’s a part of preparing you is finding that out.” He admits.      “And these powers are just now showing up? How does that make sense?” I spit out before I can bit my tongue.     “Does it need to make sense?” He says. “Now eat. I think that we’ve talked too much today anyway.” I frown. I feel like there is still too much left on the table. How could I possibly understand all of that so quickly? I decide to listen to him. He doesn’t seem like the type of person that would speak about something if he didn’t want to.     The rest of the meal goes smoothly. The food was delicious and way out of my budget so I took the time to enjoy the meal. When we’ve almost cleared the table a tray of desserts is brought to us.     “Wow,” I breathe as I look at the assortments. I was no longer concerned about this whole light vs. dark situation.     “Wow indeed,” the man agrees. “I know you have to get back to work, but take some to go. I think Talia would enjoy some as well.” I look down at my phone to see that he is right. I had ten minutes before I had to be at the office and—     “Wait, Talia…” I mutter glaring at him, “How much do you know?” He smiles at this picking up a to-go box from the tray and handing it to me. It too is black, but there is a gleaming red D on the center of the box. For my name I presume.     “I know enough,” He says. “How can I protect what I don’t know about?” I take the box timidly and begin to fill it as a way of distraction.     “Understood, but even you have to admit your kind of a creep.” I tell him, “How do you think someone would react to being stalked?”     “You seem to be taking well,” He accuses, “and stalked isn’t the right term. I just did my research. It’s important to know who could potentially tip the scales of the world as we know it.” I sigh, but then I remember something. I close my takeaway box.     “Take the salmon as well, and some vegetables. You can’t live off of dessert. Especially now that you have to begin training.” He hands me another box and I do as he says filling it with food as well.     “Who is the other person?” I ponder. He shoulders stiffen, but then he relaxes again.     “I thought we were done with questions for today.” He says.      “Last one, I promise.” I say. Although knowing myself that probably wasn’t the truth. I always had questions.     “Okay,” He gives in. “It is a young man. That’s all you get for now. I’m sure--if fate has it’s way and it usually does—the two of you will meet shortly anyway.” My eyes widen.     “Will he kill m-“     “Nope, that was you last question.” He rises from his seat, “Come on. We’re late” I stand to and follow him to the exit of the restaurant. We enter his luxurious car. I take my seat and we’re off. I stare out of the window trying to make sense of all of this. I have a power. This was my dream as a child. What if I was like the avatar. The thought puts a smile on my face. I couldn’t wait to figure out what it is in the training.     “I don’t know if I’ll have time for this… training. Today was my last day of working 8-5, but Monday I start school. On top of that I have to work part time…and study…and apply for grad school.” I say, “Just how important is this good vs. evil thing” The man is silent for a while.     “Are you done?” He questions. I nod waiting for his response. “I’ll give you a brief answer since these questions don’t involve much thought. Today is your last day at your job. My foundation will take care of everything you need. Your lease has also been broken. You’ll be living in one of our houses along with a few other students. As far as school goes…I guess you can keep going if you wish, but there’s really no need. That sort of education won’t help you at all now, but I guess if it’s what you want.” I feel like I might faint. What in the world was this man talking about?     “That was easy to answer for you?” I say in bewilderment. “You broke my lease. And my job….you jerk. What if I don’t want to do whatever it is you want me to do. I like my job so you know and they pay me well for an intern. Also my mom is on my lease there’s no way you cleared that with her. She’s going to throw her flip flop all the way from our hometown to here and give me a concussion.” Dr.R laughs.     “Ye of little faith,” He says.     “Don’t get biblical with me.” I mutter. Did I actually want to partake in any of this? I don’t know. But it definitely wasn’t his right to take the decision away from me.     “Fine. You’ll keep receiving full time pay and be fed and housed for free. Fair?” He questions. I glare at him.     “Hard to say you still haven’t told me everything I’m supposed to be doing.” I tell him. He doesn’t seemed bothered by this.     “Well enjoy your last day at work. “ He says, “Your apartment is being packed right now. I’ll text you an address to drive to after work.” The door on my side opens.     “But-“     He leans over pushing me out of the car.     “Welcome to the team.” He says. The door closes and I stand there dumbfounded.