Bane of my existence

Chapter 13- Luna

I’ve been having trouble sleeping well, lately. I keep having the same recurring dream, a nightmare every time I fall asleep.

It starts with me taking a walk in the forest, feeling the softness of the mud and the grass beneath my bare feet. I enjoy the freshness of the humid air that I breathe in as I walk along the rows of trees, running my fingers along the trunks feeling the roughness of the bark. I take in the view of the sun rays as it penetrates the thick foliage, scattering onto the ground illuminating certain areas like spotlights while leaving the other in the dark. I walk towards the light and extend my hand towards the particles that can be seen floating amidst the rays. Something has caught my attention from the corner of my eye and I turn towards it. There among the shadows of the trees it stands, the big black wolf with bright green eyes. It walks towards me until it stands right in front of me and there in the light I see that it’s eyes are not actually green but deep brown with specks of bright green in them. It has a familiar feeling to it. But I’m scared nonetheless, I try to run away but it keeps following me until I’m driven into the edge of a cliff. With nowhere else to run to, I turn towards the wolf as it keeps walking towards me. I open my mouth to let out a scream but I am unable to do so. The wolf jumps towards me pushing me off the cliff and into the deep ocean. As I hit the freezing water below, the cold wakes me up from my dream.

I wake up and reach for the glass of water kept in the nightstand next to my bed. After I take a gulp or two, I look at the watch, It’s 5 am. I look around my room, it’s still dark outside but the darkness is beginning to fade, giving way to the light of the new dawn. I always sleep with my window open, the cool breeze at night helps me sleep better. I get out of my bed and reach for my gown slung over the armchair and walk outside onto the balcony. As soon as I’m out on the balcony, I’m hit with the cool morning breeze. I take in a deep breath and I find myself relax as I exhale. The air feels unusually cold this morning. I prop myself onto a chair and try to make sense of the dream that I had.

Why do I keep having those dreams? Why does it recur every night? The recurrence has become more frequent since the last few weeks, why?

All these questions keep popping up in my head but I have no answers for it. At first, I tried to brush it off as only a dream, but then when it started to recur It bothered me. And then I saw what looked like the wolf in my dreams, for real, and it was then that I knew , this was no ordinary dream, it was something more, but what? I couldn’t tell.

Not long after, I realized I was starving. I head down to the kitchen and find my mom reading a book while sipping a cup of coffee.

“Goodmorning mom”

She looked at me startled at first and then smiled,

“This is a surprise? How come you’re up so early? You never wake up before 8 or 9.”

I just smiled and said, “I couldn’t sleep well “

“What is it sweetheart? Is something bothering you? ”

“No mom, its nothing really. It’s just I’ve been having these strange dreams lately. And what’s even more strange is that it keeps recurring in various ways but ultimately its the same dream every night for the past 2 weeks.”

“Tell me about this dream you’ve been having .” my mom said, with her eyes full of concern, as she handed me a cup of coffee.

I cleared my throat and began telling her about everything, the wolf in my dream, the dream of men turning into wolves and also the black wolf that I actually saw for real the other night.  I paused to see my mom’s reaction, I thought she’d laugh at me, but instead she had a strange look in her eyes. It was as though she knew what I was talking about. She hesitated for a moment and then put her hand over mine and said,

“Some dreams may be close to reality but there’s no point staying fixated over those. Don’t let it bother you. It’s just a dream sweetheart and nothing else. And besides there are a few wolves in the forest, maybe you saw one of those. “

I sighed, “well I guess you’re right mom. Its just a stupid dream, I mean c’mon werewolves? Like those in the teenage fiction novels I used to read when I was like 15, like as if that’s even possible” saying that, I just rolled my eyes, at which my mom smiled, she looked relieved actually, and although I had a hint of a doubt, I didn’t probe further.

I poured myself some cereal and milk and only when I began eating did I realise that I was famished. I poured myself a second bowl and ate it as well while my mom went back to reading her book.

I grabbed a pen and a notebook and made a list of chores that I needed to do today. I was determined to make today very productive. Just then my dad walked in,

“Well who have we here?” he pretended to be flabbergasted.

I smiled and said, “Oh C’mon dad, not you too.”

My mom and dad both laughed. It was at that moment I realised, how happy I was as I looked at my mom and dad laughing together. I silently vowed never to let their laughter turn into tears.