Untitled
She brushed his soft lips with her own. She lost herself in his eyes. The greenest eyes she had ever seen.
She shuttered and wriggled ever so gently. It was done. She lied down on his chest and felt the warmth of his arms embracing her. She had never let anyone in like she had let him in. She rolled over beside him and pulled up the green sheets. They were smooth and damp but it made no difference to her. Lying there she forgot everything. She let herself slip into a deep slumber. Then the dream began.
Suddenly, a fire was ablaze in front of her. She realized she was naked and her hair was the only thing covering her bare chest. The heat only grew hotter and hotter. She felt the oxygen getting more and more difficult to process with the smoke engulfing everything around her. She looked at the ground and apparently the area appeared to be a grassy meadow, but the grass was mostly burned aside from the small patch she currently stood on.
She had to escape; however, she saw no break in the flames that encircled her. It was looking grim until she saw him. He walked through the ring of fire and seemed to be impervious to the invasive fire that surrounded her.
He was wearing black boots, black pants, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket; however, she noticed none of this instead her eyes were fixated on his. His emerald eyes seemed to be glowing. He continued to walk toward her until he was upon her. He grabbed her hand and they ran. They seemed to be going one hundred miles an hour, dodging flame after flame. After what seemed like hours, they reached the end of the infernal maze. They had arrived at the edge of a forest that seemed to be as uninviting as the flames they had just escaped. She looked back and saw the endless flames. She looked at him and without so much as a single word they disappeared into the forest. As they walked she looked into his glowing eyes which seemed to peer straight into her soul. A chill ran down her throat. He had rescued her from certain death, but something seemed hostile about his eyes. They seemed to get brighter and brighter.
He stopped and led her to the nearest tree. They sat on the damp soil. He looked into her eyes once more and moved closer to her face. Their lips locked into a kiss. He retreated back a few inches and stared at her again.
She wanted to know what he was thinking. Who was he? Why was she here?
"Who are-" she did not finish the sentence because he had put his index finger up to her mouth. His finger was so soft and his touch so gentle.
She did not understand why he would not let her speak let alone speak himself.
He embraced her. Moments later he whispered into her ear, "sleep."
Until then she had not realized that she was exhausted. She fell asleep.
She awoke in her own bed in a daze. She looked to her right to find an empty place where he had been only a few hours ago. She looked at the hour hand on the clock hanging on the adjacent wall to her left. It was seven o'clock and she could see the sunlight peeking around the corners of the black curtains. She walked down the hall where the bathroom door stood partially open letting a cloud of steam pour out of it. She walked to the flight of stairs and descended to the lower level of her home. When she reached the kitchen, she saw that she had neglected to put away the two glasses away the night before. One was empty and the other was half full of a dark red liquid.
"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked across the long table.
"Yes, why do you ask," she replied.
"You tossed and turned all night. Did I leave you that dismantled?" he answered with a grin.
"Oh. No, I-I-I had the dream again," she said with hesitation.
"Darling, you must ignore the dreams because they cannot mean a thing. Erase them from your thoughts." He provided.
He stared back at his plate. He sliced the last piece of apple. He had eaten an apple every day since they had first moved in together. She had never once said anything about it, but she loved to watch him devour the fruit every morning. She had never grown tired of it rather every time was like the first time. The way it slipped through his soft lips into his white teeth. Occasionally, a stream of juice would trickle down his chin which would signal a warm tingling in her.
She knew she loved him. Something strange was happening though.
She had had the same dream for over a month now; however, she had never dreamt to the point she had last night. It had to mean something. She had always had vivid dreams but never had she dreamt the same dream this much. It had taken her dreams to the next level. They had seemed real. In the last few days she would lose herself in though seeing nothing but those green eyes and him. He made her feel like she had never felt. But this feeling came with a cold one too. When he gazed into her eyes, she felt trust and fear all at once. Who was he?
Later that day she found herself yearning to see him once more; she knew what she had to do. She ventured to the bedroom that she had left closed for months now. She fell into her slumber as soon as she hit the sheets.
She found herself sitting in the damp soil exactly where she had been before. He was gone though. She was amazed that she had not been in the fire; she was happy to be here nonetheless. She wanted to find him so she stood. She felt something cold dangling on her chest. She reached for it and held a necklace to up to her face. A silver amulet with a sparkling ruby attached to the necklace. She wondered if he had put it around her neck while she was sleeping.
She heard the leaves rustle somewhere in a nearby tree. She felt the air grow cold then another noise broke the eerie silence. She knew something was about to happen as she felt the hair on her unclothed back raise.
A black object seemed to come from nowhere. It was upon her in moments. It began to circle her and she realized it was hovering, travelling faster than she knew any human could. But this was a dream maybe it was human. As she felt colder and colder, it got harder and harder for her to breathe, she knew then that it was no human and that it was not there to help her.
At last, she heard a voice.
"Hold the amulet in your hand!" it said.
She heeded the instructions with haste.
Seconds later the black thing was gone with a flash and she saw him staring at her. He was standing a few feet away with blood dripping from his cheek.
"What was that?" she asked.
His chest rose with every breath but he waited to answer her.
"Pay no mind to the evil that surrounds you. Look ahead and with, with"- his sentenced trailed off.
Finally, he had spoken even though he had not finished she had had two breakthroughs in one dream.
"What happened to your face?" She asked and pointed to the cut on his cheek that had started to bleed less and less.
"Never mind what happened," he replied. He moved toward her and pulled a small satchel from behind his back. "Here, you'll find all that you need in here."
She took the bag from him and opened it. From it she pulled out a long black dress and a matching black cloak. She quickly put the dress on. He came over to her and fastened the cloak around her neck. She pulled the amulet from under the dress. Its ruby glistened.
"Where are we exactly?" she asked.
He ignored her and took her satchel.
"We must move on. We have a long walk before dark." He said abruptly.
They walked forward and she noticed the trees get more dense as they traveled further. They came to a small brook. She had not noticed that she had grown parched until she saw the water. She ran to it and bent down, cupped her hands, and dipped her hand into the cold, clear water.
"I would rather you did not drink from that water." he said. "It is said those that drink from the streams in this forest will go mad."
She ignored his warning and drank until she was satisfied.
"We will rest here for the night. We must start a fire. It will be cold soon." He said and then he walked towards a tree that looked like it had died. He took the wood from the tree that had fallen to the ground and brought it to the clearing beside the brook. Within moments he had a small fire lit.
She stared into the fire and grew sleepier with each second. She lied her head on the mossy ground and within minutes drifted to sleep.
"Darling, Darling, wake up" the voice said. It was distant but she soon came to her senses.
He stood over her in his black suit.
"Baby, why are you napping in the guest room? You never set foot in here." He said with a curious smile. He must have come home from work early.
She spoke, " Why-Why are you home early?"
"I am home late darling. It is seven in the evening." He said with a confused expression upon his face.
"But I do not understand. I just came in here and fell asleep. I-I cannot have been here for hours." She said unaware of how she had slept that long.
"Darling, you are scaring me. The noises you make when you sleep lately have begun to scare me." He said as he stroked her face with his gentle touch.
They left the room and headed downstairs to the dining room. He had lit the candles and poured the Merlot into two glasses.
"Darling, I am going to make some pasta." He said with a smirk. " I know that'll make things better."
She forced a smile.