Lights brilliantly shine in front of my eyes. Something thick and sticky suddenly splashes all over me. Dizziness creeps all through my body, and I am holding something. I lie down, and I place that object down…somewhere, and then everything goes dark again.
My head felt extremely heavy, as if someone had bashed my head against a wall. I also felt a cold rush of wind rush past me. Where was I? My head leaned against something hard, and something cold touched my face. I was curled up in a ball, and shivering uncontrollably. I heard the loud rustle of the dry leaves on the ground, and another gust of wind went by. Suddenly, something stale and metallic wafted up my nostrils, almost making me gag. I breathed out of my mouth, trying to ignore the disgusting scent, and I discovered that everything was in a sideways angle. I was still lying down. The bright, yellow light from the street lamps twinkled in front me, illuminating everything around me, causing me to close my eyes again.
As soon as consciousness returned, I unraveled my body and I sat down on the cold, lonely bench. I wrapped my arms around my body, and I tried to keep warm. I placed my cold hands on my temples, and started massaging them. I felt my temples pulsating at a fast pace, and I tried to slow it down.
As I slowly rubbed my temples to ease my headache, I realized that I just had another episode of sleepwalking. It was ordinary, and it happened at least a couple of times a week. I was accustomed to sleepwalking, and it brought me to many weird and odd places. In the past, it had brought me to places like my school, my friends' homes, and even to my girlfriend's house.
"What are doing here?" she would ask, when she found me on the porch of her house.
"Nothing," I would respond. "I was just walking my dog," I remember saying with embarrassment flushing my face.
But I wasn't scared anymore, like I was in the past. But still curious to see where my sleepwalking had brought me this time, I quickly scanned my surroundings. It was the local park. It was the kind of park that was run down. It looked like a huge tractor had come and plowed everything down. Hidden behind the beams of bright light, dark figures stood in the shadows, waving back and forth in a rhythmic beat alongside the bone-chilling wind. Underneath the light, I saw small patches of yellow and brown, depicting the grass. It looked as if someone had torched all of the grass. Jagged rocks and pebbles created the cracked path that zigzagged throughout the whole park. A couple hundred feet to the right was a beat up playground for little kids to play in. It was small. There was nothing special to it.
So, the local park, I thought. What couldn't my sleep walking do? Where would it not bring me to?
I gave a shaky, half-hearted laugh to shake everything off, and I got ready to leave this old, rusty park. I would journey back to the warm comfort of my home.
But just as I was ready to leave my bench, a sudden shimmer of silver caught my eyes. I quickly turned my head over, and I focused my eyes onto the shining object. All I saw was a sharp knife with thick, red blood stained on it, with its black handle facing towards me.
I stared at it, not budging, as if I this knife was alienated. Suddenly, it felt as if the air was sucked out of me with a vacuum. Without breathing, blinking or talking, I collapsed onto the bench.
"It can't be," I whispered, as if I couldn't believe what was happening. "No."
I faintly remembered the last few minutes of my sleepwalking experience. I was holding something…and something splashed onto me…something thick and sticky…? Then without hesitation, I quickly glanced down at my clothes and with my hands, I quickly checked my face.
"Oh my gosh…what have I done?" I gasped, asking myself with utter disbelief.
I stared into the bloody knife, and the parts where the blood hadn't stained it, reflected back my shocked green eyes that showed my incredulity. My long brown hair waved in the wind, and my shock almost made my face look even skinnier. The tough look that I possessed made girls go wild for me, but it wouldn't right now. The fright in me took all of "toughness" away with the wind.
My face was sticky with the blood that had sprayed all over me. It was the first time tonight that I had noticed that my clothes were crinkled with folds, and that the red blood was clinging onto it.
Hot tears fell out of my eyes, blurring my vision. The droplets of tears dribbled down my bloody cheek. The tears fell onto the knife, and it turned pink from the blood.
Through my blurry vision, I stared at my hands, without any movement. I sat there looking at my hands, as if I were a rock in the park. With these hands, I had killed somebody. The blood that was all over me and knife was the blood of somebody. That somebody had a family, probably a loving family. That somebody also ruined my life. This person caused my own demise, just like I had handed over that person's death tonight.
I brought my legs up to my body, and I wrapped my arms around them with horror and trepidation. The person lost his family, and so would I. There was no way I could go back to my family. The look in their eyes would be a piercing knife and I wouldn't be able to feel and bear their pain. My parents would have anger towards me, but they would still say that they would love me, and that I would be okay. They would put their arms around my shoulders, and they would reassure me that everything was going to be just fine. But deeper into that hug, would be feelings of worry, hostility and other mixed emotions. They would only be memories now.
Suddenly, the flashbacks of my brother flooded all over me. Just yesterday, my older brother and I were playing in this very park. The cool fall atmosphere surrounded us, and laughter blanketed us. We played catch with a football. Just a few hours ago, I was filled with content and I loved my life.
As we tossed the football back and forth, my brother had taught me a valuable life lesson. He was always wise, and his intelligence had landed him a spot in Harvard the following school year.
"Always live day after day, as if it's your last," he told me, as he threw the football to me. "You never know when it's going to be your last day. Hey, tomorrow may be my last day. Who knows?"
"Yeah," I would simply reply, not knowing what he possibly meant by that at the time.
But now, I clearly understood what my older brother was trying to tell me. I was experiencing his very warning right now. This was my last day. I never saw this coming, just as my brother had told me.
I took a deep breath of the cold air, and I stared at the black sky above me. Thousands of stars twinkled gaily. The one to my right was the brightest of all. The moon stood there; nice and tall, illuminating it's mighty power. Tonight, it was a crescent moon.
"Crescent moons symbolize new beginnings and the making of dreams into reality," my older brother explained to me when I was working on my solar system project back in grade 5.
"Wow, thanks Jordan," I would reply.
Under this crescent moon, I was experiencing a new beginning. A new beginning that would torment me for the rest of my life. I was also experiencing a dream that was turning into a reality. I would have never dreamt this to happen to me in all of my life, but it was happening.
Under my breath, I cursed the moon.
I took a deep sigh, and I stood. With my stained clothes and bloody hands, I gradually made my way out of the park, with the sharp knife in my hand. My legs felt stiff, almost as if they were wood, for I had sat down for too long of a time.
I placed my hands in my pockets, and I made my way to the donut shop. Dunkin Donuts was open 24 hours, and maybe a donut would help.
As I made my way towards the bright pink and blue sign, I suddenly heard the loud sirens of a cop. Right ahead of me, I saw the blue and red lights flickering on and off, as it came closer and closer. I ran. I ran, while my face was frosting up, as the wind blasted in front of my face. I ran until my legs became numb. I ran past the liquor store, the candy shop, and the deli with the disgusting sandwiches. The sounds of the sirens became louder, and louder, until it rushed right past me. Then, it became quieter and quieter, and I could finally stop. I put my hands on my knees, and I breathed heavily. I tried to catch my breath, and realized that I was right next to my favorite 24 hour donut shop.
With my heart still racing, I entered through the door, and it made a loud cling. All of the tables were empty, and the seats occupied no costumers. I looked up to the corner of the store, and saw that the news was blasted on the TV. With my eyes glued to the news, I slowly made my way up to the counter. Suddenly, breaking news caught my attention…
We have experienced some very shocking news. Just recently tonight, a murder has been committed. We are not sure who has committed it, but police are at the investigation site, figuring things out. The victim was killed in his sleep, right in his very home on 24 Victoria Avenue. The police are told from the parents that the victim's name is Jordan Korma. His brother is missing at the moment.
The fear circulated through my body again, recharging the disbelief and the sudden shock. My legs buckled, and I thought to myself, you were right Jordan. Today was your last day.
"Sir, for the last time, that would be $2.50 for your donut," said the cashier impatiently.
I dug into my pocket, and felt the sharp blade of the knife, with my brother's blood stained on it. Instead of handing him my money, I retrieved my knife from my pocket, and handed the knife to the cashier.
"Today is my last day. I lived my life with content and happiness, but it all comes to an end today. Please, take me up to my brother."