DREAMS OF VISIONS
Again she was having that dream. It came again night after night, always the same. Try as she could she could not wake up. It started the same way it always did. She was underwater, fighting to the surface, lungs protesting. She carried something in her arms. If she where to let go it would be easy to swim to the air, but something told her she couldn't drop it, it was to important. When she finally arose from the surface everything was white. She couldn't see herself or her surroundings, but she could feel. Love, warmth, joy all wrapped swirled around her. Then it was gone. So fast and sudden it was painful, like someone stabbing her. She'd reach out again and again, trying to feel that way but she couldn't.
Then screams started, thousands of them, but a few she could recognize. She found her feet and started running. A gray spiral stairway appeared ahead of her and she ran up it at full speed. It occurred to her she was scarred, but not for herself, for someone else, but who? She had to get to the top of the stairway. Someone was running ahead of her, if she just ran a little faster she could catch up. Suddenly she slipped and fell. Sliding down the steps, unable to stop. She looked up and saw that blood ran down the staircase like a river. It was slick to get a hold of anything, it was hopeless. She just kept falling.
"Shiri! Shiri, sweetie it's time to get up and get ready. We have that charity dinner tonight."
Shiri shook her head to clear away the images, unfortunately the feelings stayed with her. "Coming mom."
Shiri quickly brushed her dark hair. It was brown with sort of reddish tints to it. She pulled it up and curled the ends of it. Dressing quickly in her white gown, she tried to sort the meaning of her dream out. The only conclusion she reached by the time she was ready to go was that may be she should avoid eating before sleeping. In her heart she new that wouldn't stop the dreams but she had to tried something. She hadn't had a goodnight's sleep in awhile.
"Shiri," her mom called from downstairs. "phone for you. Make it quick."
"Okay mom." She called back picking it up in her room. "Hello?"
The voice of her best friend, Sam, was on the other end. "Okay so I'm walking home from practice when I hear that you dumped Brad. And I'm like no, she wouldn't do that without talking to me about it. I am her best friend, but then I run into Brad and HE says 'Yeah, she dumped me like she dumps everyone else'. Shiri what went wrong."
Shiri sighed and started doing her makeup, propping the phone up on her shoulder. "Nothing went wrong. I just didn't like him like that."
Sam gave an exasperate sigh. "You say that about everyone. Your longest relationship has been to months. Maybe your standards are to high."
Shiri laughed. "I only have one standard, I want to be with someone I love."
"Shiri this isn't a story, it's reality. You're seventeen, you aren't suppose to fall in love yet. It's just fun to have a boyfriend. Just cause you make out with someone doesn't mean you have to marry them."
"I know that Samantha. Look I got to go to this dinner thing aboard the Mississippi Queen tonight. I'll call you when I get back, better yet I'll come over if mom will let me."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Bye."
"Bye Sam."
Why was everyone always on her about her love life. So she had never kissed anyone, that didn't mean her friends had to hound her about it. What's so wrong with wanting to be more then just "some girl to mess around with" to a guy. Maybe she wouldn't marry the first guy she kissed, but she at least wanted to care about him. What was so wrong about that? Shiri grabbed her coat and left for dinner.
Again she was having that dream. It came again night after night, always the same. Try as she could she could not wake up. It started the same way it always did. She was underwater, fighting to the surface, lungs protesting. She carried something in her arms. If she where to let go it would be easy to swim to the air, but something told her she couldn't drop it, it was to important. When she finally arose from the surface everything was white. She couldn't see herself or her surroundings, but she could feel. Love, warmth, joy all wrapped swirled around her. Then it was gone. So fast and sudden it was painful, like someone stabbing her. She'd reach out again and again, trying to feel that way but she couldn't.
Then screams started, thousands of them, but a few she could recognize. She found her feet and started running. A gray spiral stairway appeared ahead of her and she ran up it at full speed. It occurred to her she was scarred, but not for herself, for someone else, but who? She had to get to the top of the stairway. Someone was running ahead of her, if she just ran a little faster she could catch up. Suddenly she slipped and fell. Sliding down the steps, unable to stop. She looked up and saw that blood ran down the staircase like a river. It was slick to get a hold of anything, it was hopeless. She just kept falling.
"Shiri! Shiri, sweetie it's time to get up and get ready. We have that charity dinner tonight."
Shiri shook her head to clear away the images, unfortunately the feelings stayed with her. "Coming mom."
Shiri quickly brushed her dark hair. It was brown with sort of reddish tints to it. She pulled it up and curled the ends of it. Dressing quickly in her white gown, she tried to sort the meaning of her dream out. The only conclusion she reached by the time she was ready to go was that may be she should avoid eating before sleeping. In her heart she new that wouldn't stop the dreams but she had to tried something. She hadn't had a goodnight's sleep in awhile.
"Shiri," her mom called from downstairs. "phone for you. Make it quick."
"Okay mom." She called back picking it up in her room. "Hello?"
The voice of her best friend, Sam, was on the other end. "Okay so I'm walking home from practice when I hear that you dumped Brad. And I'm like no, she wouldn't do that without talking to me about it. I am her best friend, but then I run into Brad and HE says 'Yeah, she dumped me like she dumps everyone else'. Shiri what went wrong."
Shiri sighed and started doing her makeup, propping the phone up on her shoulder. "Nothing went wrong. I just didn't like him like that."
Sam gave an exasperate sigh. "You say that about everyone. Your longest relationship has been to months. Maybe your standards are to high."
Shiri laughed. "I only have one standard, I want to be with someone I love."
"Shiri this isn't a story, it's reality. You're seventeen, you aren't suppose to fall in love yet. It's just fun to have a boyfriend. Just cause you make out with someone doesn't mean you have to marry them."
"I know that Samantha. Look I got to go to this dinner thing aboard the Mississippi Queen tonight. I'll call you when I get back, better yet I'll come over if mom will let me."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Bye."
"Bye Sam."
Why was everyone always on her about her love life. So she had never kissed anyone, that didn't mean her friends had to hound her about it. What's so wrong with wanting to be more then just "some girl to mess around with" to a guy. Maybe she wouldn't marry the first guy she kissed, but she at least wanted to care about him. What was so wrong about that? Shiri grabbed her coat and left for dinner.