Chapter 4

It stood high on a hill overlooking the ocean. The estate spread out for miles in all directions, encompassing several cottages, stables, woods and another huge older mansion. She had never seen anything so beautiful as the area she looked down upon as her awareness moved above the treetops.

The feeling of flying around a new area was a blissful experience. As her awareness reached the ground, she noticed her body coming into view as she approached the older mansion on the estate.

Max walked up to the huge double doors and used the lion head knocker several times to no avail. All of a sudden, the door mysteriously opened with no one there. Max walked into the foyer and observed stairs to the right and a drawing room to the left. Compelled to go forward, she came upon a door with bars. Looking through the bars, Max noticed stairs going down. Then the door mysteriously opened and she felt obliged to enter. After going down the steps to the cellar, the door behind her slammed shut. For the first time since entering the house, she felt frightened. She did not want to go any further but some unknown force kept urging her to go on. When she reached the basement, Max found the room empty. Several bricked up archways made up one wall. She felt like she had been here before, possibly in her childhood dreams.

A wind started to blow around her. She looked around and saw an open archway hidden behind a wall. Maybe the wind was coming from down this passageway, she thought. Still suspicious, she wanted to run out of the house, however, the mysterious force continued to urge her through the cold, dark passage leading to an unknown destination. As she started down the passage, she immediately found herself on a beach. Surprised at her predicament, she walked to the water's edge. Looking behind her, Max saw enormous cliffs and heard the wind howling through its crevasses.

The sun's warm rays reduced her jitters and the ocean waves sang rhythmically in her ears. In her peripheral view, she noticed a figure off in the distance. Her curiosity caused her to turn and head in that direction. As she approached the area where the figure stood, the sun seemed to change into the moon and air turned cold. Ahead of her was a grove so she moved slowly as she approached. As she peeked around a tree, beyond a clearing two dark figures were standing face to face. Dogs howled in the distance and Max observed a ferocious battle between the two figures. She felt too frighten to move. A smaller figure approached the clearing and stood there watching the fight. As the moonlight shined upon the smaller figure, Max saw a young girl. Shocked, she watched in horror when all of a sudden, Max's spirit jumped into the young girl's body and now she stood before the commotion unable to move as she watched the two creatures fight.

All of a sudden, the two angry figures stopped fighting, and a pair of green eyes glared back at her. The other pair of penetrating brown eyes stared at her but seemed confused. As the one with green eyes quickly leaped through the air at her, the other creature stuck out at its enemy and plunged it into a huge tree. The green-eyed creature hit the tree with great force and disappeared. Max, in the girl's body, tried to run but she couldn't. The wind and dogs were howling and the other creature started to advance in her direction.

"NO, stay away from me," she screamed as loud as she can. Finally able to move, she turned to run away, full of adrenalin, her heart raced faster than her feet could carry her. Behind her, Max heard a man's voice scream at her.

"NO, don't go! I want . . ."

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder as she screamed out.

"Miss, miss, wake up!" the flight attendant exclaimed as she shook Max out of her deep sleep.

"What?" Max jerked awake. "What, what is it?" she asked, confused.

"I'm so sorry to awaken you but you were yelling so loud, the other passengers were worried about you. Are you ok?" the concerned woman asked.

"Yes," Max took a deep breath, glad her nightmare was over. "Yes, I'm fine. May I have a drink of water, please?"

"Yes, right away," the flight attendant replied as she started to walk to the front of the plane. "I'll be right back."

Max looked around and noticed some of her neighboring passengers looking at her. She smiled at them to assure them she was ok. They nodded and went back to their own business. The flight attendant returned with ice water and handed it to Max.

"Excuse me. How much longer before we get to New York?" Max inquired.

"New York, Miss? Oh, we have already landed and left New York. We are now enroute to Bangor Maine."

"What?"

"Oh yes, we didn't have the heart to wake you when we landed. We checked your itinerary and noticed your connecting flight was to Bangor. We will be landing in about an hour. We saved your meal if you would like it now."

"Oh yes, please, I am very hungry," Max replied thankful to get something to eat.

As the flight attendant left to retrieve her dinner, Max was astonished to think she had been asleep for so long. She remembered having nightmares as a child, lasted all night, when the employees at the foster home were unable to wake her. She would only awaken when the dream ended. Was this nightmare induced by her mother's papers, she wondered, having read them before falling asleep.