It's probably close to midnight. I lay in my bed staring up at the ceiling, not allowing myself to fall asleep. I have realized that with each dream it gets harder and harder to fall asleep. Not that I want to. It's gotten to the point where I try to stay up all night in an attempt to avoid having another dream. Unfortunately, it's impossible for someone to go their whole life without sleep, so eventually sleep always wins out and grabs hold of me.
"Mary." A woman's voice says. Somehow I know that she is talking to me, but I feel a stubbornness rise up in me and refuse to answer. The lady lets out a frustrated noise. "Why isn't she responding?"
"She doesn't like the name." Say a different woman.
"She is a child. How can she just pick and choose which name she wants?" Says the first lady. At the mention of me being a child I look at my body. I was probably the same age, if not a little older, than I was in the last dream. I am sitting with my back to them playing with a few instruments that are sitting out in front of me.
"They are supposed to be brilliant aren't they?" Asks Lady #2
"Yes, but this is ridiculous. She has already refused the names Martha, Leah, Ruth, Rebecca, and Eve. How many more are we going to have to go through. " Lady #1 complains
"I don't know. Let's just move on to the next one already." Lady #2 suggests.
"Ester." Lady #1 says and again I ignore her and focus on the sound of the small bass drum as it echos off the walls. "Ester. Come on. Don't you like the name Ester?" I move to the snare drum and play it as loud as I can to drown out the sound of her voice. "Are you sure she isn't deaf?"
"She has passed all of our hearing tests." Lady #2 informs her.
"Is there anyway to get her stop all of that banging? It's annoying." Lady #1 says, still complaining.
"Maybe instead of trying biblical names we should try musical names." Lady #2 says, making another smart suggestion.
The women don't talk for a while. Then I hear Lady #2's voice say,
"Emma. Do you like the name Emma?" I dont respond. "What about Kate? Anna? Elanor? Jessie?" I still don't respond. Instead I move to the bongos and start playing a simple beat. "Goodness! Will this child ever stop with that noise?! It rebounds off the walls!" Lady #1 screeches.
"Yes." Lady #2 agrees. "These walls do seem to echo a lot."
I turn my head around to look at them. One of them gasps and grabs the others arm.
"She likes it!" The gasping woman says, her voice letting me know that she is Lady #1. "Repeat each word you said slowly. Give her time to react to each one."
Lady #2 looks at me strangely. "Yes. These. Walls. Do. Seem. To. Echo." My small ears like the sound of the word. I turn myself fully around to face them and Lady #2 smiles. "That's it. Echo." I smile at her and she laughs.
Lady #1 sighs in relief. "Finally. We can move on. Come on then Echo. Follow me." I stand up to follow her and the world starts to fade.
I wake up and almost laugh out loud. They wanted to name me Mary! There's no reason for me to get up. That dream wasn't freaky or confusing or stressful, but if I do leave then there is a chance that Shadow will show up. I sit up, get my shoes on, and quietly slip out of the Homestead and into the Deadheads. I sit in the tree and then think about what to do to pass the time until Shadow comes or the sun comes up. In the end I decide to sing quietly to myself. I barely even get through the chorus of the song of my choice before the sun begins filling the Glade with morning light. I sigh and hop down out of the tree. As I walk out of the Deadheads I see Newt walking towards me and smile. At least he is watching out for me while Shadow is gone.
"Hey Newt." I say
"Another dream?" He asks.
"Yup."
"Shadow still a no show?" I nod. "Do yo want to try talking to him?"
I look over at the table where Minho is sitting with Winston. "Yes." I say before jogging towards them.
"Hey guys!" I say as I reach them. Without even glancing at me Minho gets up and runs off. "Why did he run off like that?" I ask Winston.
"Because he's a Runner and he needs to get into the Maze." I nod a little and start walking away, but he starts talking again. "What's up with you these days? You only ever talk to Newt and the rest of us you just avoid. I thought we were your friends. What happened?"
"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that Minho and I had this fight and Zart and Chuck... Well... I have other reasons for avoiding them. And your always with them so that makes it kinda hard to hang out with you."
"What did you and Minho fight about?"
"Nothing." I say quickly, not wanting to explain.
"There you go again. Closing yourself off, not willing to talk to anyone about your problems."
I look at him sadly. "I gotta go."
Again, before I can stand up he starts talking. "You haven't even eaten anything."
"I'm not hungry."
"Your never hungry. Will you at least sit down and talk to me then. You don't have to eat, just try to have a conversation with your friend."
I sigh, but smile at him. "Sure."