It was meant to be a simple dream.
A fantasy.
An illusion.

Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself.

*******

“We are starting a new unit,” my biology teacher groaned, “The nervous system”. Unlike my other teachers, there was never a hint of excitement to his tone; making his dark room and murky appearance all the more gloomy. The class cheered mockingly and our teacher smirked as if he actually thought that he was entertaining. 

“There is so much enthusiasm, I can almost stay awake today,” I stated sarcastically, turning to my best friend. Although Sophie had the innocent blonde look, very few knew who she really was. One would assume she was faultless but it was clear that she had the darkest soul in the room. With a plotting mind and a pretty face, she was the kind of person you’d want to have as an ally.

“Focus. I don’t want you to fail,” she paused. “Again.” 

I rolled my eyes at her protectiveness. Of course she would say something like this. She was the girl with the excellent grades, immaculate face and just perfect everything. She didn’t understand what it was like to have live with a broken mother.

“You don’t understand,” I mumbled my thoughts more to myself than it was to her

“When will you understand that after six years of friendship, I do understand,” she replied defensively. I sighed. I didn’t know where all these emotions were coming from, but I dismissed them and turned to Sophie to apologize.

“Sophie, I didn’t mean to sa-”

“Alyssa, is there something you want to share with the class?” my bald teacher asked. “It seems to be more interesting than my lecture,” he said. A malicious smile appeared on his face as I hung my head low with embarrassment. I knew that he was enjoying this wonderful moment of torturing his students.

“I thought so,” he said victoriously and continued on with his lecture. I looked at Sophie to trying to communicate with my eyes but she mouthed to me that I should pay attention.

“The brain, as I have mentioned, is still an active subject that is still being studied to this very day. The final project for this unit requires that you research a topic regarding the brain and write an essay. You may work with a partner, now spend the rest of the class time working on activities three through nine on page 528. What you don’t finish is homework,” he ordered and sat down. The class immediately erupted in conversations.

“Dude, you could rock this,” Sophie said “You’re an awesome writer and researcher and everything”

“Well my grades haven’t really been ideal since, you know”

“Hey, I know it's tough but you shouldn’t let your parent’s divorce get in the way of you success,” she looked at me and continued “But it’s time to get back on your feet.”

“Alright, what do you suggest we write about?” I asked, attempting to brighten the situation. She smiled, appreciating my efforts and replied,

“Lucid dreaming. Being completely aware when you dream” she introduced enthusiastically. “It seems like something you’d be interested in.” 

And she was right.

The thought of being in control was appealing to me. Having an alcoholic father, I knew what it was like to feel inferior and weak.

“So, when can we start?”

“Tonight,” she smiled.

********
As we were walking to our apartments, we talked about dreams.

Sophie already knew several things about lucid dreaming. She was amused by the fact that many who had experienced this have had an increased creative problem solving skill. But I was more focused on discovering the world of my subconscious. The only instruction  Sophie had told me to say ‘I will lucid dream tonight’ repeatedly. I thought it was odd but I was still excited.

   My small apartment seemed to be bigger now. With my father gone, everything in the place felt empty - the fire place, the pictures, the couch; or now known as my mother’s lounging spot.
My mother.

She did nothing about our situation but cry and scold at nothing and everything; leaving all her responsibilities on me. Even though my Dad was the drunk he would have never let me take on his responsibilities. Shrugging off my thoughts, I went to my room and locked myself in. It was the only place I felt safe and comfortable - surrounded by my Harry Potter posters and drawings of mythical beasts. It was the one place that still made me smile. Dropping my bookbag on the floor, a tired sigh escaped my lips as I allowed myself to fall to my bed.
“I will lucid dream tonight”

“I will lucid dream tonight”

“I will lucid dream tonight”

“I will lucid dream tonight”

“I will lucid…”

“I wi..”

And then I was plunged into darkness.

It seemed only few minutes had passed before I awoke. I was in my bedroom but it felt different. For some peculiar reason, my bedroom felt foreign to me. The only thing that seemed to be present was me.

My curiosity eventually got the better of me and I got up and walked towards the door. It was very dark and gloomy and it seemed odd that I knew my way around. I grabbed the door knob and felt a shiver crawl down my spine.

Weird, I thought, I’ve never had this feeling.
I twisted the door knob only to find that it was locked - from the outside. I remembered locking the door but I was certain it was from the inside, right? Backing away from the door, I decided to not do what any cliche horror movie character would do and scream for help instead. But only seconds had passed when the door open with an eerie creak. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel scared although I knew I should have been. After all, I was in a room, where the door was locked from the outside, and the door had just opened. 

But I still remained fearless.

And it is for that reason that I had enough courage to step out of my room. But instead of finding my living room in its usual vicinity, I found myself in a dark hallway. It stretched out on both ends and seemed to go on forever. It was dark so I couldn’t make out most of the things around me. All I saw were columns that stretched to the very top of a never-ending structure. As I tried to understand where I was, I heard a faint tap from the other direction of the hallway. Swiftly turning around, my eyes searched frantically in the pitch-black darkness for the source of the sound.

Nothing.

Maybe it was the darkness, I tried to assure myself. But even I knew deep down inside that it wasn’t the darkness - it was something else. Possibly someone.

I blinked a couple of times to adjust my vision yet I still didn't see anything. I decided to close my eyes and when I opened them I was staring at a girl. She was my height and had my short dark brown hair, my dark brown eyes, and my confused face. 

“This is all just a dream”
I woke up gasping for air. That wasn’t a dream. It felt too real. Too authentic. 

*******
      “So, how was last night?” Sophie asked. She looked at me as if she knew the answer but I still wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to tell her about my intimidating experience. We were walking back home after a long day from school, the dark and dreary clouds, adding on to my weary mood.
"It was awful," I replied recalling my horrifying tale. "The scariest part was the fact that I felt my bed, the door, the walls. But I didn't feel fear."

        I was expecting a comforting talk but I was greeted with silence. Sophie was instead intently studying the ground as we approached our homes. 

“Sophie?” I asked, worry visible on my face. 

She looked up.To my horror, I saw all her facial features diffuse into one color as her face slowly melted.

I woke up, gasping for air. I was still in my small apartment. I was back home and this time it really was just a dream.

A deranged, disturbing, unhinged dream.  

It was a nightmare I wished I had no control over. Deciding to go for a walk, I grabbed my jacket off my door. I unlocked the door expecting to find my mother laying on the couch in our living room. But instead I was in a long, dark hallway.