I had such a long day. I was exhausted, and I really just needed a nap and a cool place to get my mind off of things. My head sunk easily into the pillow as I laid down to rest. My eyes were closed, and fans were on, the best way to come home from a stressful day at work. I knew that in less than 10 minutes I would be out cold, and into the depths of a hopefully soothing dream. And sure enough, a bit later, I was dreaming.
I dreamt of myself on a beach, surrounded by the salty ocean, the water getting powerful, and white, before crashing onto the sand beneath it. It was so peaceful, but of course, it was an occurring dream I’d had many times before. I knew what this dream consisted of, what was going to happen, and when. So, like I always do, I kept along with it… Who doesn’t love beaches? All of a sudden, I saw a figure standing in the hot sand. Instinctively, I said “Hello?”, but there was no response. I wasn’t sure what was going on. It had never happened before. It felt like I was actually there with this thing, on the beach, but it was just a dream, and it was crazy. I felt like this person was staring at me, and I got self-conscious and nervous. What was it going to do?
Next thing I knew, I was running, running harder and faster than I ever had before. I was trying to save myself. Every time I looked back, the black shadowy figure was still behind me! I tried making harsh turns, cutting corners whenever there was one, trying to get this thing off my tail. Finally, I was alone, in the woods, at what felt like 2 in the afternoon. This was insane. How long had I been running? And when was I going to wake up?
Once I was almost home, something felt like it bit me. It was a sharp, searing pain going up my spine. I looked back to find that same figure I saw at the beach. Why wouldn’t he leave me alone? How had I entered this sick mind game? He was still chasing me everywhere, and I think he just shot me.
I fell to the ground in an instant. My mind went blank, but then it returned to me again, and now I was truly thinking about the future. I hadn’t done anything I wanted to do. All I did was work all the time. I never once had an actual social life, it was just work and sleep all day. I was always running errands, making time to go shopping and feed myself. Now look at me, laying in the middle of a sidewalk, maybe ready to die. I tried to get up, and help myself, but something was holding me down, and the man was towering over me, and stepping on my stomach. I saw the gun, and his finger was on the trigger. Everything went silent, and then I woke up.
I still to this day, remember that dream. It’s so clear in my brain. It taught me something though: never go anywhere, alone.