~said by Sherlock Holmes in ‘The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Claws gripped my leg, their cold points drawing blood as my skin tore. I screamed and fought to get away, my fingers digging into the ground. Something howled. I fought harder. I broke free from the claws but my shoe was ripped from my foot as the monster tried to hold onto me. I shifted, ready to push up and run, when saliva dripped onto my back. Hot breath ruffled my hair; the putrid smell of rotting meat made me gag.
Screaming when claws and teeth pierced my flesh.
"No," I gasped, sitting up. My chest ached as I took in heaving breaths. I wiped the sweat and tears from my eyes with shaking hands. First I can’t sleep, and then I have nightmares. Great. I sat up in bed and looked around the room. Shadows moved and changed in the dim light.
I looked at the floor. What if there is something under the bed? I laughed, but it sounded dry and brittle. When was the last time I worried about monsters under the bed? My small room seemed extra tiny, and it had one exit. Sure there was the fire escape, but how often did people in the movies get away using the fire escape?
Shante muttered in her sleep.
I tried to relax, but the feeling of something coming after me wouldn't go away. Risking the monster-under-the-bed, I put on my slippers and crept down the hall to the living room. Jumping at every creak the old house made, I turned on the table lamp. The living room looked safe and inviting under the warm yellow light. However, it did make the hallway look like a dark pit of terror.
I couldn't turn the TV on, that would be rude, so I scanned the shelves for something to read. The books were a chaotic mix with no rhyme or reason that I could find. Maybe Melanie would pay me to organize them. I was tempted by a copy of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, but decided against scaring myself further. My finger bumped along the spines as I read the titles, trying to find the perfect book.
"Sara," said a sleep rough voice.
I jumped and turned with a yelp stuck in my throat. "You scared the crap out of me."
Melanie shrugged. "I walked normally and cleared my throat three times. I guess those books are really interesting."
"No," I sighed and rubbed at my eyes. "The words are blurring and I was trying to force myself to read them."
"Why don't you go back to bed?" she asked sitting on a chair.
I plopped down on the couch and curled my legs up underneath me. "Maybe I'll sleep out here."
"Why?"
"Because in the movies nothing ever gets you on the couch," I said, blushing as soon as the words left my mouth. Okay, I was seriously tired if I said that out loud.
Melanie snorted. "Bad dream?"
"Yes. I know it's silly but . . . " I shrugged.
Melanie laughed. "Just this once," she said as she left.
I guess I wasn't entertaining. I nestled my head down on the arm of the couch and stared at the gaping dark pit where the hall started. Anything could be waiting in the darkness. I curled up tighter. I was safe on the couch, right? I'd never seen any movies where the person was attacked on the couch, so I had to be safe.
Something creaked. Maybe I should go back to my room.
"Here," Melanie said, making me gasp. She spread a blanket over me.
"Thank you." I lifted my feet and tucked the blanket under them.
"I hope you have happy dreams. And remember I won't let anything bad happen to you." Melanie patted my head and shuffled back to her own room. I waited but didn't hear her door shut. I smiled as I snuggled into the couch, knowing Melanie watched after me.
Sighing, I looked around. I didn't want one of these dreams! They were confusing, and my life always changed once I woke up. I sat in a meadow with iridescent green grass and bright flowers that looked like they were made from spun glass. Above me a Pegasus flew. My skin tingled, as if electricity danced over me. I tried to fight the feeling of being home, of belonging, but each breath of sweet air connected me more deeply with this faerie land. Around me a large circle of mythical animals formed, many I didn't recognize. A seal slid out of the crystal blue water, squirmed, then its skin split and out stepped a naked woman. Blushing, I turned away. What in the world was she?
Two streaks of fire came straight at me. I backed up. I hadn't been hurt in these dreams yet, but I wasn't taking any chances. Landing easily, the red, orange and yellow Phoenix trilled. Instantly I felt calmer, but at the same time felt irritated that I couldn't help feeling calmer. Next to the flame-colored bird, landed a smaller Phoenix with feathers of purple, blue and green. With the ease and quickness of a breath, they both transformed. I recognized them from my other dreams.
"Hello, darling, you look so beautiful, so much like our first children, I can't get over it." Aya walked over to me. Her black curls flowed around her, moved by her magical force.
"Yes, she is very lovely." Right next to me stood Shamash. My eyes darted back and forth between them.
The highlights in my and Kayin's hair, along with Gavin's hair were the exact shade of fire red as Shamash's. The light, clear green of Aya's eye matched Gavin's and mine. I tried to see how else we looked like them. Eye shape, chins, noses.
"Slow down and breathe," Shamash said, his gold eyes held mine until I calmed.
His intense gaze felt like he looked at my soul. Guh, so cliché. Breaking away, I looked down and my knees trembled. Aya and Shamash were holding my hand. My new skin color a perfect blend of Shamash's pearl white and Aya's dark copper.
"We're family," I said. I knew this, but something felt different this time. I began to accept it and them. My heart fluttered. I have a family. I'm part of a real family.
"Yes, we are." Aya smiled at me with love. I had never seen anyone look at me like that before.
A warm hand cupped my check and wiped away a tear I hadn't even known I'd shed.
"It's okay, Sapphire. We're here for you, and now that your powers are growing, you'll be able to remember more of your dreams," Shamash said.
"We'll start teaching you how to control your powers. First, of course, we'll have to get your dreams strong enough to remember when you wake up. So, for today how about we have some fun?" Aya grinned at me.
"What are we going to do?" My voice trembled a bit.
Shamash's grin matched his wife's. "The faeries built this huge swing; all three of us can fit on it."
At the edge of the meadow, the swing hung from an oak tree three times the size of any other tree I had ever seen. A moss-covered wooden bench hung by braided vines covered with big white flowers.
Together we swung up into the turquoise sky. I sat between my many times great-grandparents, feeling safe, warm, loved, and like a regular child.
In the morning when I woke, I was still filled with happiness and at the same time my heart breaking at having to leave them. I wondered if this is how the other kids felt coming back from visits with their families. If so, no wonder they were in horrible moods and threw fits. This was the most confusing feeling ever.
Wait. I left my family. Really? I believe this? I am going to believe that my long-lost uncle has found me, and I have four-thousand-year-old grandparents I play with in my dreams, and that I am some kind of magical being?
True, I had the letter from my mom, part of which is written in some ancient language that I could read, and I could feel people's emotions and control them with my voice. All of which seemed like rather compelling evidence.
I needed to decide if this was all some weird Twilight Zone episode I'm dreaming while trapped in a coma kind of thing, or reality. Everything happened so fast, and so far I’d gone with the flow of things, but waking up missing my grandparents felt like a huge step towards the crazy.
Did I believe all this? That I found a long lost family? Did I remember some horrible accident that left me trapped in a coma?
Right now I needed advice, and the journal my mother left with me when I was five always helped me. I hoped it would help me now. Reaching unde
r my bed I pulled out my old flowered backpack. Holding the journal, I stared at its worn cover. I knew I was going to a biased source for advice on this issue, but this what I had. Opening the journal at random I read the page.
"Sometimes life defies explanation. There are going to be events in your life that no logic or science will help you make sense of. You are going to have to trust your instincts and your heart as you look at all the possible options. When the mundane doesn't explain what is happening, then look to the magical and mystical which will guide you."
I shut the book with a soft snap and carefully put it away. Well, there you go. I'm a many times great-granddaughter of the Phoenix King and Queen, and my long-lost uncle has magically found me. Grabbing my clothes for the day, I tried to remember if I had been hit in the head anytime in the past week or so.