Nightmares

A Story by M&M

Everyone has nightmares. You're falling, right? Maybe you fell, but something whispers to you that it wasn't an accident at all; someone pushed you. You soar through a black pit that's seemingly endless, but once you hit the bottom your body jerks, you wake up--safe and sound in your bedroom.

Or remember that time you dreamt someone--rather something-- was chasing you? We're not taking chasing someone around the playground when you were six years old. You were running for your life. You didn't know why. The only thing that you were aware of was that you needed to get out, and fast.

And my personal favorite: it's a normal day. You're talking to that cute boy from your history class. He's a little bit of a nerd, but you don't mind that. All is well, until something in his eye changes. If you hadn't been noting the dreamy color of blue his eyes you probably wouldn't have noticed. His breath becomes quick and shallow, and he won't look at you. He runs his fingers through his hair nervously. Before you can ask if he's okay, he starts to scream. Bloody-murder, horror movie scream. Next thing you know, he isn't the only one that's making your ears ring. Everyone in the room crumples and sags to the floor, all crying out in pain. You don't know what to do to help, but even if you did your feet are glued to the ground. You want to close your eyes and cover your ears, but your body is frozen. You are being forced to watch.

I was normal once. I was the girl next door, your best friend's older sister. I was the one sitting in the back of your chemistry class, the one you'd ask for help on that trigonometry question. Quiet, shy, pretty, smart. I lived in a tiny house, in a tiny town, went to a tiny school. My life was average. All of that changed when I discovered something most people refuse to believe. Practically nobody knows who we are or what we do, and we'd like to keep it that way. If you are the kind that is up for this kind of--uh--'adventure', we'll know it before you will. No need to come looking for us; chances are we've already found you.

And if you're an insomniac, we're probably the reason...sorry about that. But don't get too upset. Once you find out who we are, you'll be thanking us. The thing is, it's not that we don't want you to sleep, it's that we can't let you sleep. You're most likely prone to nightmares, lots of them, and the worst kind. That doesn't make sense yet? Hold on, I'm getting there.

My name is Marci London. We don't stop you from having nightmares, that's not what we do. We keep them from becoming a reality.