The Dream

  “Don’t go, Ruth!” Dad begged on his knees, snatching Mom’s hand. “Please!” She stared down at him with cold eyes.  “Please, Ruth!  I love you, and I love Rena.  Don’t leave me…” Dad sobbed, his voice becoming muffled with saliva.  “Ruth…”  Without a word, Mom jerked her hand out of his and picked up her suitcase.  At the same time, her other hand grabbed firmly onto mine.  I glanced back at Dad’s ruined face while Mom pulled me toward the door.  His hands still lingered midair.  I turned away.  “Ruth!  Stop!”  I heard him stumbling to his feet as we neared the door.  “Rena!  Tell mommy how much you enjoyed coming to work with me!” he pleaded.  “You had fun, right, Rena?  Right?”  Mom let go of my hand to open the front door.  “Rena?”  I ignored him.  “Ruth…?” Dad breathed unevenly.  Mom looked at me and held out her hand. 

            “Rena, let’s go.” She put on a faint smile, and I reached for her hand.

Blood splattered on my face.  Mom slumped against the screen door, her eyes wide while tears slipped out.  The suitcase thudded on the wooden floor, and she slid to the ground, spearing blood across the screen.  The claws stuck in her back pulled out with a jerk.  Then she became still.  My hands started to convulse. 

“Rena,” Dad huffed out. “It’s okay now.”

She kept staring at me with those terrified, green eyes.

“Rena, we don’t need her.”

A sob escaped my open mouth.  I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“She didn’t understand us.” 

Blood pooled across the floor and soaked into the carpets. 

“That’s why she didn’t agree to you coming to work with me.  She just didn’t understand us.”

Mom, I thought we were going to leave.

“I’m sorry to have let her go, but it had to be done.”

What are you doing?  Why do you just keep looking at me?

“Rena?”

Cold tears rushed down my cheeks, and my body trembled.

“Rena, let’s go.”  A large hand reached out in front of me.

I lunged.

 

I gasped for air, and my eyes snapped open.  As my vision adjusted to the dark, I saw the wooden boards of another bed above mine.  I shut my eyes tight and reopened them.  The wooden boards remained unchanged, so I eased out a breath and relaxed my body.  I turned my head to look around the room.  The other five girls soundly slept in their bunk beds.  I took another breath and looked out the only window in the room on the wall against my bed.  The view consisted of a mere dark gray fence with trees beyond it.  Just another dream, I thought, shaking my head.  I managed to wiggle my tensed arms and legs and turned onto my side to face the wall.  My eyes closed, and I drifted back to sleep.

Reviews

[Mia Steele]

I thought this was well written, but beyond the sadness and fear felt, I'm also left with a lot of confusion as to what she is actually experiencing and what she is waking up to. I understand that there might be a level of ambiguity that you are trying to show, but it's a little too unclear for me.

[Emiko Tagahushi]

Thanks for the review, Mia. :D Yes, I was going for ambiguity but not too much to confuse the readers lol. If you continue reading the other chapters the ambiguity will be explained, but the confusion may turn readers off right away, so can you tell me where exactly it got confusing so that I can fix it? Thanks much!

[Kaliope]

wow, this was intense. My heart is actually beating faster right now, a magnificent job for such a short piece.
The only suggestion I have is to split the first paragraph into a few more, to make it easier to follow the dialog/action. If you're interested in how I would do it, just send me a PM.

But that's a minuscule nitpick really, this was a wonderful, thrilling read!

[Emiko Tagahushi]

Kaliope, thanks for the advice! I hadn't thought of that before. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. :D

[Coyote Poetry]

A very sad dream. Struggle, violence and separation. It is well-written. Leaving the reader with vision of deep lost. I like the ending. Dreams can feel true and alive sometimes. Thank you for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote

[Emiko Tagahushi]

Thanks Coyote. It makes me happy that you felt the emotion in the dream. :D That's what I was aiming for. But that's not the end of the story. :) I'll keep posting. The next chapter'll be a little boring though haha.

[Coyote Poetry]

You did and you are welcome.