A Small Scar

The small scar I have always known.

I wake up with a start. Sweat drips from my forehead as I try to calm down. Nightmares have plagued me since I was a little girl, I don’t know why or even how they came about but now in my twenties they consume my life. Tonight, my dream was especially vivid. 

            I was walking through a festival, wearing one of the small outfits I normally wear when I go to an EDM fest: Black bodysuit with sequins daintily covering the deep V neck that descends to my ribcage. It’s sunny and hot, my body feels sticky with sweat that I can feel gathering around where my D.A.R.E fanny pack lies on my waist. Nothing out of the ordinary. I looked around trying to recognize what festival I was standing in but I can’t figure out where I am. I begin walking toward the group of people gathered in front of the stage that lies about two football fields before me. Looking up, I realize the sky looks more pequelier. All of the sudden, I realize that it is no longer sunny. The sky is dark with the moon shining above me, this is no normal night sky. It has a tint of red that adds a terrifying feeling that begins to build in my chest. Suddenly, the scene shifts. There is no longer a stage before me, but a line that I am now waiting in. “What is this?” I ask a girl who is in line in front of me, she is wearing a cutoff black t-shirt with a band on it that I do not recognize. “For the house, obviously.” She says with an attitude. 

            After what felt like an eternity, I have reached the front of the line and standing firm before me is a dark door with a small window. It opens, revealing a hallway.  I enter the house, to my right there is another door leading to a room that I can not open. The handle is rough in my hand and unmoving. Anxiety begins to build in my chest as I decide I need to leave. I turn and the door I entered that was behind me is no longer there. The only way out is forward. Finally, I see another woman. “Please I need to leave, my family got into a car accident and I’m lost. Please help me.” I lie with a hint of begging in my voice. “Of course, baby” she says with a smile with reassures me. She takes me by the hand and leads me down a different hallway to what I believe is a backdoor exit. A man, who was not there before, reaches and grabs my hand. “She’s not a part of this!” The lady screams and rips my hand away from the man, I don’t remember her letting go of me in the first place. We begin to run. We turn corner after corner, until I realize the lady who has been holding my hand has let go and is far in front of me. I turn the same corner she does, and I am alone. Standing before me is a man, he has a strong build and is wearing a pigs head as well as a butchers apron. In his left hand he is holding a butchers knife. I scream as he charges toward me. I turn and open a door to my left that has a bathroom deadbolt on it, I lock it. I wait for the man to pass and open the door. I am standing in front of a loading dock for trucks and no longer in the hallway I was in before. It is in this moment that I realize that I am not in a regular haunted house, I am in an attraction designed to murder those who enter it and dispose of their bodies. This realization is followed by a man entering the scene, he is tall with long blonde surfer hair: He reminds me of Boadie from Point Break except he is not as attractive as Patrick Swazie. “So this is the way out?” I ask with a smirk, maybe if I flirt with him he will let me go. “Not for you” He says with a devilish smile. He is going to kill me. The man steps forward and wraps an arm around my waist. “Maybe we can make an exception, just this one time?” I ask as I bat my eyelashes at him, trying to look like an innocent girl one he would want to let go. Out of the corner of my eye I see another man enter the loading dock, he is carrying something that reflects the light: a knife. I look back to the man who still has his arm around my waist. He makes eye contact with me as he jams a sharp knife into my stomach and rib cage. This is when I wake up. 

            Disoriented and scared I look around me praying that the dream was not real. I am in my boyfriend and my bedroom, the familiar framed photos and decorations that I picked out bring me comfort. I look to my right, still trying to catch my breath and see Daniel laying next to me. “Daniel!” I almost shout trying to wake him up. He awakes with a start “What? What’s wrong?” He asks gravely concerned. I tell him about my dream and begin to cry, the anxiety that had built in my dream is releasing from me now. Daniel reaches over and turns on our nightstand light. “Babe you’re shaking” He says as he pulls me into his arms. I lay my head into his chest and begin to sob. His arms wrapped around me feel strong and bring me a comfort I can not begin to explain. I can feel his heart beating against my head. I place my hand on the left side of his chest and begin to trace the scar that has always resided there, one he received when he tried to climb a tree as a young boy. It is small and raised but rough from many failed attempts at healing, Tracing my fingers along this two inch scar brings me comfort, I’ve known this scar for the past three years and it feels normal to me. “Are you okay?” Daniel asks me as I stop crying. “Yeah, im okay.” I reply as he reaches for the light. “Leave it on” I tell him with a sense of urgency. “Of course.” he says as he pulls me into his chest again. “I love you, I will never let anything happen to you” He whispers to me as I begin to drift off. 

            I fall back asleep with the felling of his strong arms wrapped around me, the feeling of his heartbeat and steady breathing calm me. Waking up the next morning Daniel asks me “Are you okay, juj?” He asks me. But I can not remember the dream at that moment, only the feeling of his arms around me and the familiar scar bringing me comfort.