Sleeping Premonition

 Curtains were drawn to a dark sky and my eyes looked out, trying to perceive something in the darkness. The window acted as a mirror and I couldn’t see past the reflection of a tall, pale figure whose hair was long and looked greasy. The once lively green eyes were now a sour, colorless feature that seemed blurred.

I didn’t want to see the figure. Bringing my hands to my eyes, I rubbed the sleep out of them and strained once again to see beyond the disfigured image that was supposed to be me. Having no success, I turned around. The floor seemed to fall from beneath my feet and I was left floating, facing what once was my room, but now was a black hole in which I could only just make out my bed and two sleeping figures upon it.

I walked towards the bed, groping the darkness, trying to cling on to something that wasn’t there for me to hold on to. Walking in the floorless room with no support seemed useless and eventually I gave up trying and collapsed into a heap upon the floor where I began sobbing, wishing that I could reach them.

The next instant blurred and I couldn’t make out what I was hearing. Noises of some kind; they seemed distant. I looked around me once again and found that the floor had returned and the bed was once again next to me. Pulling myself up on the edge, I looked to see if the noise was coming from the sleeping bodies.

Both of them lay on the bed, one with his eyes closed and blood seeping through his shirt, the other with her head under the covers, weeping for something once had that now was lost. I pulled back the covers and looked into the icy blue eyes of my daughter, her tear-streaked face was one of horror as she looked back into my eyes and instantly she disappeared.

Bewilderment swept through me as I felt the spot on the bed where she had just been laying. The sheets were cold, as if no one had been lying there. I looked over at the man, my man. His eyes were slightly open and I could see the blood more clearly now. It ran down his chest onto the sheets and a small pool was being created along his side.

I took his shoulders in my hands and shook him, trying to wake him up, but his limp body simply moved at my whim. His skin was cold and I broke down into tears.

I felt a strong arm wrap around me and pull me close to the body it belonged to. A strong smell of aftershave wafted to my nose and I was reminded of the man whom I had just lost. I could hear his voice whisper in my, “I’m here, everything’s ok. Stop crying.” My eyes welled with tears once again, but I choked them back as I began to realize that what I had just witnessed wasn’t real at all; simply a dream.

I hide my face in his chest and wept harder, glad to know that he was still here, but scared that he may still slip away from some freak accident. His arms pulled me closer to him and held me there until I had finally calmed myself down.

“What was that about?” His warm brown eyes looked at me and I shook my head.

“Just a second.” I climbed out of his arms and slid off the bed. Creeping across the room and slinking into the hallway, I wanted to see my daughter. Her bedroom door was closed and as I opened it, a small creak echoed loudly throughout the house. No lights were on, and her bed seemed empty. A wave of panic swept through my body as I rushed into the room and tore her bed apart, looking for her. I heard the bedroom door behind me shut and suddenly turned around. The lock clicked and I was trapped in the room.

I hit my fist against the door, fearing the worst as I heard footsteps walk down the hall towards my bedroom where I knew my husband would have drifted back off into a peaceful sleep.

I could hear a small tussle take place before a muffled groan and the sound of a knife scraping against the bones. I collapsed against the door, tears streaming down my face, waiting for the door to unlock, waiting to see who had been killed.

The footsteps returned to the hallway and I could hear the voice of a man, “You will remain in this room until I leave. Your daughter is coming with me. If you call the cops in the next 12 hours she will be dead.” The door unlocked and I waited as I heard my front door open and close once again. I waited a little longer, just to be sure that it was safe for me to open the door, and then I ran to my bedroom.

Upon the floor was my husband, blood soaking through his shirt and onto the floor, forming a small puddle. I tried to drag his body with me to the front door but it was of no use. His breathing had ceased and the blood was still flowing freely.