Dreamers

A rough night for a couple.

The couple fought that day. It was midnight and the man stood on the balcony, holding his last cigarette in his hand. He folded his arms on top of the railing and leaned over to look at the many balconies below him. The cigarette was almost done and the man could feel the heat approaching his fingers, but he ignored it and counted the balconies. Five total. And then the cement. It would be a quick trip down. Quicker than the elevator, he mused to himself.  The end of the cigarette started to burn his right index finger. He held his right arm over the side of the railing and dropped the cigarette. He watched it fall and spin in the air, leaving a small smoke trail behind it. It hit the cement and released some red embers. No motion. The embers went away and the cigarette was lost in the darkness. I’ll take the elevator, the man mused.

The man turned around and walked into the apartment, closing the glass door behind him. The couch in the living room was setup with a pillow and a blanket. He stood in front of the couch and looked at the closed bedroom door. He shook his head and went about turning off all the lights in the room. The only light left was the moonlight, shining in and filling the room with a gentle blue tint. The man positioned himself on the couch to face the balcony. After a while, he drifted to sleep. And he dreamt.

The woman dreamt too. She dreamt of the man standing on the edge of the cliff looking out at the vast blue ocean in front of him. She tried to run to him, but she couldn’t move. She tried to yell to him, but she couldn’t speak. A vast field of green grass separated the couple and she could only watch as the man turned around to face her, as if for one last look, before he fell backwards. Finally, she could move and she ran through the field towards the edge of the cliff. She looked over and saw the splash in the pristine blue water. But she couldn’t see him. It’s your fault, she heard herself say. He’s gone because of you. I didn’t want this, she thought. I just wanted him to quit. Her talking woke her up and reality slowly drifted back to her.

The woman found herself looking off the side of the bed at the carpet. She repositioned herself and sat on the edge. She stood up and walked to the bedroom door. She slowly opened it and looked into the living room. The man was asleep on the couch. She saw an empty pack of cigarettes set on the balcony’s railing. She receded back into the bedroom and noticed that the nightstand clock read 2:07 A.M. She got back in to bed and prayed to dream of something better.

The man had a dream of the woman standing in a golden wheat field. The man was a fireball but he didn’t feel any pain. He ran towards the woman and the woman ran away. The fire from him spread to the dried wheat and the field started to burn around him. He stopped running and watched the golden field around him turn to blackened ash and the woman run away from the destruction. He started to run towards her again but he couldn’t see her with all the ash and smoke in the air. Stumbling around, he tried to call out to her. He stepped over the blackened roots and burnt ground. This is your fault, he thought. He heard her scream in the distance but couldn’t see her. He tried to figure out which direction to go, but there was screaming all around him. And he knew that it was his fault. He didn’t want to hurt her. He woke up with the screaming still ringing in his ears.

He stared out at the balcony and saw the moon was still shining. He got up from the couch and walked out onto the balcony. He picked up the empty pack of cigarette and crumpled it up. He went back inside and threw it away. The last one, he thought. He looked back at the bedroom door and saw that it was ajar. The man walked over and opened it more. The woman was lying on her side in bed, facing the bedroom window while the moonlight beamed in. The man walked into the room and gently closed the door behind him. He sat on the side of the bed and said he would quit. She turned to face him and contemplated this. You don’t have to if you don’t want, she said. But I do, he said. The woman made room for him in the bed and he lay down. He put an arm around her and she held it close to her. I’m sorry, she said. You shouldn’t be, he said. And they feel asleep together as a new day began.

Author's Note

I am aware that the narration style changes. Considering how I feel about it.