"Fuck." I arose with a start, beads of sweat collecting on the top of my lip and above my brows. Trying to bring my panicked breaths to a slower pace, my heart rate remained quick and I was anxious as hell. Remnants of the chilling shrieks that resounded in my dream reminded me of the entire experience. It felt as though I was still running from my
nightmare. Trying to see despite the darkness consuming everything, I settled my nerves but felt as though there had been a shift of some sort within my apartment. My eyes had difficulty adjusting to my surroundings and I attempted to scan the room, seated uncomfortably in what I thought was my bed. Things just didn't feel right.
I snatched my bonnet off of my head trying to cool off, because first of all, my bed is usually opposite of the vast window overlooking my complex. I looked at the curtained window again, now on an entirely different wall than I remembered. An array of plants that weren't mine decorated the window sill. A potted orchid and other flowers replaced my aloe plant and trusty notebook and pen that were usually inseparable from the smooth, white sill. Next to the dainty, white orchid laid a handwritten letter with a heart drawn on the front. The thumping of my heart sounded as if it were being amplified through an overhead speaker. "What the fuck." I thought again as I rubbed my eyes. "Was I really that high?" I croaked, referring to my session the previous night, but no. It couldn't be that.
"Shit is just too weird!", I said aloud squinting my eyes as I walked towards the mirror, luckily in its proper spot on my closet door. Studying my pajamas, I reread my best friend's note to me the way I always did when I wore my high school graduation shirt; once white, now littered with signatures and sharpie notes.
"Don't forget about me bitch. I love you Asha. Always, Ocean".
I traced each blue, sparkly letter on my right shoulder with my eyes, never failing to read in Ocean's bubbly voice. I retied the waist to my Hello Kitty fuzzy pajama pants and looked back to my bed for my bonnet, realizing it was now blue instead of pink. Now I knew I wasn't seeing things. Fumbling nervously with the doorknob, I swung open the closet and what seemed like an endless pit swallowed me whole. My attitude took a change for the better and all of the worries about my room that I knew wasn't my room dissipated. The universe took me by the hands and led me home, swaddling me in the warm comfortable covers I knew as mine. I snuggled into the pillows continuing my slumber.
