She jerked awake; heart pounding against her chest, eyes wide. It had been the fifth nightmare in the past week and it had taken a toll on her. There were dark circles under her eyed from sleep deprivation as she twitched her head around, eyes darting across the room to confirm the following;
1) the walls were about her
2) she was alone and
3) that her window was closed
Her body stiffened when her eyes came to rest on the window. Was that a hooded figure looking in?
She blinked.
Nothing.
Relief washed over her body. A goofy smile smacked her face and a giggle escaped her mouth as she got up and closed the curtain.
"Maybe I should stop reading your books." She scolded a copy of "It" by Stephen King.
The clock on the nightstand read 2:09 am so she climbed back into her warm covers and closed her eyes.
One minute.
Two minute.
.....
Five minutes passed before she realized she won't be sleeping any more that night.
She slipped on a T-shirt and shorts and tip toed into the kitchen. Her mouth felt parched and dry all of a sudden.
As she guzzled down a glass of cool water she noticed that yet another of her school assignments had been plastered to the refrigerator. Her mother had made a religion of saving her only child's accomplishments and some of the best decorated the refrigerator door. The door held everything from scribbled art on napkins to spelling tests and now a research paper.
This display of her academic achievements and artful expressions might have embarrassed her had she any friends or a boyfriend that visited her. But the forest that surrounded her house made the likeliness of visitors stopping by a rarity at the very most.
Feeling suddenly frustrated she dropped her cup in the sink and gazed upon the world from the window. It all looked blue and dark. The trees towered over the Earth showing its dominance and superiority. A breeze swept through the arms of the trees and they swayed in a heartfelt dance.
Lewis' eyes drank in the scene and a spirit of restlessness rose up within her. She needed to be outside. Her soul longed to be a part of the night.
"Don't go outside at night," her parents warning sounded in her memory. But the arms of the trees were beckoning her. They wanted her to join them. "It's dangerous," her mother's voice grew fainter in her mind.
"I'll bring my phone," she replied inwardly, "Besides, we're miles away from any neighbors. What could happen? The night needs me."
She hastily crept back to her room and collected her phone, ear buds, converse, and a pair of socks.
After retrieving her things she slid the back door open and stepped out on the porch and took a clearing breath. The air was cool and filled her with adrenaline. Lewis' heart beat picked up and her eyes shone like stars as she knelt down to put her shoes on after which she put in her ear buds.
For some reason, dub step always made her feel, in Lewis' own words, "like a beast".
She stood to her feet, fists on her hips and chin up. Lewis never felt more happy and free than she did here in the night alone with her music. But she never truly felt alone. The moon watched over her and the trees shielded her.
Lewis took off running across the yard. The exertion made her feel more alive as the blood began pumping faster through her veins.
She ran until she came to a certain tree with a swing in it near the driveway. It had been her favorite since she was six when her dad had put the swing up.
In less than six seconds she was off the ground and climbing the tree. In three more she was settled in the crook of a sturdy limb. Now she relaxed at last.
Pulling out her phone, she checked the time; 2:48 am. In about three hours her parents would wake up to get ready for work. That gave her a mere three hours with the beloved loneness.
Lewis leaned her head back against the tree, her mind completely absorbed with the music filling her ears. And so she remained for several songs.
The clouds drifted lazily across the sky before drowning the moon. The world was now void of moonlight but Lewis, eyes shut, failed to notice.
Suddenly she felt a whoosh of movement from her left side. Lewis' eyes shot open.
A dark flash darted across her vision this time coming from her right side.
Panicked, she looked around. Lewis' her pounded against her rib cage rattling her breathes.
Lewis squealed in fright when the hooded figure appeared in front of her. The same hooded figure had appeared in her night horrors and in her window not an hour before.
Red eyes glowed brighter as a deep matter-of-fact voice said, "You should have listened to your mother, Lewis."
And all went dark.
