I slowly approached the somewhat harmless scenery. Here l was again, at what seemed like the exact same time, at this exact same place. I edged closer to the main object that always captured my attention, it electrified every bone in my being and glued the soles of my feet in place,trapped. Barred from moving forward but l knew that if I wanted to turn back and run, l could.l didn't make an attempt to move because l had done this before, a million times in fact, l knew with unwavering certainty that l wouldn't be able to move forward.
"I'm a little closer than before ", l mused quietly to myself. There was obviously no one else here. There was never anyone else.
I always felt it slowly before l was completely certain. It started as a shiver down my spine then like a cold,thick-bodied earthworm it slowly crawled to the rest of my body then enslaved me. Completely.
I just watched as the flames in front of me grew taller, closer than usual, they weren't hot or potentially dangerous but the fear always made me retreat. I took a step back but they kept advancing. At this point, l realized that the only way that l could beat them,was to run.
I turned on my heel and started running,turning back strategically to observe the enchanting flames. I had to know why they kept showing up... That is why l entered this clearing every single time.
I always felt lost here, confused, like l had entered another dimension.
I kept running as fast as l could, wondering why l could never risk the flames touching me, wondering why l was so afraid. What did this all mean? Why couldn't l stop myself from being afraid?
As l was entertaining these thoughts, l bumped into something as hard as a brick wall. I stumbled a little, my small frame shaking from the impact. I scolded myself silently because l am eleven and a quarter for crying out loud! Almost a man now. I should be stronger.
I looked up at the wall l had collided into, both anger and concern burning in my eyes. Concern because the fire was catching up with me and anger because of this stupid, giant...man?
It's a man!
For once,I was not the only one here, I was not alone. This was too awesome to be true. I had someone, a tall well-built man who was waving furiously at me. Why was he waving at me, I was right in front of him!
"Run Ronnie, Run! " The John Doe shouted at me in a rough, deep voice that echoed, imprinting the words in my mind,forever.
That is when l realized that he wasn't waving at me so I could draw closer to him. On the contrary, he wanted me to go away. This man wasn't my friend, he wouldn't help me.
With that l woke up with a start.
