Sage Heart
"Come out, come out, wherever you are.." coos the man, his voice full of malevolence. "There's no need to hide, little girl. I just want to talk to you. I want to be your friend.."
I don't dare breathe from where I'm hiding. With each passing second, it becomes impossible not to make a sound. His legs are much longer than mine, so I'm only able to retreat behind a tower of boxes and barrels inside the abandoned warehouse. It's so hot, my sweat is trickling down my chest, soaking up my back, and rolling down my temples. The skin on my face, arms and legs are prickling all over with pure fear and utmost terror.
My chest is heaving rapidly, but I clamp my lips tight, praying to God that I'll be able to escape this place unscathed; My prayer isn't answered. The hair on the back of my neck stands when I feel someone breathing on my bare shoulder. I don't want to look, and I don't have to, because the man with a villainous grin cups my face in his hand, squeezing my cheeks hard until more tears spill out of my eyes. "Did you really believe you were going to escape, little girl?"
"Please," I beg, crying hard until my throat feels raw. "Please let me go." "I hear you're supposed to be a smart girl. But you're really naive. You think we brought you here just to set you free? Stupid bitch." He throws his hand forward, whipping it across my face, making my body slam on the cold ground. "Let's go before the boss gets angry," says the man, yanking me up like a rag doll then carrying me over his shoulder like a potato sack.
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" I pound on his back relentlessly, gasping in between my desperate pleas. "I NEED HELP!SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!HELP M-" He punches my stomach, knocking the wind out of my lungs. "Noisy runt," he says through gritted teeth. "Keep your trap shut or else."
I scream, bolting upright in my bed, then realize it's just a nightmare, but my heart is pounding erratically inside my rib cage. My blood feels cold, my whole body has gone numb, and my vision is spinning. I hear a string of soft meows surrounding my duvet. I look down to see my seven cats nuzzling their noses and the top of their heads against my arms and flannel pajamas.
Fumbling in the dark for my phone, I press speed dial and bring the phone to my ear while using my other hand to run my fingers over the fluffy, comforting coats of my feline companions.
"Sage." "Giselle, I had another nightmare," I confide to her, still a bit shaken. "I can't get enough sleep for the past week. I'm not sure what to do anymore. Should I start taking sleeping pills?"
"Sage," she repeats, and I can sense that she's struggling to measure her next words. "You don't need pills or tablets to fall asleep. There are many other ways to gain lots of rest. You can drink several glasses of milk or chamomile tea. Try counting sheep. Read a book or watch a movie until you feel drowsy. Exercise,wear yourself out so it'll be easier to close your eyes. Or talk to someone."
"I'm talking to you," I say, puzzled. "No, Sage. I mean someone your age, someone you might know?" "Like Angel or Elana?" "Sage.. have you not made any new friends in college?"
"To me, Giselle, a friend is someone I can trust with my dark past. I can't give someone the wrong idea by getting attached to him." "So you do know someone." "No! I'm being hypothetical!"
"So hypothetically, let's say you wake up in the middle of the night and you can't return to sleep no matter what you do. My phone's battery is dead so you can't contact me. Who else will you call?"
"I'll use some of your earlier suggestions," I say, rather begrudgingly. "I'll see you later since I'll be visiting again." I bid her farewell before ending the call. I toss and turn in my bed, staring up at the ceiling and counting sheep jump over a fence, but it's not working.
