Dani tossed and turned in her bed. The past few nights she had gotten barely an hour of sleep. Every night flashes of purple light danced across the inside of her eyelids, keeping her awake.
Dani rolled onto her back, holding her pillow tightly to her face in a desperate attempt to keep the lights out but it was no use. Dani sighed, facing the ceiling with contempt.
Giving up, Dani stumbled into her living room to watch tv. Within minutes, she was passed out in a restless sleep full of emptiness and purple.
* * *
The next morning, Dani stopped by Jitters to grab a coffee when she ran into Iris.
"Dani, hey, how's your mom?" Iris asked as she cleaned tables.
"Slowly dying," Dani answered, too tired for small talk.
"Are you okay?" Iris turned to Dani with a hand on her hip.
"I'm fine. Just tired." Dani rubbed her eyes. "It's been literary impossible for me to sleep lately."
"Yeah, I've hardly been sleeping myself," Iris informed. "Dr. Wells took Barry to S.T.A.R Labs the other night. He said that he was more helpful than the doctors. It's just so scary, not knowing what's wrong."
"Yeah," Dani sighed. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. "Well, I have to get going. My boss only gave me a week off of work because of my mom."
"Wow, that's cruel." Iris scoffed.
"It's better than nothing." Dani shrugged, grabbing her bag. "See you tomorrow?"
"I'll be here," Iris said with a smile. "Oh, wait, Dani! Do you want to come by S.T.A.R Labs with me later this week? To see Barry?"
"Of course. Text me what time." Dani smiled, finally leaving for work.
* * *
After a long day of curating sculptures and paintings, Dani drove to the home to see her mom. A few days ago the hospital released her and now she was fighting cancer within the comforts of her home. On the way there, Dani stopped by a Thai restaurant, picking up dinner for her and her mom.
"Hey." Dani smiled brightly at her mother entering the living room.
"There's my girl." Marianne returned the smile.
Dani held up the takeout bag in her hand. "I brought dinner."
"And just like that, you're my favorite." Marianne laughed.
Dani set the bag down on the coffee table. "Where's dad?"
"He's still at the gym," Marianne answered, opening one of the to-go boxes. "There's this one kid he's teaching to box that literally has no muscle."
"Let me guess, its a nerd who's tired of being shoved in a locker." Dani grabbed her own to-go box.
"Probably." Marianne sighed. "It's so horrible that some kids have to go through that."
Dani didn't respond. She sat on the couch, staring off into the distance. She had zoned out thinking about how to bring up what's been going on with her to her mom.
"Dani, what's wrong?" Marianne placed a hand on her daughter's arm, snapping her out of her trance.
"Sorry, what?" Dani turned to her mom.
"Is something bothering you?" Marianne's eyebrows furrowed.
Dani took a deep breath. "Yeah, actually. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately because every time I close my eyes, all I see are these weird purple lights."
"How long has this been going on?"
"About a week."
Marianne tossed her blanket off of her lap. "Come on."
"Mom, where are you going?" Dani rushed to her mother's side.
"We are going to see a shaman," Marianne answered as she slipped her coat and shoes on.
"Mom you need to rest." Dani insisted.
"I can rest once I know that there isn't an evil spirit inhabiting your body."
"Mom--"
"We have to hurry. I want to get back before you're father gets home." Marianne grabbed her car keys and walked out the door.
"Dad's gonna kill me." Dani groaned, putting her jacket back on and following her mom outside.
* * *
The shaman's office was small and crowded with artifacts from all over the world. The shaman himself, and an older olive-skinned man, hurried to the front desk. He welcomed Marianne with great enthusiasm.
"Welcome, Mrs. Rhodes. How may I help you today?"
"I was hoping that you could help me and my daughter with something personal." Marianne kindly asked.
"Of course. Right this way." The shaman led the two women into the backroom. "So, what seems to be the issue?"
Marianne turned to her daughter, letting her explain.
"Well, I, uh, I've been seeing these purple lights every time I close my eyes," Dani answered hesitantly.
The shaman hummed in thought. "And this happens when you blink too?"
"Sometimes." Dani crossed her arms, feeling awkward.
"I see... lay down please." The shaman laid a blanket down on the ground.
"What?" Dani looked at him in surprise.
"It's okay, honey. Just do as he says. I'll be right here." Marianne comforted her daughter.
Dani dropped her purse on the ground, doing as she was told.
"Close your eyes." The shaman instructed.
Dani rolled her eyes before closing them. "Now what?"
"What do you see?" The shaman asked.
"Purple lights. Like always." Dani sassed.
"Are they moving?"
"Yeah."
"Interesting." The shaman paced, thinking of what to do next. "I'm going to put you in a state of hypnosis. Is that okay?"
"If it makes the lights go away." Dani sighed.
The shaman knelt next to Dani, he told her what he was going to do in a calm and smooth voice. He counted down from five, sending Dani into a deep sleep.
"Danika, can you hear me?" The shaman asked.
"I can hear you." Dani's voice came out slow and drowsy.
"I need you to listen to me..." The shaman's voice faded out. Dani's vision slowly changed from purple lights to the shaman's back room.
Except now, only a purple haze covered the room and Dani stood alone in the middle. "Hello?" Dani surveyed the room. No answer.
Dani went to the door, jiggled the door handle but it was locked. She turned around, looking for another exit when the door creaked open.
"Weird," Dani muttered. She walked through the doorway, finding a dark hallway with a violet light illuminating the end where a dark figure stood.
"Hello?" Dani called. Her voice echoed but the figure didn't respond. "Hello? Creepy person?" She tried again to no avail.
Going against every fiber of her being, Dani inched closer. She kept her guard up as she slowly closed the distance between her and the figure. She didn't want to be caught off guard.
After what felt like an eternity, Dani finally reached the figure. She could see know that the figure was female with long brown hair and a black leather suit.
Dani reached out cautiously, taping the figure on her shoulder. Within a second, the figure had whipped around, her arm held up with a ball of swirling purple energy. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"You shouldn't be here."
Dani tilted her head at the woman. She didn't know who she was due the mask she wore but her voice was the same as her own. Dani reached out, ripping the mask off.
The face staring back at Dani was her own. "What the--"
Dani gasped, taking in deep and ragged breaths of air.
"Dani? Dani, are you okay?" Marianne asked, kneeling beside her daughter.
"She was me," Dani whispered.
"What are you talking about, honey?"
"I saw a woman, she was masked but, when I took it off, she was me." Dani looked between her mother and the shaman. "You need to do that hypnosis thing again."
"I can't." The shaman denied.
"Why not?" Dani questioned angrily.
"Because you died, sweetie," Marianne spoke up.
Dani stared at her mother, finally being able to see the worry in her face. "What?"
"You had stopped talking and we couldn't see you breathing. I had to perform CPR." The shaman informed. "Now, I'm not a doctor, so I don't know what happened but I don't want to risk putting you in harm's way again."
Dani didn't respond. She just sat on the floor in her mother's arms, thinking about what she'd seen.