A Second Chance

Her eyes open. The only light in the room is a glowing number, telling her what she already knows. It's three in the morning.

The first time she woke at three in the morning was eight years ago on her sixteenth birthday. She didn't think anything of it. Then it happened the next night, the night after that, and on and on. Her parents were more concerned about it than she was, taking her to as many specialists as possible. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into years, and finally, Abby decided she wasn't putting herself through any more tests. Instead, she accepted the fact, for whatever reason, she was wired to wake up at precisely three in the morning, every morning.

Her parents were convinced she experienced some kind of trauma causing this strange behavior. So, to appease them, Abby continued speaking with therapists while attending college. The conversation was always the same, "Tell me about this dream you have," they'd say.

"It's pretty simple," Abby would explain, "I'm walking in a field towards an old red barn. That's it. It's just an image, and then I wake up." "Is there anyone else with you, walking beside you? In the barn? What do you feel when you see the barn?" they'd ask.

Time and time again, she would explain her dream to them. How there was no one else. There were no sounds. No voices. She didn't feel anything or experience any emotion in the dream. There was no fear, nothing scary to make her want to wake up. The only thing she remembers is seeing the barn. That's it, end of the story.

It was the simplicity of the dream that seemed to bother each therapist the most. Quite clearly, it stumped them, but their egos wouldn't let them admit defeat. They would drag on and on about different techniques Abby should try in her dreams. Of course, nothing changed the outcome of her nightly routine.

Getting out of bed, Abby flips on the light in the bathroom and begins rummaging through her makeup drawer. "Will she need a full-coverage foundation at the beach?" she thinks, "Probably not," she answers herself, pulling aside mascara, concealer, and a shimmery but neutral eye shadow palette, placing them on the counter.

After a quick shower, she finishes packing and decides to start her workday early in hopes of leaving early. Abby and her two best friends from high school, Jill and Caroline, were departing for their annual girl's getaway to Hilton Head in the evening. They made the same trip every year for the last eight years, but still, Abby couldn't wait to get out of town and catch up with her old friends.

Around five-thirty in the evening, leaning against the wall of her building, Abby found herself scrolling aimlessly through social media, waiting for her friends to pick her up. Finally, Caroline's Subaru pulls in front of the building, and Abby could tell Jill was already giving Caroline an earful about being late. "Somethings never change," Abby jokes, smiling as she packs herself into the vehicle. "We're on vacation!" exclaims Caroline, "I know you two are big-city girls now, but ya'll need to chill. I'm only twenty minutes late this time." Simultaneously, they burst into laughter as Caroline pulls away from the curb.

After dozing off for a bit in the backseat, Abby hears Jill starting after Caroline again. "Car, you're going the wrong way! The highway was to the left of the gas station!" she says, sounding exasperated. "Look, I love you, but your type A personality is really getting on my nerves, and we're not even at the beach yet! It's my car, I'm drivin', and we're following the GPS. Settle down a minute and just enjoy the damn scenery; I'm sure the highway entrance will appear any minute."

A robotic female voice cuts over Caroline, "In a half-mile, turn left onto Schuler Road." "See?!" Caroline hisses to Jill, "she's got us." Sitting quietly, Abby smiles to herself while looking out the window; hearing her friends bicker like they always had, made her feel at home.

"Oh my God!" whispers under her breath before shouting it again, "OH MY GOD!"

"What, what?!?" Caroline and Jill say in unison.

"THE BARN! That's the barn!!!" Abby belts out.

"What on Earth? Sweetie, it's just a red barn. Like any other barn around," Jill says condescendingly. "Jill, shut up," Abby barks, hoping to give her snotty friend a taste of her own attitude. "I would recognize it anywhere. And THAT'S IT! No question, PULLOVER CAROLINE!"

Abby opens the door and is halfway out of the vehicle before Caroline can come to a complete stop. All logic left her as she sprinted toward the barn, feeling a gravitational pull and only sensing impatience within herself.

Reaching the entrance, the barn doors are slightly open, creating a narrow opening; Abby walks right through. Her eyes take a moment to adjust; shapes begin to form before she can see clearly. At the back of the barn, someone is moving about. Inching closer, Abby sees a young man, no more than twenty years old, moving hay from stall to stall with a pitchfork. Oddly, something feels familiar about him.

Abby stands still, watching as he works. Pausing for a moment, he brushes a bead of sweat from the side of his face before turning, looking toward the barn doors, toward Abby.

His eyes light up, and a beautiful smile breaks across his face as he says, "There's my sunshine." Confused, Abby feels her cheeks blush as she begins to move her lips to say, "hello," but before any sound leaves her mouth, she hears another female voice in a sweet Southern accent say, "Eddie, there you are!"

Appearing out of nowhere, a young woman walks towards Eddie, with her back to Abby. Her walk is confident, making the skirt of her dress sway. Abby looks on, noticing the details of the pretty yellow dress with dainty white polka dots. "Must be vintage", she guesses to herself.

"I've been searching all over this farm for you. Why are you hiding from me in this dirty ol' barn?" says the young woman playfully. As she reaches Eddie, her arms wrap around his neck as they embrace. Kissing for a few moments, Abby stands awkwardly, unable to peel her eyes off the couple.

Feeling like the outsider she was, Abby wanted to leave, to look away, anything. Something kept her attention on them. Something wanted her there.

Suddenly, behind her, the barn doors swing open, and a shadow creeps up. Three men stand in the doorway, and one is shouting, "Boy, you've got no warnings left!"

Abby immediately feels a rush of anxiety wash over her as she jumps out of the way into a nearby stall. Peering out from the side, she watches nervously as the trio walks to the back of the barn.

The couple is just out of sight, but Abby hears everything. "Daddy, I'm old enough to make my own decisions, and imma marry him whether you like it or not. Let us be," the young woman shouts back.

Grabbing the young woman's arm, the man replies, "Listen here, I won't have you disrespectin' me by running off with this filth. You're sixteen; you know nothing. Go on, get!" The other two men head toward Eddie, and Abby can hear them scuffling in the back of the barn.

After a few throws, the two other men have a sturdy grip on Eddie when the third man, the Father, walks towards them, pulling something out of his pocket.

Abby can't pull her eyes away from the scene unfolding; filled with fear she's unable to move or make a sound. The young woman reappears into Abby's view and lunges toward her Father. A gunshot cuts through the air.

Shock and silence fill the barn. Before Abby can process what she just witnessed, the young woman falls to the ground. The man holding the gun, her Father, doesn't move, doesn't say a word. Eddie pushes himself free from the men's grip, falling on his knees. He crawls to her, pulling her still body into his arms.

Seconds pass, feeling like an eternity until finally, the Father motions for the men to move out. Before he disappears, he releases a rage-filled scream followed by gunfire. After the third shot, he's gone.

Horrified, Abby moves out from behind the stall wanting to help, but it's too late. Holding onto the young woman with all his might, Abby can hear Eddie's sobs began to weaken the closer he comes to death. In his final breath, his arms loosen and his body falls. The subtle movement was enough to reposition his lover's face forward toward Abby.

Cold falls over Abby as she realized the lifeless face staring at her is her own.

The barn grows empty, leaving only Eddie's body insight. He slowly begins to sit up, and Abby feels relief, not fear. He turns his head toward her, smiling that beautiful smile of his, and says, "Come find me, my love. Our time is now."

A blast of brightness and warmth wash over her, and she finds herself lying on the floor where, moments ago, she watched herself and Eddie die. Caroline is kneeling beside her, placing a wet cloth on her forehead. "There she is," says Caroline. "What happened?" asks Abby, attempting to sit up. "You ran so fast into this barn. When Jill and I found you, you were just lying here unconscious. You must have slipped or something," Caroline explained in her soft voice.

Pacing in and out of the barn searching for cell signals, Jill asks, panicky, "Do you think you can make it to the car? We should get you checked out ASAP." "I'm fine, really. Let's just finish the drive, and if I feel off, I'll get checked out in Hilton Head," Abby replies. Jill's face turns serious, "Absolutely not, Abby! We found you unconscious. Hitting your head like that can be lethal; we're not taking chances here." Caroline smiles to Abby, "I'm with Jill on this one; you're outnumbered two to one."

Without saying another word, Abby lifts her body off the ground and rubbing her head. There was no pain, but she decided not to fight her friends. She knew they were right.

In the car, the three remained silent. Abby couldn't get Eddie's face out of her head. Her emotions were all over the place, feeling thrilled and heartbroken at the same time. Was it all a dream? Did she really fall? What the hell was going on? Whatever it was, it felt so, so real.

An hour later, the GPS signals the nearest Urgent Care is up ahead. Caroline and Jill walk Abby into the reception area to ensure she is all set before Abby urges them to go to the restaurant next door for a bite to eat. "I promise to text status updates, go," Abby insisted.

Alone again with her thoughts, Abby runs through the events that unfolded at the barn, still, nothing makes sense to her. Before she knows it, an hour and a half tick by before she's offered a patient room.

Feeling hungry herself, Abby hopes this will go quickly. A light tap on the door means it's finally her turn with the doctor. A few years older than Abby, a tall man walks in with his eyes down, reviewing her paperwork. Without seeing his face, she can tell he's handsome. Finally, his eyes look up and lock into hers; her heart skips a beat. It's him. Those eyes, that smile. It's Eddie. She can tell he recognizes her too.

Neither one of them say a word, but both could feel what the other was thinking. Who knew how many lives they'd lived or how many decades they spent apart, but finally, finally, their souls had found each other. It was finally their time. Their second chance.