Dakota's Gift

Dakota opened her eyes when the alarm started its usual but incessant blaring. She was expecting it to go off at any moment. She’d been lying there with her eyes closed enjoying the feel of the cooling sheets that she had splurged on but wishing that she’d been able to actually get some sleep. When she felt the room start to warm and noticed soft light through her eyelids, she snuggled deeper into the covers and waited for it.

This morning she didn’t bother with the snooze button. She could have, if she wanted to. She had a few extra minutes to laze, but her stomach was calling for breakfast. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she slipped her feet into her worn but comfortable pink slippers (the ones her mom had sent her for Christmas the year before) and stood up, slowly stretching as she did.

Callie jumped up on the bed behind her, rubbing her head softly against Dakota’s thigh, “I guess you want breakfast, too, huh?”

After scratching Callie behind the ears, “Well, let’s get to the kitchen and find something for both of us.”

In an instant, Dakota found herself standing in the kitchen. She steadied herself, looking around disoriented. She looked for Callie and found her walking down the stairs from the bedroom, just as confused as she was. The kitchen looked intact. She looked herself over, patting down her pajamas and inspecting her slippers. Everything seemed normal.

“Okay, that was weird.” Shaking her head, she walked toward the fridge and found the opened can of cat food to feed the now meowing cat rubbing against her legs. “You know, if it weren’t for your annoyance, I’d think I was still dreaming?”

She was still looking about the kitchen as she leaned against the island sink with her bowl of cereal. “Do people eat cereal in dreams?” She said half to herself and half to Callie who was finishing her own breakfast.

While washing her dishes, she started making a mental note of everything else she needed to do that morning. I need to take a quick shower, and—

The bowl fell to the bottom of the sink and shattered, Dakota no longer in the kitchen. Instead, she was in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror.

“Okay, now I know I’m definitely dreaming.”

She pinched herself. It hurt. It wasn’t supposed to hurt if you’re dreaming, right? She thought to herself, looking back into the mirror. Her face looked normal. She was wearing the same clothes she went to bed in. What on Earth is happening?

Forgoing her shower, Dakota quickly got dressed and decided to test a theory. She stood in the middle of the room and closed her eyes, then said, “I need to go to the backyard.”

When she opened her eyes, she was standing on her back patio looking at the grass that was entirely too long and needed to be mowed. “Huh…”

Callie meowed at her from behind the sliding glass door, diverting her thoughts away from her revelation. Walking back inside, Dakota sat down at the dining room table and pulled out her cell phone. There was no way she was going into work today, not when there was so much more she could do. She brought up her messages to text her boss and found an unread from her best friend, Lisa.

“Have you figured it out yet?? This is trippy!”

Dakota quickly typed back…

“Yes. But how??”

Seconds later, Lisa messaged:

“I don’t know. But where are you going? I mean, we could probably go anywhere, right??”

Dakota set the phone down, Callie rubbing her head against her calf and purring. She knew where she wanted to go. Closing her eyes, she thought for a moment, then opened them.

The door before her was familiar and one she hadn’t seen in several years. Her heart fluttered and her hands shook as she knocked on the thick oak.

“Hi, mom.”