Dream Jumper

Her name was Leah, a dream jumper. Every night she visited different places and sometimes she struggled to differentiate between reality and her dreams. When she dreamt, she loved the world she had created within. When she was awake, her mind wandered trying to piece her dreams together. As a dream jumper, she had the ability to jump between dreams and sometimes, she would dream something she had already dreamt but her most fascinating talent was picking up on a dream where she had left off the day before. Lately, she felt her dreams were trying to deliver a message. These dreams kept reproducing in the form of flashbacks and anxiousness throughout her days. Leah was now at the verge of hating her reality. She was so captivated by her dreams that all she wanted to do was sleep so she could find clues. These clues were the only way she could help the girl in her dreams she named Jules. Leah was convinced that Jules was a real person in the real world who somehow managed to connect herself to her, through her dreams. Leah had a deep gut feeling that Jules was waiting for Leah to find and save her. The last time Leah saw Jules, Jules was bound by her hands and laying on a concrete floor staring at a white feather. She remembers the smell of soap and the coldness in her bones. So today, Leah decided to leave everything she knew was real behind and go in search of Jules.

When Leah’s parents drove across the country to her new home in Arizona, she remembered passing a soap factory about 25 miles from where they settled. This would be her first stop. Hours had past and Leah grew tired. It was dark, cold, and she was becoming a bit afraid of the unknown. She began to wonder if this was a mistake when suddenly, she caught a scent of lavender. Her eyes grew bigger and her heart beat faster. She thought, “I must be close by, let me keep going.” She continued through the woods with her flashlight guiding the way. She began to see a glow of light up ahead and she picked up the pace. From the darkness, came a sound. She stopped walking and felt fear take over. Her palms began to sweat, and she held her breath. Suddenly, she was struck from behind.

She struggled to open her eyes. Her face, cold, on a concrete floor, with a white feather slightly being grazed by her breath. She felt her heart pounding and she shook from the cold. As she blinked slowly, she sat up to look at the space she was in. Four walls and 1 window. Tears rolled down her eyes and although she wanted to scream, she saved her strength because she knew no one would save her. As she picked up the feather and brought it closer to her eyes, she realized there was no Jules. It was her. Her hands were bound with a zip tie and she now understood that she had dreamt of her own future. But how? She quietly cried, “Who’s going to save me, who?” From the corner of the room came a rustling sound and she scooted back against the wall. A slight sound of “hooo” came forward and two eyes pierced the blackness. It was a white barn owl. Caged and mistreated, a status now shared.

The sharp edge of the cage was rusted, and she began to rub the zip tie back and forth on it until it popped free. Slowly and quietly, she dragged the cage towards the window. The moonlight gleamed on the owls back. It turned its head and looked towards the moon. Leah was mesmerized by the owl. She climbed on top of the cage and opened the window. She crawled back down and opened the cage door. She whispered to the owl, “Go free, be free, go.” The owl flew up and out, high into the sky, and Leah smiled.

It was her turn. She climbed back up and slowly climbed out the window. Down the side of the building she went, gripping onto old vines. Her feet landed on the ground and she began to run. She sprinted as fast as she could across the empty field. She noticed a shadow across the field. It was the owl flying above her in the same direction. From behind her, she heard someone yelling. The owl flew ahead, circled around and began flying towards Leah. It began to descend, with its wings spread, and claws pointed. Leah covered her head as the owl passed closely above her. Leah kept running but glanced back. She watched the owl blind the man running towards her. Leah escaped.

Leah approached a road and followed the way. From afar she saw the same owl flying back towards her, so she lifted her arm and the owl perched on her wrist. As Leah came face to face with the barn owl, she whispered, “I kept asking myself, who sent me here, who, who?” The owl replied, “hooo, hooo”. Leah took a deep breath in and exhaled, “you.”

Her eyes opened and she awakened.

The End.