Reflection

Running…breathing hard…running faster and faster into the deepest void of the forest. The trees closing in, creating a veil of rotting leaves around her head. Forceful wind screeching, howling her name between the creaking branches. Feet smacking the cold, wet ground, mud coating the bottoms of her bare feet. Toes slowly turning purple from the tundra of the wilderness. Slipping, falling into the deep dark waters of the river flowing wildly from the rain pouring down. Sinking farther and farther down into the darkness, never to be seen again. Not by her friends, co-workers, or loved ones…no one will ever notice her missing. No tears will be shed from the instant death. Body freezing as the ice water encased every inch of her body, water filling her lungs. Slowly drowning, watching life flash before her eyes. Wishing, wanting to change the things that she regrets. Not knowing where the bottom of the river is, falling further and further down into the depths, never knowing where it ends…

She woke with a loud gasp, waking from the nightmare she just had. It had been a month since the nightmares started out of nowhere. She couldn’t figure out what she had done so wrong that she was plagued with watching herself die every night. She wanted them to stop. She had tried everything to get them to stop, but to no avail. They got worse and worse every time she closed her eyes. They got longer, fading into black before she rose. They were taking over her day dreams, and she was afraid to sleep any longer.

She wiped the sweat beads from her brow, getting up from her bed. She lived alone and had no one to confide in with what was happening to her. She had to simply…live with it. She drank down the rest of her water that was resting beside her bed. Looking over at the mirror covered with a bed sheet with a sigh. Every mirror in the house was covered. The nightmares reflected back to her in them, and the only way to stop thinking about them was to cover everything. Even then, she could see it playing out in the reflection of her water.

Her morning went on as usual, but instead of going to work like she did during the week, working her mundane nine to five office job. It was the weekend, and she decided to sit outside on the back porch with her coffee, soaking up the cool fall air. Watching the leaves fall to the ground with the slightest breeze. She got lost in her daydream of escaping to the mountains of Colorado to get away from everything and everyone.

A sound coming from the woods behind her house, pulled her from her daydream. She stood from her chair, setting the empty mug on the table. Taking a step from the porch, her bare feet sunk into the dewy earth, and a cold chill running down her spine. As she neared closer to the wood line, a small wood nymph appeared, cooing for her to follow it. Without thinking, she did. She never dared to enter the woods alone, fearing getting lost in the vast expanse. She followed and followed until she lost the wood nymph. Her heart started beating in her throat when she realized exactly where she was. Her toes curled against the moss beneath her feet.

She looked up at the tree line, watching the branches sway in the wind. She ran in the direction she had come, needing to get out of the woods. She was living her nightmare. Her heart rate started to spike, breathing becoming jagged and shallow, eyes darting to find any sound that was made. Tripping over a branch, and falling onto her face with a yelp. Her arms extended intending on catching herself, but only catching fistfuls of dirt upon contact. She laid there for a moment, waiting for the scratchy hands of the branches to wrap around her ankles and drag her away, but instead she slowly rolled over, groaning in pain. Her eyes fluttered open as she watched the sun rays dance between the tree branches. The sound of the song birds filling her ears with a sense of peace and serenity. She took a deep steady breath, regaining her composure.

She pushed herself up from the ground and wiped the dirt from her clothes and hands. She looked around her, noticing she had yet to be in this part of the nightmare. This was more of a dream than it was scary. She took slow, deliberate steps, venturing further into the forest. Taking in the beauty of the scenes around her, a smile curling her lips. Flowers poking out from the ground, a spectacular purple and blue color. The small creatures roaming the mystical forest.

Without looking at where she was, her foot slipped on the riverbank and into a roaring river. She caught herself before she completely fell into the ice cold water. Kneeling down on the bank, she leaned closer and looked at her reflection. It seemed to be fading right before her eyes. She scrambled to get up, a scream emerging from her lungs as mysterious hands pushed her into the water, giggles emerging from the little wood nymph behind her. She caught a tiny glance of the creature, content with what it had done.

She screamed wildly for help, even if she knew deep down that it would never come. The currents washed her away, her lungs filling with water as she tried to keep herself afloat. Flailing, the splashes falling in line with the current smacking against the rocks. She could feel her life fading from her body, the emptiness that came with the soul dying. She desperately grasped at anything she could, wishing, wanting this nightmare to be over with. Hoping she would wake up at some point and this would all be over, fleeting from her mind as she filled it with numbers and stats from her job.

She slowly came to the realization she wasn’t getting out of this. This was her end. No one would miss her, no one would call her. It was over. The nightmares had won and there was nothing she could do to stop this. Her body went limp from the cold penetrating her bones, eyelids closing and her breath became shallow. It felt as if she was drifting off to sleep, and she let it happen naturally. A rock smacked against her head, and everything went black. No thoughts, no voices, nothing but darkness and silence. Her limp body floating off into an embankment, water lapping against it. The nightmares stopped, her torment was over.