Lost in the Darkness of a Dream

So, the other night, I had the most bizarre and unsettling dream—one of those that sticks with you long after you wake up. I’m not usually one for wild dreams, but this one was different, almost like I’d stepped into some kind of eerie movie. It’s been on my mind, and I just have to share it.

In this dream, I was suddenly 10 years old again, but everything around me felt so strange and unfamiliar. It was like I’d been plopped onto this tiny island, isolated from the rest of the world. The air was thick with that kind of humid heat you only get in the summer, and my mom was there with me, but we were both dressed like it was the middle of winter—barely anything on us, just enough to cover up, you know? I could tell she was scared, though she tried to hide it from me, like moms do.

We were running, but I didn’t know why at first. Then I saw them—these shadowy creatures hiding in the ground, their eyes peeking out just enough for me to see the glint of something unnatural. I could feel the panic rising in my chest as we sprinted across the island, the sand digging into my bare feet. My mom was gripping my hand so tight it hurt, but I didn’t dare let go.

The creatures were closing in on us, and I could hear them, this low growling that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. We finally made it to the edge of the island where there was this old, rickety raft just bobbing in the shallow water. My mom pushed me towards it, and I knew what she was going to do even before she said anything. “Get on, honey,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady. I was crying by this point, pleading with her to come with me, but she just shook her head.

She gave me one final push onto the raft, and I watched in horror as those creatures grabbed her, pulling her into the ground. The last thing I saw was her reaching out for me before she disappeared. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. My body was trembling, tears streaming down my face as the raft started drifting away from the shore. The island grew smaller and smaller, and soon it was just me, alone in this vast, empty sea.

I cried for what felt like hours, my throat raw and my body exhausted. The world around me became a blur, like everything had faded into this endless white nothingness. I eventually collapsed in the middle of the raft, curling up into a ball as I fell into a deep sleep, the kind where you just lose track of time and everything else.

When I woke up, it was still dark—too dark for it to be morning yet. My best guess was that it was around 4 a.m. The sky was this weird, murky gray, and I couldn’t see anything beyond a few feet in front of me. The only sound was the gentle lapping of the water against the raft, but other than that, there was nothing. No birds, no wind, just dead silence. The kind that gets under your skin and makes you feel like you’re the only person left in the world.

I was terrified. My whole body was shaking, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to my mom. Was she still on that island, or had those creatures… I couldn’t even finish the thought. I just sat there, hugging my knees, trying to make myself as small as possible, as if that would somehow make everything okay.

Then, out of nowhere, I heard this rustling sound above me, like something cutting through the air. My heart started pounding in my chest, and I looked up, straining my eyes to see what it was. In the dim light, I could just make out a shadow—something big, and it was heading straight for me. I could hear the wind whistling as it got closer, but I couldn’t move. My whole body was frozen in place, like in those nightmares where you want to run, but your legs won’t cooperate.

The shape grew larger, and I could see it clearly now—this massive, dark figure with wings, almost like some kind of monstrous bird. Its eyes were glowing, a fiery red that pierced through the darkness. It let out a screech that sent chills down my spine, and that’s when I knew I couldn’t stay on that raft any longer.

My instincts kicked in, and before I even realized what I was doing, I jumped off the raft into the freezing water below. The cold shocked my system, but I didn’t care—I had to get away from whatever that thing was. I felt the water close over my head as I went under, the world around me becoming even more muted and distant.

As I surfaced, gasping for air, I could hear the creature circling above me, but I didn’t dare look up. My arms and legs were heavy, but I kept swimming, the darkness swallowing me whole as I went further and further from the raft, from the island, from everything. I felt my strength slipping away, my muscles burning with exhaustion.

And then, in one final moment of terror and helplessness, I felt myself being pulled under, the water filling my lungs as I went overboard, sinking into the endless black abyss below.