Dreams | Teen Ink

Dreams MAG

By Anonymous

     I feel his hand on my shoulder. It is cold, bony, and scrapes against my skin. It doesn’t sting too badly. Pain doesn’t cause discomfort for me - it’s like a Popsicle - strong at first, but after awhile, it melts away. He tells me something, the man behind me. I don’t hear him at first, and that makes him angry. He grips my shoulder tighter.

Now there is pain, pain like grabbing a wire hanger that is left beside a fire, yet I ignore it. He knows I am here, I know I am here, but for some reason, I feel if I don’t acknowledge it. If I ignore what is happening, we will both remain suspended. The two of us will stay lost in this never-ending scene, and I will never die.

The knife enters me anyway.

I feel it; I’m not quite numb yet. I can feel it twist inside me, switching my lung with my heart. Then the world goes black.

I die every time.

I shut my eyes. It doesn’t matter if I sleep for five minutes or 10 hours.

“It’s like sucking your thumb; you’ll grow out of it,” my mother tells me over the phone the next day.

She’s told me that for 18 years. Now I’m ten days away from turning 20 and she still says the same thing. But nightmares are nothing like sucking your thumb. I don’t suck my thumb anymore.

***

It’s 2 a.m. My mouth is dry, and I cannot see because of the tears that blur my eyes. But that doesn’t bother me. Four days is not long to go without sleep. I’ve gone longer. People don’t understand, because they don’t feel their dreams. In mine, I am conscious of everything.

A man is standing in front of me, a doctor. He was called when I stopped responding to the pleas of my pencil-neck roommate. Apparently, he is discomforted by my 96-hour days.

“Having trouble falling asleep, Wesley?” the doctor asks.

“No,” I say.

Falling asleep is easy; too easy. Giving in is something that tempts me every minute. But I can’t do that, because I know that one day, I’m not going to be able to wake up.

He hands me a pill anyway, and tells me to take it. I know this doctor. His name is Ben or Bill or something. He’s come for years. I argue at first, but I know that I don’t have a choice. I swallow the pill dry. Before I know it, I’m back in again.

***

This time I’m underwater. I’m going to drown, I think. The thought relaxes me. The dreams where I drown aren’t all that bad, considering what experiences I could compare them with. But then the dream changes. I am still in water, but it tastes like soup. I look up to see a giant sitting above me.

It’s then I realize that I am going to be eaten alive.

I used to look away when I was about to die. I used to run, beg. Now I lie limply and watch. The giant lifts me up with his fork and bites down, taking off my right leg.

I don’t look away ... I’m past that. But I still scream.

***

I am in the car with my roommate now. We’re getting groceries, and since we’re in my car, I’m driving. I can tell he’s nervous, so I try to calm him.

“Darren ...,” I say.

“Dylan,” he corrects quickly.

I could have sworn his name was Darren. Part of me thinks he’s changed it just to f*** with me. I continue talking anyway.

“I’m not tired ...”

Darren, or Dylan, or whoever he is makes a sound.

“... and I know how to drive.”

Just then, a car honks at me loudly, as if he too wants to prove me incompetent. Apparently, this is too much for my night-light roommate.

“Pull over. Now,” he says.

“Fine,” I say roughly, and pull over. Right into the face of an oncoming truck.

***

Please, someone wake me up. Please. Please. Anyone, please.

I am balancing on the top of a pillar that is just large enough for one foot. Below me, there are hundreds of creatures with whips, chains, and spikes - they’re ready for me to fall. This death will be worth remembering.

Usually I don’t, but I can’t help but start crying this time. This dream has gone on too long. I’ve died five times. Usually, it only happens once or twice. For a moment, I wonder if I have died ... for real ... in the real world. The thought scares me. I always thought it would end at death. Then, around me, I hear familiar voices. They belong to my mother and the doctor.

“Would you like me to let him go?” The doctor asks sympathetically. “There is very little hope that he will come out of it.”

There is a pause and I hear my mom crying, and I allow myself to hope. I am in a coma ... I know it ... it must have happened because of the crash ... and if she chooses to pull the plug on me, I can escape this time. I’ve never been able to escape before.

Against my first instincts, I find myself wanting to die more than anything. If it happens now, in this way, I will never have to die again.

Please, I beg, and then I silence my thoughts so I can better hear her speak.

“No,” she says finally, “not just yet.” I hear the shuffling of tissue. “I want him to rest ... he could use it.” Then, her voice is gone, and all I can hear is the sound of the mob below me.

I lose my balance and fall.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 103 comments.


on Apr. 7 2010 at 7:16 pm
writergirl13 GOLD, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
11 articles 8 photos 261 comments

Favorite Quote:
All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.
Ambrose Bierce

this is completely incredible!!!!!! It's really beautiful, but it's also so sad!

on Mar. 16 2010 at 8:10 am
Darkchloe14 BRONZE, Memphis, Tennessee
1 article 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be Strong"

This is so unbelievable. I loved it. Please don't stop writing!

on Jan. 31 2010 at 9:26 am
lily1411 BRONZE, Fargo, North Dakota
2 articles 0 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.

--Benjamin Franklin

I loved it so much:) it just kept me in the whole story i felt what the character was feeling too...Also, when you switch from dreams to reality and then the part in the car, its like you have to really pay attention because its real...everything was well put together, keep writing definitely

on Dec. 18 2009 at 8:14 pm
...PensiveGurl... PLATINUM, Aurora, Colorado
20 articles 0 photos 267 comments

Favorite Quote:
You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it- Neil Gaiman.
Who are you to be who you are?-Le'Na Pernell

Whoa! I love this! Keep writing! >.<

Chrissy_L GOLD said...
on Nov. 29 2009 at 10:19 am
Chrissy_L GOLD, Ramsey, New Jersey
13 articles 0 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

I absolutely love this!

I read it a while back, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I just spent the better part of the last hour trying to find this again. This is definitely going in my favorites!

maki:p GOLD said...
on Nov. 26 2009 at 10:21 pm
maki:p GOLD, Rocklin, California
17 articles 1 photo 47 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The only journey is the one within" and "You can't help anyone who doesn't want to be helped."

I agree. That was amazing. At fist i seriously thought someone was being killed in the very begging of the story. That was fantastic. I too loved the way dream and reality blended in one.

on Nov. 26 2009 at 6:35 pm
My eyes almost popped out (really..).

Wow! Man,that's sick..but TOTALLY AMAZING!!

Cheers

on Oct. 29 2009 at 7:38 pm
4everluvjc BRONZE, Plantation, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 44 comments

Favorite Quote:
nothing is impossible with God! Try him and you'll see :)

Wow! That was something

on Aug. 14 2009 at 12:32 am
Suki-Itami SILVER, Bedford, Indiana
6 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Death doesn't stop true love, all it can do is delay it for a little while."

This is amazing, great job!

cSpier BRONZE said...
on Aug. 3 2009 at 1:39 am
cSpier BRONZE, Three Rivers, Michigan
1 article 6 photos 1 comment
That was so sick in the best possible way

on Jul. 21 2009 at 9:59 pm
Sarah McGuinness, Austin, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
...astounding. Unbelievable. Incredible. Amazing...

on Jul. 21 2009 at 8:18 pm
*LunaNightKiss*, Staten Island, New York
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
i am at a loss for words on this peice. but i can say that it was brilliant!!! truly amazing...

on Jul. 21 2009 at 8:06 pm
LoveLikeWoe DIAMOND, LeSueur, MN, Minnesota
54 articles 2 photos 748 comments

Favorite Quote:
Whoever laughs first has the sickest mind.

this...was...ahmazing!! I L-O-V-E-D it!! you're a geinius! WRITE MORE! :D

JessiGibs said...
on Jul. 21 2009 at 2:56 pm
JessiGibs, Lancaster, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
I loved it! I think your writing style is amazing and I would love to read more from you. Good job!

on Jul. 21 2009 at 1:40 pm
GlassHeart SILVER, Black Earth, Wisconsin
7 articles 8 photos 167 comments
This is really good!

on Jul. 21 2009 at 1:14 pm
americanteen97 SILVER, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
8 articles 0 photos 79 comments
You are a genius. Write more ! What happens? I am dying to know. Check out my work please!



A Nerd's First Love- Part One

on Jul. 18 2009 at 4:28 am
wowwwww, i thought that was really cool. i really liked how you made it so we don't know what really happens, and that we have to guess for ourselves. :)

on Jul. 10 2009 at 8:31 pm
LakeTownGirl GOLD, Lake Stevens, Washington
13 articles 17 photos 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss

wow...this was amazing... i love how there is so much suspense... and then the way you can't exactly tell what's a dream between reality...

Incredible...

TrulySecrets said...
on Jun. 17 2009 at 4:13 am
TrulySecrets, West Linn, Oregon
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being the freak that I am..." TrulySecrets

Amazing! You have a wonderful sense of imagination and creativity. Good job, its a wonderful piece.

on Jun. 17 2009 at 1:32 am
bookworm266 GOLD, Urbana, Indiana
10 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I came, I saw, I conqued."

wow! that was good.... very insprering... i love it!