"Sweetheart. Why don't you run along now. You'll be late for school." A woman in her thirties was talking to a little boy of around 7 years of age.
"But mom I want to stay here with you. I'll miss you. And I want to taste your cookies", the little boy closed his eyes and smelled that chocolate-y aroma. It made him feel giddy and so excited that he almost drooled.
The woman reached out to tickle the boy. "So that's why you didn't wanna go. Come here, you cheeky brat."
The little boy escaped her hands and started to run around the kitchen. She tried to run after him but stopped when she saw that boy was headed towards the direction of the oven.
It brought a smile to her face. The boy was leaning on the bar handle and was looking at the cookies getting all fluffy.
She approached his direction with the slightest of noise and tried hard not to disturb as he seemingly concentrated on guarding the sweets. Looking at them one by one. Counting them softly as if one cookie will suddenly go missing and someone will steal them from him.
She slowly knelt behind and gently embraced him. "How about I come over to the school at around 10 am and bring these cookies with me?" His expression told her that the fish is hooked. The boy faced her and hugged her with his little arms. She stood up while holding him, carried him and let him sit at the counter top.
The little boy waited patiently, watching his mother gather all his things and place them inside his tiny school bag. "I made enough for your friends too. Remember to share your food, ok? I'll bring the cookies and give it to teacher. Get it from him later and then I'll pick you up after school."
He had a displeased look into his eyes but still nodded his head. She almost burst out laughing but controlled herself. "What did daddy say about your tummy?", she teased.
"My tummy will be biggy if I eat when I'm not hungry".
**
"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep."
The non-stop beeping sound made Jasmine's head pound. Always waking up at at 5 am when her alarm is at 6 is never gonna help her regain that body clock she had when she was seven. Those were the days before she started having these recurring dreams of people she have never even met.
No matter what time she slept, she'd always find herself awake at exactly 5 am. Sometimes crying, but most of the time, happy, giddy.
Soon after, she'd again fall asleep and wake up to an annoying alarm an hour later.
"Argh". She grumpily tossed her blanket to the side and got out of bed to "kill" the alarm clock. She lazily walked towards the shower.
The cold water sprinkled to her face which made her skin feel numb and sent chills up her spine. "Ok. Ok. I'm awake." Funny how she forgot to turn on the heater on this cold weather.
It's going to be Christmas soon, she thought. Maybe she'll get dreams of a couple wearing knitted sweatshirts sipping chocolate by the fire again. It has been a decade since she first dreamed and still dreams of those happy people that it almost seem real to her now. It's like a part of her memories.
Sometimes, not only in dreams do they appear. Now that she's turning 18 in a few days, more and more voices are speaking loudly in her head.
She consulted the school psychiatrist on her normal days once but she was told that nothing was wrong with her. The psychiatrist must have thought she was just daydreaming or stressed with schoolwork. She was then advised to just take some rest and the voices will be gone. And she followed her. But to no avail.
There were times when she got bullied for acting weird. She would always stand up to them of course. But as always, she ended up being in the detention room instead of the bullies.
Her childhood could have been normal. But the voices never left her.