I woke, covered in sweat, to the sound of thunder. My heart beat in sync to the vigorous rain slapping at the house. I reached over and turned my lamp on, welcoming the light, hoping to chase the chill in the air away. The part of me that wished to dream of being in the garden had all but vanished.
"It's only a dream. A stupid, reoccurring dream. It means nothing. Nothing at all" I repeated to myself over and over until my heart rate slowed down. The light in my room flickered once and shut off, leaving me alone and in the dark. I tried to shake the feeling that I wasn't alone. My nerves frayed from the terrifying dream. Every time I woke up in the garden I would fear for my mother, but over the months I grew to anticipate what would happen. This dream was new, and I did not welcome it.
The thudding of feet coming down the hallway distracted me from my thoughts. Was the darkness here after all? Did it know that I got away and came to finish the job?
"Marina, you alright?" My aunt asked as she barged into my room, a candle in her hands. My muscles relaxed as I scolded myself for being so stupid. There is no darkness. It's not going anywhere to finish anyone off.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I huffed, still trying to calm my nerves.
"I don't know whats up with this storm. Just came out of nowhere." My aunt sighed, setting the candle on my dresser.
"Yeah. It interrupted my nightmare, so for now I'm thankful for it." I tried to laugh, but it caught in my throat.
"You still having those dreams?" My aunt asked me, a strange look on her face.
"Yeah, but they're different now." I said looking at my window, watching the rain trail down the glass, like tears.
"How are they different?" My aunt asked.
"Mom's gone." I said, ending the conversation about my reoccurring dreams. I refused to give any meaning to them. I refused to play into them any longer. The longer I believed in them, the longer they controlled me.
"Well, the powers out for now, should be back soon. Here's a candle and if you need any more their in the closet down the hall." She replied gently closing the door behind her.
I picked my phone up off of the dresser and the time read 4:23 a.m. There was no going back to sleep for me, the tired feeling dissipating with each crash of thunder. With a huff I got off of my bed and walked over to the windowsill. I stared out the window, watching the lightning flash and the rain pour. The tree outside was shaking with each crash of thunder.
That's when I noticed something standing next to the tree. A figure, disfigured by the rain running down the glass. I tried to look through the rain, to see the figure clearly, but I couldn't make out what it was. The house is set far back in the woods, there's no way a human would make there way here in this storm. What I was looking at had to be an animal, most likely a deer. I grabbed a book and plopped down on the seat by my window. I couldn't help but look up every so often, to make sure the animal was still there. Finally, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it move again. The lightning struck as the animal began to run away, I couldn't make out what it was any better with the additional light. One small detail was clear as the animal ran away, but I wasn't sure of what I saw.
I could've sworn I saw a flash of gold, like sunlight woven into the relentless storm.