I wake up feeling dazed, covered in sweat. It' s late afternoon and I'm lying on the couch, my shirt ridden up as I stare blankly at the ceiling above. Memories flash before my eyes, memories of the stranger. The rain, the thunderstorm, him grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from the crowd. It felt good. But then I remember the rest of it. The pain in my legs, the screaming from those passengers, the cold feeling of water seeping through the bandages covering my feet. It feels like a lifetime ago but I knew it happened yesterday. I can't believe I actually enjoyed it, I didn't think I would. How could I have enjoyed something like that? But there was a other memory. A memory from my childhood. I close my eyes as memories flood through me, images of my father walking across the room, carrying a sword, and my mother looking on with pride, her hand covering her smile as he swung the sword from side to side.
A sharp pain shoots through my heart, as if something inside of it has just died.
I remember that my father lying on the floor. In his own blood. I remember watching helplessly while my mother held his body close to hers and screamed at me to run, to get away from the sight before it killed me. It felt surreal. I remember trying to run away, to escape my fate, but my body wouldn't respond. My muscles wouldn't obey my commands. Someone come into the room. He was masked. He was tall and thin. The man goes to my mother and pulled a knife. She tries to fight him off but he pushes her onto the ground. He cuts her with the knife and she stops moving. Blood trickles out of her wound. I want to vomit. I want to kill him. I want to kill whoever did that to her. My mind flashes back to the scene again, the screams and the crying. The look of fear on my mother's face, the sadness in my dad's. I remember the last thing I said to my parents, 'I love you'. Tears stream down my cheeks, and I can feel their presence on my skin, burning holes in the fabric of my hoodie. The masked man stand up and took his mask of. It's the stranger.
My tears begin to spill over and I sit up straight, staring directly ahead. I wipe them away angrily and try to regain control of my breathing. It takes every ounce of strength that I have left within me to calm my racing heart and slow down the pounding of my pulse.
After a few minutes, my breathing calms slightly and I allow myself a moment or two more to compose myself. When I'm finished, I push myself off of the couch and walk towards the door. I pause, one hand resting on the handle. Just before I pull it open I take another glance at the window. It's pouring outside.
"Stay safe", I whisper under my breath before opening the door and stepping out into the cold rain.