It's Only A Dream

Wendy felt herself lifting off the bed and floating out the window. She could see the wet streets below were practically empty of any activity. She remembered falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow because she’d had a long and stressful day at work. She loved being a nurse, but with the staff shortages, she needed two more of her to care for all her patients successfully. It was tough for the geriatric patients because they tended to be quite needy, mainly because of their loneliness. As she continued floating higher and higher in the sky, Wendy could see a bright light surrounding her, like a spotlight at a comedy show. What a strange dream she was having, she thought. Soon, she looked at a dark object above her, looming largely in the sky. Abruptly, a door opened on the object, and Wendy was sucked inside like air in a vacuum. She felt frozen and unable to move from the cold, steel table beneath her now shivering body. She regularly slept in the nude because she frequently sweated at night, but at this moment, she wished she had on a warm pair of flannel pajamas like the ones she wore as a small child.

           “Momma, can I wear my footy pajamas with the panda bears tonight,” Wendy asked. “Honey, I haven’t had a chance to wash clothes, so they’re dirty, but how about the ones with blue clouds and rainbows,” her momma asked. “Okay, but when can I wear them again? They’re my favorite,” Wendy said. With a loud sigh, her momma replied, “You know I work around the clock and wash clothes when I can. When your daddy ran away with his friend from work, I’ve been trying to take care of you. Putting food on the table is more important than your pajamas, honey.” Wendy looked at the floor and replied, “I’m sorry, momma. I know you work all the time. Maybe you can teach me how to help you. I’m almost 11, so that’s like being a grown-up.” Her momma smiled and hugged Wendy and said, “You will grow up quick enough, Wendy. I don’t want to give you too much responsibility so that you can enjoy your childhood. Anyway, I’ll do my best to wash your favorite pajamas this weekend. Now, let’s get you to bed.”

           Wendy woke the next morning with a strange soreness in her bones. As she was looking at her arms, she noticed some bruising, almost as though someone had put in a peripherally inserted central catheter in her right forearm. She laughed it off, thinking she’d hurt herself at work the day before and couldn’t remember. Twelve-hour shifts sometimes made you forget things, so she was sure it would return to her. As Wendy pulled back the floral comforter, she noticed blood on the sheets. “That’s odd. I don’t think it’s time for my period yet. Perhaps all the stress has my hormones jacked up and my body doesn’t know up from down,” she laughed. After checking to see that nothing was on the comforter, she pulled the sheets off and threw them in the hamper to deal with later.

           Next, she decided to jump in the shower to get cleaned up for work. She allowed the water to heat up until steam poured from the spigot. Wendy enjoyed hot showers, even though dermatologists advise against it for the sake of your skin. However, she gave two fucks about that advice and did it anyway. While Wendy was washing her hair, she kept her eyes closed to keep the soap from irritating them, so she didn’t notice the excessive amount of blood running down the drain. For her sake, it was a good thing that she hadn’t noticed because she would faint at the sight of the copious amounts of blood. Unfortunately, her inability to deal with a lot of blood ruined her chances of working in the ER. Wendy had thought that the ER would be an exciting place to work until she passed out when a gunshot victim arrived one night. Going forward, she was given the geriatric ward because the patients rarely had any bleeding events.

           After arriving at work, Wendy rushed to drop off her purse in the locker room and ran straight into Tiffany. “Dammit, Wendy! Can you watch where you’re going? You almost made me drop this insulin,” Tiffany barked. Wendy jumped back and replied, “I’m so sorry, Tiffany. My head has been in the clouds since last night. I didn’t have a very restful sleep and…” “Listen! I don’t give a shit about your night. These old people drive me crazy, and I hear enough about their problems. I sure don’t need to hear about yours, too,” turning abruptly, Tiffany stormed off down the hall. “I hate that witch! I may not be able to work in the ER, but Tiffany shouldn’t be allowed to work in healthcare because she has zero patience or a crappy bedside manner,” she said under her breath. Unfortunately, Wendy and Tiffany had never gotten along, probably because Tiffany had a crush on Zack, the radiology technician. However, Zack had the hots for Wendy, so that reality completely ruined her chances of having a good working relationship with Tiffany.

As the night dragged by, Wendy tried to stay as far away from Tiffany as possible because she could feel the animosity rolling off of her like waves in the ocean. If she could have one wish, it would be for Tiffany to disappear for good. As she daydreamed about Tiffany, Zack walked up to her from behind and said, “Hey, stranger!” Zack was around 6 foot tall, with hazel eyes, black hair, and a toned frame of solid muscle. Startled into reality, Wendy replied, “Oh, hi, Zack. You scared me.” “Am I that hideous to look at,” he asked. “No, definitely not,” she giggled. Before they could have a decent conversation, Tiffany popped up from nowhere and yelled, “Hey, Zack, I need your help with a patient. Can you come and give me a hand?” Zack hesitated and mouthed “sorry” to Wendy before turning and leaving with Tiffany. “That woman is my worst nightmare, and I really wish she’d disappear,” Wendy said under her breath.

Once Wendy arrived home, she quickly pulled some clean linens out of the closet, threw them on the bed, climbed in, and fell into a deep slumber. As her eyes started twitching, Wendy’s body lifted off the bed again, but this time she watched herself walk into her closet which led her to another apartment. Confused, she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and tried to figure out where she was. The next moment, she could see Tiffany brushing her teeth and walking around her bed. Wendy tried to speak, but Tiffany couldn’t see or hear her, so she stopped trying. Over in the corner, opposite Tiffany, Wendy could see a gray figure with bulbous eyes watching Tiffany as she prepared for bed. Tiffany couldn’t see the figure either since she hadn’t reacted to it. However, Wendy felt scared and uneasy because everything felt so surreal. She continued to watch Tiffany climb into bed and close her eyes. At that moment, the gray figure quickly walked to the side of the bed and placed a black cloth over Tiffany’s face. Soon, she was jerking and trying to scream, but her screams were muffled by whatever was placed over her face. Wendy tried to run over to help her, but she was frozen like a statue. The gray figure shook its head, and Wendy could hear a voice in her head saying “No, do not interfere.” As Wendy continued to fight against the force holding her in place, she was abruptly pushed back into the closet. In her head, she was screaming, but nothing was coming out of her mouth. Suddenly, she fell her body crumbling to the floor and unable to move.

The next morning, Wendy groggily woke with a slight headache and a sore throat. “Don’t tell me I’m trying to get sick,” she said. Pulling back the sheets, she found a square, black object at the foot of the bed. “Lord, these dreams are getting crazy. To make things worse, I’m picking up strange objects and bringing them home with me,” she laughed. Wendy had never felt a tiredness like the one she was experiencing today. It felt like she’d been up all night even though she had gone straight to bed after work. Staying alert, Wendy decided to avoid Tiffany and began checking patient charts at the nurse’s station. “Hey, stranger,” Zack said in a strangely quiet tone. Wendy gave Zack the most flirtatious smile she could manage and replied, “Hi Zack! Why do you seem like you lost your best friend?” Eyes wide, he asked, “Haven’t you heard about Tiffany?” Dropping the clipboard, Wendy said, “No, what happened? Did she get in a fight with someone and get arrested?” He replied, “She died in her sleep last night.” Wendy dropped into the chair behind her, completely shocked by what Zak said. Zack continued, “Her family is in utter belief because Tiffany was in tip-top condition, didn’t have any known health conditions, and jogged regularly. They’ve permitted an autopsy in hopes of identifying what happened, but preliminary results are leaning towards suffocation.” Wendy sat frozen, staring at Zack with her mouth dropped open as she felt tears streaming from her eyes. Zack moved behind the desk, grabbed her in his arms, and said, “I know you two were close, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Zack’s comment snapped her out of her stupor, and she asked, “What do you mean we were close?” Zack sat on the desk, looking directly into Tiffany’s tear-filled eyes, and said, “Tiffany always talked about you like a sister. I knew she had a crush on me, but I informed her I was interested in you. She pouted some at first, but then she said she understood, and that if she’d been a man, she would have wanted you, too.”

The End