The Dream

It was a normal day when Zoe awoke. She got up, brushed her teeth, showered, and dressed for work as usual. Before heading out the door of her loft apartment, she stopped in the small kitchen to enjoy a cup of coffee and a piece of buttered toast. It was while she was sipping her coffee that she remembered the dream.

The previous night, as she slept, she’d had a dream that she now suddenly and in crystal clear detail recalled. She straightened where she stood as chills moved down the length of her spine. How odd that she’d had the dream to begin with, but even odder that now, where she stood, she was suddenly recalling it all with a distinct vividness.

In the dream, she had seemed to be at her place of work, but things had appeared very different from a typical day of work. Furniture had been scattered to and fro about the room, she and everything and everyone else had been covered in a white film or strange dust, and heat had seemed to surround her. Her ears were ringing and muffled in the dream, but she could still hear echoes of people screaming as they panicked and ran all around her. It was as if she had been standing in the midst of a war zone, she thought to herself.

As she finished the cup of coffee, Zoe shook off the memory of the dream. After all, it was just a dream. Maybe she’d been watching too many action packed movies on television and needed to revert back to the Hallmark Movie Channel. Yes, that must be what had precipitated the dream – a suspense thriller that she’d watched the previous night.

As she exited her apartment, Zoe was greeted by Marcus, her neighbor.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a smile as he leaned over to pick up his morning paper. He was one of very few apartment dwellers who still liked to receive the hard copy of his paper in lieu of reading it online. “Heading to work, are you?” he asked.

“Good morning, Marcus. Yes, heading to work as usual. I hope you have a productive day of writing,” Zoe said, giving him a smile before she entered the waiting elevator.

“Bye, Zoe. See you later,” Marcus yelled from his doorway.

In the elevator, Zoe said good morning to everyone. She noticed that Rodrigo from the 14^th floor was in the rear of the elevator. While he spoke to her when he saw her – usually in the mornings or afternoons - she’d had little opportunity, much to her dismay, to get to know him. She was hoping that this would change. He worked in the building next to hers in the city, so perhaps if they became better acquainted, they could have lunch together. Or maybe other possibilities might loom in the future for them? Zoe looked down at her feet and smiled at the thought. Rodrigo was very handsome.

As everyone exited the elevator, the doorman, Paul, greeted the group as he usually did each morning, wishing them a good day as he opened the entrance doors for the departing tenants, all of which were headed to work in the big city.

All about her, people bustled and hustled on the sidewalks as Zoe made her way to the subway station, each person hurrying to their own destination, few taking note of anyone else. It was a good distance to her work, which was in a neighboring borough, so she always took the subway. Looking down at her watch, she saw that it was 7:00 am. She had a good amount of time before she had to arrive at the office since she wasn't required to be there until 9:00 am. However, this morning, she hoped to arrive a bit early to prepare for an important 9:30 meeting.

As Zoe walked through the doors of the waiting subway car, her mind was engulfed once again with the horrible images from the dream she’d had the previous night. Try as she might, she could not seem to shake the eeriness of what she’d dreamt. Usually she did not recall her dreams in any real detail or for any length of time, but this one seemed to linger and permeate her memory in ways that made her very uneasy and nearly feeling queasy.

Zoe looked around, attempting to distract herself from the recollection of last night’s dream. A woman in a maid’s uniform was seated two rows over, but her eyes were closed as if she’d not gotten enough rest the night before. A young teenager lounged lazily against the side seat, one hand on the pole by his side. He was singing along to the music he heard through his earbuds, an odd, offbeat sound in the muted silence of the subway car. Across from Zoe, a woman was seated and had her arm around a young girl, obviously her daughter, who leaned across her mother’s lap and played with a small doll she held. The child looked at Zoe and smiled. An old woman with hair coifed meticulously and her makeup and clothing immaculate, sat staunchly upright a few aisles down as if she were in a beauty contest.

Zoe sighed and looked out the subway’s window, the images floating past so quickly she could not focus on any one thing. Again, despite her best efforts, she was reminded of the lingering images from her dream last night. Why had it seemed so real and why did it haunt her so? Looking down at her hands clasped in her lap, she realized that they were slightly shaking. The dream had most definitely affected her more than she had realized when first she’d remembered it.

The subway suddenly halted, and Zoe heard the call for Cortlandt Street. Her stop. She quickly rose and headed out onto the subway platform and up the steps leading to the street. As she did so, a feeling of dread and something she did not recognize seemed to fill her, and each step she took became more and more difficult. As she reached the street, she pulled out her cellphone and called her mother.

“Hey Zoe! Is everything all right?” her mother immediately asked since she did not normally hear from her daughter until midday or after work hours.

“Hey, Mom. I’m fine. How are you?” Zoe asked.

“I’m fine dear. Are you sure you're all right?” her mother could hear the hesitancy in Zoe’s voice and sensed there was an underlying reason for the call so early in the morning.

“Yeah, Mom, I’m OK. It’s just….” Zoe didn't know how to explain about the dream.

“It’s just what, dear? What’s going on?”

“Mom, it’s just that I had this horrible dream last night about something bad happening at work, and I can’t seem to shake it. Now I’m really dreading going to the office. That’s crazy, right?” It all came pouring out of Zoe, and her mother could hear that the fear in her daughter's voice was very real.

“Now dear, didn’t you tell me you had that huge, important marketing meeting this morning first thing?”

“Yes,” Zoe admitted.

“Well, I’m sure the dream just represented your fears about the meeting, but there is nothing to worry about. You go to work and show them what you’re made of.”

Zoe was quiet for a moment before she said, “Yeah, mom, you’re probably right. It’s probably nothing – just a bad dream.” But Zoe did not convince herself even though she spoke the words.

“OK, dear. Please be sure to call me and let me know how the meeting goes. I love you, Zoe.”

“Will do, mom. Love you, too.”

Zoe headed down the sidewalk along the last block until she had nearly reached her building of work. Stopping just outside of it, she entered the Starbucks Café next to it to get another cup of coffee before she went up to the 82^th floor of her building. Standing in line, she was greeted by her co-worker, Rachel.

“Hey, Zoe. Ready for your meeting this morning? It’s a big one!”

“Yes, most definitely,” Zoe tried to sound enthusiastic and confident.

Rachel arched her eyebrow questioningly. “What’s up with you? You don’t seem like yourself this morning.”

“It’s nothing. I just had a bad dream - about work,” Zoe shared and shrugged as if it truly was nothing.

Rachel laughed. “What did you dream? That the marketing department burst into flames, the meeting was canceled, and we all got to go home?”

Zoe's face turned white as a ghost, and she didn't utter a word. Instead, she looked at Rachel, her brown eyes wide.

Rachel looked at Zoe in disbelief. “Zoe. I was just kidding. Are you all right? It was just a dream – whatever it was about!”

Zoe nodded. “Yeah, you’re right, Rachel. I’m being silly. It just seemed so real.”

Rachel picked up her latte and turned to leave. “Most dreams do seem real, I guess, but whatever your dream was, I’m sure it was just some stupid dream caused by something you ate – like jalapeños.” Rachel laughed and headed out the door.

Everyone thought she was being silly, but Zoe’s gut was speaking volumes to her right about now. Thanking the barista for her cup of coffee, she turned and headed to the door. Moving the few steps toward the towering building where she worked, she stopped just short of the revolving glass doors at its entrance.

Zoe didn’t know how long she stood before the revolving glass doors, all she knew was that she could not take one more step into the building that loomed before her. All her mind was absorbed with was the memory of the white dust that covered everything, the heat that surrounded everyone, the ringing in her ears, and all the people about her screaming and running as they panicked amidst the confusion and turmoil. Her legs felt weak and her hands shook more than they had on the subway, and the feeling in her stomach was anything but normal.

Meeting and work be damned! Zoe threw her cup of unfinished coffee in the nearby trashcan and turned around to head back to the subway station. She never called in sick, but today, she was definitely sick: sick from the memory of the horrible dream from the previous night and all the after effects of it.

Heading back to the subway platform and waiting for the next train to home, she looked at her watch and realized it was now nearly 8:15 am. She must have stood on the sidewalk contemplating going inside to work much longer than she had realized. The doors to the subway train opened, and Zoe quickly entered and took a seat inside, an immense relief invading her as the train took off to quickly head the distance to the neighboring borough where her loft apartment was located.

Zoe picked up her purse and found her cellphone to text her boss, advising him that she’d be unable to attend the meeting, and she wouldn’t she be in for the remainder of the day. She apologized for the short notice, but told him that she felt unwell. While it wasn’t precisely the accurate truth, it wasn't exactly a lie either. She had felt very unwell as she stood before that tall building, and nothing could have propelled her feet forward. She had tried very hard, but all to no avail. Her mother and Rachel would scoff at her and further confirm she was being paranoid and silly, but at this point, she did not care. All she felt as she exited the subway station about twenty minutes later was unexplainable relief.

The doorman greeted her with a surprised look as she entered her apartment building. “Hello, Miss Zoe. Are you unwell or did you forget something?”

“I’m fine, Paul. I just decided at the last minute to take the day off.”

“Excellent. Enjoy your day!” Paul smiled as she entered the elevator and headed upstairs.

Zoe walked down the long hallway to her apartment. As she was unlocking her door, Marcus opened his.

“Playing hooky?” he teased.

“Yes!” Zoe responded and laughed.

“Well, come over later for a game of rummy if you feel like it,” the older man said. “I’d love the company - and the distraction!”

“Will do,” Zoe said as she entered her apartment, closing the door behind her.

The clock on the wall said 8:45 am. Removing her cellphone from her purse, she placed it and the purse on the small kitchen table and went to the fridge for a bottle of cold water. Opening the bottle, she lounged lazily on her comfy sofa, very glad for some odd reason that she’d followed her intuition and come home. Plumping up the pillows behind her, she relaxed and began to doze off.

It was probably thirty minutes later that Zoe’s cellphone began buzzing and vibrating on the kitchen table. Half asleep, Zoe considered not answering it, assuming it was work and that her boss was calling to fuss at her about not showing up for the scheduled meeting. Thinking better of it, she sat up, but not before the phone stopped ringing.

As Zoe started to lie back down, the phone immediately began buzzing again as if someone was attempting very hard to contact her. She also realized she could hear the roar of sirens from outside, and there was an overwhelming abundance of them, too. Was the building on fire? Zoe quickly rose and headed to the table to retrieve the phone, but as she did so, there was also urgent knocking on her door. Uncertain as to what was going on, Zoe grabbed her phone and opened her door at the same time she answered the phone.

“ZOE!” It was her mother. She was screaming, and she was obviously very upset.

“Mom? What’s wrong?” Zoe quickly responded.

Looking at Marcus, she realized she also saw panic in his eyes as he mouthed the words, “Turn on the TV”.

“Zoe! Are you all right? Where are you?” her mother was yelling so loud that Zoe had to remove the phone from her ear. She could tell that her mother was crying.

“Mom, I’m OK – I’m OK. I’m at home. What’s wrong?”

“Oh my God! Thank God!” her mother’s sobs and relief could be heard through the phone, and she had finally ceased her screaming.

Turning on the television, Zoe looked questioningly at Marcus. His eyes were wide and full of surprise. Or was that fear she saw? As she turned to the television, she saw the words she would never forget, headlining the bottom of the screen “Airplane Crashes into Twin Tower in Freak Accident”.

Dear God in Heaven. The Twin Tower was where Zoe worked. It was now 9:03 am and as Zoe and Marcus watched the television, their faces revealed further horror as a second plane hit the sister tower. This was no freak accident. Zoe could barely think less alone speak in the moment, still listening to her mother’s sobs over the phone.

“Mom. Mom. Calm down. I’m OK. I didn’t go to work,” she told her, attempting to calm her further while also trying not to cry as well. Marcus touched Zoe’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly as she spoke, wanting to offer both comfort and a prayer of thanks that she had come back home this morning in lieu of going to work. Zoe was in complete shock.

Her mother was still crying hysterically. At long last, she calmed down and was able to say, “I’m so thankful you didn’t listen to me, Zoe, you know, about the dream - the premonition. I was so stupid. Thank God in Heaven that you didn’t go to work! What would I have done if I’d lost you? All those poor, poor people.” Her mother started sobbing again.

Zoe’s heart sunk to her feet as tears filled her eyes. The dream. The horrible dream had been more than a horrible dream – it had been a premonition. There was absolutely no doubt of it.

Zoe, too, immediately thought of all those people with whom she worked and those whom she knew like Rodrigo that worked in the sister tower. Would they all perish or would they be able to escape this horrible tragedy? It did not seem a likely possibility at the moment. She immediately sent up prayers for the safety of all involved.

Zoe’s heart broke into a million pieces as she and Marcus somberly continued to watch the news the remainder of the long day and well into the night while listening to the nonstop sirens that filled the surrounding areas. She knew that she would forever give thanks that she had listened to her gut instincts and paid attention to the foreboding brought by the horrible dream. She would never, ever again doubt herself or her instincts. This day of September 11, 2001 was a day that would haunt her, and many others, for as long as they lived.

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Dedicated to the many victims of 9/11, as well as the thousands of fearless and dedicated responders, both professional and otherwise, on that tragic day.