Nightmares and Flashbacks

Submitted into Contest #92 in response to: Set your story in a countryside house thatโ€™s filled with shadows.... view prompt

138 comments

Sad

This is something that really happened. I wrote this a while before, not sure whether or not I should post it, but here I am.


TW: content may be too mature for some readers. Read with caution.



Whispers of hate and neglect fill my mind, seeping into every corner of my soul, squeezing the life out of my body. I was having the nightmare again. My mother, her brown eyes uncaring, stares at me and tells me she doesn't love me. She smashes a plate on the floor, angry tears threatening to surface. I yell at her as the dark world around us swirls, dark figures with red eyes staring at me, reminding me what a failure I am. Next thing I know Iโ€™m in the water, a white wedding dress draped over my body. I see someone in the distance, waving their hand for me to come over. I recognize it as my stepfather and I smile, lifting my arms to swim towards him, but each time I reach out my hand he gets farther and farther away. The water around me turns red, and a slimy hand reaches out from the murky depths and grabs me, pulling me under the surface of the water. I struggle against it, recognizing the one pulling me under, and panic rises through my chest. I reach towards the surface and scream my fathers name, tears mixing with the salty ocean as water fills my lungs. I fight against the creature, but I seem to be moving in slow motion, my arms like lead weights. I finally free myself from its grasp, swimming towards what I hope is up. Water and blood surround me, the whispers of failure getting louder and louder as my lungs burn for air.ย 



*****


Another dream. No, not dream... nightmare. I ran through the street, rocks and stones thrown at my head. I reached my house, bursting in and closing the door behind me. I gasped for breath, telling myself over and over that it's not real. It's just a nightmare. But nightmares have a way of killing you from the inside out.


I should be used to it. Nightmares are a nightly thing for me, after all. But I couldn't go running to my parents room this time. I'm 14 now, I shouldn't have to do this. I gaze around the house, seemingly like the one in real life, except there was a large gaping hole where my room was. My mother walked in, her face once again blank and void of emotion, just like it is in all my other dreams. She looks at me and utters a single sentence.


"Get out."


My body is thrust towards the now open door, and I clutch the doorway, tears streaming down my cheek. "No, I don't want to! Please, let me stay!" Behind me is my father... not my stepfather, like before. My real one. My Papi, as I call him. He wears an orange jumpsuit and chains around his wrists, holding a white wedding dress like before. "Come on, Monica, let's go. We are going to have a great time! I'll show you my house, me new wife, even my bedroom..."


"No!" I shrieked, clutching the doorway like my life depends on it. My father- my stepfather- appears in front of me, his eyes green and unemotional.


"Please, daddy," I beg. "Don't let him take me."


"I don't know who you are," he says, and my heart shatters as I lose my grip on the doorway. Papi grasps my wrists and drags me across the yard, a smile on his face. "We're going to have a great time, mi chucha, just you and me."


"No!" I scream, struggling against his iron grip. The chains clatter against my wrists as blue and red lights flash from across the street, a wailing siren piercing the air. Several cops materialize in front of me, guns trained on us, and a bullet strikes the air, making its mark on Papi's heart. I fall to the ground as harsh sobs choke my throat, and a strangled cry escapes as two more bullets are shot and my mother and father crumple to the ground.


*****


I lie in bed, attempting to fall asleep, yet at the same time afraid of what will happen once the dark holds of nighttime consume me. I close my eyes, and seemingly not a moment later, gunshots ring in the air. I hear my mothers voice yelling at us to get down on the floor, but Iโ€™m so disoriented I simply sit in bed, trying to shake off the last remaining wisps of sleep. My mother bursts into my room and grabs me by the shirt, thrusting me to the ground as she hisses once again for me to get down. She winces at the pain in her back, a result from years working in the military. She leads me to the opposite side of the house, the gunshots finally registering. Gunshots were common in our neighborhood, but these were so close, so real, as if they were right next door. My two little sisters sit huddled next to me underneath the raised counter, tears streaming down their cheeks. I catch a glimpse of my dad, his usually brown eyes a bright green, and there was something elseโ€ฆ I saw a look in his eyes I hadnโ€™t seen in a while, and the blood drains from my face when I realizeโ€ฆ


Heโ€™s having a flashback.


He paces back and forth from us to the entrance of the house. I hear the sound of a door opening, and I gasp as I realize he went outside. With the gunfire.


โ€œWhy did he go outside?โ€ asked one of my little sisters.


โ€œMilitary instinct,โ€ responded my mother. โ€œAssessing the threat.โ€


As soon as the words left her lips, I heard the sound of shattering glass as a stray bullet made its way inside the house.



*****


Even after that day, I remember the look in his eyes, one full of pure wild instinct as his mind flashes between us and a battlefield, gunshots ringing in both. Iโ€™ll never forget the look he gave me, our green eyes meeting, yet seemingly not even recognizing who I was.


May 07, 2021 18:17

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138 comments

Please excuse the constant change of pov's and messiness of the writing. I was simply trying to get it all down when I wrote this, not worrying about form or grammar or anything. I request constructive criticism to be withheld since this is not a normal story.

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Powerful. Wow... I mean the change of pov? Cool... This was definitely heartfelt. And while I know it's real life, I love the contrast of the two main characters so much... great story!

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Valerie June
19:07 May 07, 2021

Thank you for sharing this Abbie. I normally don't have either dreams or nightmares, but once I had a terrible nightmare. It was so vivid and even though I had it so many years ago, I remember it clearly. It was kinda similar to what you described in here.

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Valerie June
20:28 May 07, 2021

Yeah, and you're story expressed exactly that. In our role play, do you think I'm doing alright? My first few ones were a bit weak, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it now! XD

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Kazumi Mishima
02:46 May 08, 2021

I can't imagine how horrible all this was for you. But thank you for having the courage to share it with us. Just know that we're all on your side, no matter what happens. Have you been doing all right lately?

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Kazumi Mishima
02:18 May 09, 2021

Glad to know you're doing okay! ๐Ÿ˜ I'm doing all right, too. My voice is starting to return to normal after all the dust I inhaled today during yard work, so that's good. Plus, I have an excellent story idea in mind.

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Kazumi Mishima
03:15 May 09, 2021

Seems like you and Jose are having a wonderful time together as well! That's an excellent poem.

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Valerie June
03:28 May 09, 2021

Hehehe..... ๐Ÿ˜œ Cat Noir tried his best. Unfortunately, rhyming isnโ€™t a very strong point of his but he managed for his Milady.

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Kazumi Mishima
03:31 May 09, 2021

How'd you come up with all that? I loved it! (And yes, even though I know nothing about Miraculous, I've been watching that thread. Ah, well. . . always like to know what my friends are up to. ๐Ÿ˜‰)

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Valerie June
04:06 May 09, 2021

Weโ€™re talking about the poem, right? (We gotta look out for each other even during strange circumstances! ๐Ÿ˜† Abbie introduced me to that show and now I canโ€™t stop watching it. It seems like a lot of people like Cat Noir but, and pardon me for saying this Abbie, I prefer Ladybugโ€™s character.) You probably understood almost nothing about that thread and what I just told you. ๐Ÿคฃ

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Valerie June
22:26 May 18, 2021

I'd try my best to get and, most importantly, stay on Adler's good side. I wouldn't want to end up like that--other guy. But I also don't want to be a pushover; it's a very delicate balance. Lol! On here you see a lot more of my "extroverted" self. Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe what I call my "extroverted" self is just me expressing what I often keep on the inside. If that makes sense? Here's a new thread as promised! (I agree, it was getting pretty tight. Wait, do you think Abbie's getting notified each time we message on here? This...

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TJ Squared
18:34 May 07, 2021

wow abbie, powerful stuff there. It felt so real and vivid (which I'm sure it must have been for you). Just remember that God is always there for you <333

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Sia S
06:00 May 08, 2021

Wow. For a second i forgot this was a story- rather a dream If you need anything lmk kay? Im so sorry. I've had nightmares too. Like- so vivid ones you forget that you're dreaming. I've had them of my best friend getting possessed (in which i saved her in the dream by cutting of my arm or something and then irl she betrayed me.... so there's that.) My mothed dying (dream) And me getting kidnapped by a weird girl.

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Sia S
03:34 May 09, 2021

<33 Yup. Me too <33

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19:24 May 07, 2021

Oh. My. GOSH!!! This story just blew me like out of the water. Everything was so vivid and it was like I was actually experiencing these dreams. Your imagery was amazing and the frequent pauses that you take added just the right amount of suspense. Honestly, the change in pov didn't bother me at all. I liked the whole balance of it. It was AMAZE ing!!!

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12:24 May 28, 2021

I never read this, and I have to say, wow, those nightmares must've been rough! Those are scary for sure. Hope you're feeling better now.

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I wish i didnt have to but sometime within these 2 weeks my chromebook is gonna be taken up and i am prob gonna move schools too <3 already making a list of ppl i need to follow in my new account -if- i can even access reedsy again. ima miss yall so much <3

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Oh, i see. :((( Will u still talk to me in remind? And keep writing ok? And i hope u return too. dont forget me...

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i wont be able to :( everything ison my school account and computer, which will both be taken away over the summer I will i def will <3 I wont, making a list of people i need to follow when/if i get a new account

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