Erin returned to her bedroom alone, oddly aware of Andy’s presence even though he was on the other side of the house. She crawled into the bed and drew the covers up.
Falling asleep had been difficult for a long time. Waiting for a demon to show up in her dreams should have made it worse. In a way, the anticipation did make it hard to fall asleep, somewhat like trying to fall asleep the night before a big vacation. Still, it was a far better sensation than the angst-filled nights of tossing and turning and going over every terrible event in her mind until she dropped, exhausted, into a sleep filled with torturous dreams.
She rolled over and sighed. Random images flitted through her mind.
The bed, the room, and the world around faded from her awareness.
She found herself standing alone in the living room of the darkened house. She shivered.
Andy’s voice floated over her shoulder. “Erin,” he said.
Erin turned to look for him. “Andy?”
He appeared out of the darkness, a faint corona of red highlighting him all the way around, even to the tips of his wings, which he extended to full length before folding them behind him like an eagle. “Do you remember? You’re dreaming now.”
“But it feels so real,” said Erin. She looked around and realized that beyond the living room, the scene faded into utter blackness. “This is really weird.”
“Do you want to wake up?”
“No!” Erin placed her hand on his arm. “Not yet. What happens next, though?”
Andy shrugged. “That’s up to you. And your subconscious mind.”
Erin patted herself. “If I’m here, how am I separate from my subconscious?”
“You’re dreaming lucidly now. You’re in a dream, but you’re aware of it.”
“Okay.” She looked out the window of her dream-house. The light outside went from nonexistent to full sun in the blink of an eye. She watched as Mark’s car pulled into the driveway.
The dream flickered. Mark stood in the kitchen. No; it wasn’t Mark—it was a dream-Mark.
A dream-Erin walked into the kitchen.
This was how it always started.
Erin and Andy watched the scene unfold.
“Where were you?” said dream-Erin.
“I had to work late,” said dream-Mark. “Lots to do.”
“You’re always working late these days.”
“So? You don’t want me to be successful?”
“Of course I want you to be successful. But we hardly see each other any more, Mark. I’m lonely.”
Mark took a sports drink out of the refrigerator and twisted the cap off. “Oh? Is that a threat? Are you threatening to find someone else?”
“That’s ridiculous! How can you even say that?”
“Well, with you acting so weird, what am I supposed to think?” He guzzled the drink and dropped the empty container on the kitchen counter with more force than necessary.
The dream flickered again. The Mark and Erin of the dream disappeared, and the sunlight died, leaving the house in silent darkness.
“You okay?” said Andy.
“Yeah,” said Erin. “I dream about that all the time. It’s surreal to watch from the outside, though.”
