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I wander back to my bike, seeing the empty bench where Billy lay just a short while ago. I lift my bike from against the light pole and hop on, peddling home as quickly as I can. I don't even think about my friends that are at the park probably waiting for me.
I can only think of the strange, gray-eyed ballerina who left a burn mark in the pit of my being.
I lie in my bed, the heels of my feet scratching against my blue sheets. My solar system quilt set suctions me against the bed and makes me hot. It's a claustrophobic feeling. Although, I don't think it's the blanket that's making me feel like this. After watching Luna earlier, I came home for a late dinner and a quick phone call from my dad. I barely remember a word that was spoken, my eyes still playing the image of Luna's dark hair in the bun, rolled tight on the top of her head. Her gray eyes. Her long legs. The small shoes that wrapped around her feet like they were meant to be there. After a quick bath, now I'm in bed. Wondering why this feeling hasn't left my chest. I’m a little frustrated at the fact that I can't get her out of my head.
Tap, tap.
I would think it's a moth flitting against my window, until I hear it again in the same tempo.
Tap, tap.
I toss my sheets back and slide out of bed. I sleep on the second level, so I don't know how anyone could be tapping on my window unless they were on the deck. It's the middle of the night, too. That thought alone makes me want to go get my mom before finding out who it is myself.
That doesn't stop my body from wandering over to the window, though. I pull my dark curtains back, and there she is.
Luna.
Dressed in a matching pant and button-up shirt set, she stands there with a sad look on her face. Her head nods, gesturing for me to come outside.
My eyebrows furrow, worry and curiosity getting the best of me. I nod, walking out of my room and tiptoeing across the carpet. My floors are creaky, and I make sure to step on the firm spots to not wake up my mom. Once I reach the back door, I flick the lock up and pull open the heavy door. Luna stands against the edge of the deck, her front pressed against the railing as she looks out at the lake. Her hair blows in the night wind gently, blending in with the night sky.
The cool wood creaks as I take a step outside, walking up to her.
"Are you okay?"
She lets out a shuddering breath, a heavy frown on her face. Her eyes are a little glossy. "I had another nightmare."
I turn toward her at the same time she turns toward me. "What was it about?"
"The same thing." Her gray eyes burn brightly in the night, a yellow hue lighting up the edges. "I'm on a mountain. The waves are so angry. It's almost like they are mad at me. And this soft sand, almost like dust, it chokes me. It gets in my hair and my eyes as it rains around me. Then a huge gust of wind comes, and I fall over the edge."
"And?"
"And I wake up." A tear leaks from the corner of her eye, and I don't think twice as I lift a hand and brush it away. It's wet as I rub it between my thumb and forefinger. I let it seep into me, my skin absorbing her tear as my own.
She looks so scared and concerned. I want to make her feel better, but it's a little risky to be talking to someone in the middle of the night out on my deck. I would go fall asleep on her floor like I have all summer, but with it being the school year now, my mom wakes me up really early in the morning. I’d be in big trouble if she came to my room and I wasn’t there.
"Want to go down to the lake?" I suggest.
She looks at me sideways, like I'm crazy or something. "You want me to go down to the lake after I just had a nightmare that I drowned?"
"I wouldn't let you drown, Luna," I say the words with such sincerity that her snark drops, and wonder fills her cheeks, blossoming them with a light pink hue against her stark white skin.
"Okay, just for a minute. I better get back home before someone finds out I'm gone."
I nod, and we walk across my deck and down onto the wet grass. It's cold, and my feet are instantly freezing. The moment my feet hit the sand, I dig my toes beneath the grains, enjoying the slight warmth they still hold from the sunny day.
Luna walks a few steps further, until her toes hit the wet sand and a small lull of water comes and curls around her toes.
"Why do I keep having this dream? It's like it's trying to tell me something," she says into the distance.
For the life of me I can't figure it out either. I'm not a mind reader and I don't know anything about the future, or premonitions, or anything like that.
"I don't know," I mumble honestly.
She whips around and stares at me, alarm and desperation in her eyes. "Will you take me there someday? To this cliff on the water?"
"I told you I would. We'll go to where the mountains meet the sea. And we'll stand there, and this nightmare can go to hell because sand isn't going to come and swipe you over the edge."
