Dreamscapes

by D. H. Quinn

  “Let’s go,” Arden says as he stands up from his chair. He marches further down the alleyway. Garrett follows and I do as well although I am still not entirely sure why.

  Arden leads us frantically through different streets using the same method from before. “Is he always like this?” I ask Garrett in a hushed tone.

  “His demeanor is what it takes for him to survive,” he replies, a simple shrug on his shoulders. The discussion on Arden ends.

  “What did you mean when you said I am corrupted?” I ask.

  Garrett shakes his head sadly. Arden glares back at us with a finger to his mouth.

  “I will tell you more after you speak to Jack. But right now, the best thing we can do is let him concentrate,” Garrett says nodding his head towards Arden.

  Arden leans forward and wipes sweat off his brow. He stands up stiffly and turns sideways. We follow him smoothly and I don’t ask any more questions. He leads us to what resembles a large amphitheater. We stand at the top and look down at the descending rows upon rows of seats. Garrett steps forward and slowly floats down.

  “After you,” Arden gestures and he seems calm now.

  “I don’t think I c,” I am suddenly tumbling down the steps. I felt a gentle shove on my back from Arden and now I am falling forward, rolling more like. The pain from the impact hits my arm then my legs then my torso. From all of the gymnastic classes I took when I was young, I manage to tuck my head and arms in and become as much of a ball as I can to protect myself.

  I hit my head against the stage and black spots intrude on my vision. “Are you all right?” Garrett looks down at me from the stage. His little face seems to float above me. I blink my eyes and unfurl my arms and legs. My vision clears.

  Arden comes floating down as Garrett had, looking utterly confused. I manage to pull myself into a seated position. “She just fell,” Arden says stupidly and I flush with anger. You pushed me, I want to yell but I am having a difficult time taking in a breath.

  I brush off one shoulder and then notice that the other hangs loosely from its socket. No other injuries are noticeable. The shoulder burns and I let out a small gasp. Garrett hops down from the stage and grabs a hold of my arm. “I got it,” he tells me and I close my eyes. The pop sounds as my arm goes back into my socket. A radiating soreness shoots through my shoulder down to my arm.

  “How am I alive?” I say dazed as I gaze up at the hundreds of steps above us. “I should be bleeding more, right?” I stand up slowly and take in the sensations of my body. It feels relatively okay.

  “You can’t get seriously injured in our world,” Arden answers.

  “Is that why you pushed me?” I ask with a hint of irritation because it still hurt.

  “I thought you would float,” he says and his wide eyes make me believe him.

  “Arden she is different, you need to be careful with her,” Garrett scolds and I want to laugh. The image of the gap-toothed little boy scolding the outwardly put together redheaded man is too funny.

  Arden leaves his mouth open and nods, taking in Garrett’s words. I turn and look up at the stage in awe. The lights are blinding, the curtains are a majestic blue, but the thing that catches my eye is the sets which seem to be little towns in themselves. I see a detailed western set, a roman pavilion with a large Trojan horse, and a Japanese town complete with cherry blossoms.

  “We should be going,” Garrett says. He hops back up on the stage and reaches his hand down to pull me up. I thank him. He stops center stage, looking down at the ground. He taps his foot on the ground five times and the floor opens in front of him.

  He steps forward and then floats down. “You first,” I tell Arden, not wanting to repeat my last mistake of turning my back to him. He does not object and follows Garrett. I wait a few seconds then look down the hole. I see nothing. I breathe deeply and step forward. Something moves below my feet much like an escalator but I see nothing but blackness in front of me.

  Eventually, I am completely in the pitch black. I try not to panic, taking deep steadying breaths. “Arden,” I say hoping he is still somehow in front of me.

  “Yes,” he responds to my relief.

  “I thought my dream shifted,” I tell him. “I thought I was going into my nightmares,” my soft voice cuts through the silence.

  “If you think about it then you will,” he says then pauses, “but I wouldn’t know about that.” At his words, I keep my mind calm. I did not want to change this dream into a nightmare, besides I was enjoying unraveling this story too much.

  “Three...Two....One,” I say with a deep breath each time in a near whisper. “Three... Two...One.”

  “What are you doing?” Arden asks.

  “Three...Two...One. My father used to tell me to do this whenever I wasn’t feeling okay. I can calm myself in any situation,” I explain. I still feel a downward movement occurring.

  “Strange,” Arden replies.

  “Never heard of deep breathing exercises?” I ask.

  “No, the parents’ thing. No one really talks about them here,” he says.

  “Arden, you are a really strange figment of my imagination,” I close my eyes and feel perfectly calm with a smile growing on my face. I open them once again and finally see the light at the end of this darkness. Garrett and Arden’s silhouettes are outlined. Once the platform lines up, I step forward and feel relief at the solid ground.

  “This way,” Garrett leads us through an illuminated hallway. I see no detail in the room. The walls and floor are stark white that makes my eyes water. Such a contrast from the previous room. Once we reach the end of the hallway, Garrett turns the handle of a door, the only door in this place.

  My mind questions why they are hiding in such a place. Are they hiding from the authorities or from something else? Maybe they are hiding from what was chasing me. Then again, I had not felt its presence since I arrived in the city.

  I follow Garrett through the door with Arden close behind. We walk into a carnival scene complete with a starry dotted sky. My mouth drops open. How are we outside? I have to remind myself that this is a dream. But when would I wake up?

  I gaze up at the ten story high Ferris Wheel. Being that I am afraid of heights, a bit wooziness flows through me even thinking about it. A roller coaster with a dragon head on the front creaks past. It turns and the wheels literally lift off of the track.

  Garrett leads us straight into the heart of this place. Past concession stands smelling of freshly popped popcorn. We also pass rows of carnival games with no attendants. In my childhood, I vividly remember our father taking us to some places similar. The memory warms me.

  We stop at a psychic's tent of all places. The tent is black with dark gray stripes with white flashing lights proclaiming psychic. “I will wait out here,” Arden immediately stands to the side of the entrance.

  Garrett says nothing in response but opens the tent’s flap and walks in. The fear in Arden’s eyes make s me not want to enter either but my curiosity pulls me forward.

  “Jack,” Garrett calls once we enter the tent. The inside is dimly lit with five hanging candles in the middle. A table with a crystal ball sits underneath.

  “I thought you knew I don’t believe in tarot readings or psychics for that matter,” I whisper to Garrett with a playful smile.

  “Is that true?” A woman asks as she strolls in from a back room. “Well then.” A bright light illuminates the room from above. “It is good I am not really a psychic then.” Her perfectly arched brows lift. She wears a long black flowy dress with her small bare feet poking out. Her toenails are short and painted red. Her long wavy hair is a stunning shade of deep purple. I grip at my medium length curly hair in self-consciousness.

  She grins knowingly and her smile feels overly charming. “Jack,” Garrett addresses her, “we have a problem.” She was Jack. Such a boyish name for such a beautiful woman.

  “I can see that.” She approaches me slowly. I nervously shift from one leg to the next at he
r scrutiny. She grabs my hand and holds it in hers as if we are close friends. Her hand is cold. “Aleksander,” she calls and a young man rushes out. He is dressed in all black and keeps his head tilted downwards. His brown hair hangs in front of his eyes and avoids eye contact.

  “Yes ma’am,” he says in a low tone.

  “Go grab Arden from outside. Make him come in so that I may explain what is happening,” she says smoothly but I understand the threat behind it. He nods and leaves the tent obediently.

  An argument commences outside, muffled words with emotion behind them. Arden bursts through the tent and falls to his knees. He gets up slowly and wipes his knees and then steps to the side and crosses his arms against his chest. He attempts to put on his front once again but his lip quivers just a bit. Aleksander walks in after him and stands in front of the tent entrance, keeping his gaze forward although he knows I am looking at him from the side. Why is he avoiding even glancing at me?

  “Sit,” Jack says as she releases my hand. Two chairs are in front of the table with the crystal ball. I take the right one and she takes the left. “I am sure you are confused,” she says to me.

  “In this moment I am because I thought I was here because of their concerns,” I say indicating Garrett and Arden.

  “I forget you humans have no greater awareness than what exists in your own world,” Jack sighs. She tosses her hair over her shoulder. I slouch in my chair, taking it as the insult that it is.

  “This is a dream.”

  “So, you believe.” She pouts slightly as she pats my left thigh in sympathy. Her condescension seeps through her words.

  “She is corrupted Jack, how did she get in here?” Garrett asks. He seems the most relaxed out of the entire group.

  “You led her here didn’t you?” Jack asks as if this is the obvious answer to his question.

  “That is not what I meant,” Garrett has a small snappiness in his tone. Arden flinches and I expect Jack to react but she just smiles slightly as if Garrett’s reaction amuses her. Jack sits back in her chair. “You sent me to her, you must have known .”

  “I send you after many humans, how could I have possibly known?” Jack’s still slightly smiling.

  “Don’t give me that crap,” Garrett says banging his fist against the table. His small face distorts with rage. I have never seen such an emotion from a child. It’s been obvious though that Garrett was hardly a child, mentally at least. "You had to have known. Why else would you see her?” Garrett says and his words confuse me.

  “I don’t see everything,” Jack’s smile finally drops. She is done antagonizing him. “Oh, our guest is leaving but we will be seeing you soon,” Jack says to me, a cute wave on her fingertips and I suddenly wake up in the real world.

  Chapter Two

  My dog sees my waking movement and cuddles against me. I scratch his head momentarily and then check the time on my phone which is 9:01am. My phone rings.

  “Hello,” I answer with a contained yawn.

  “Kamari.”

  “Yes mom, I am here.”

  “Good. I wanted to make sure you are not going to be late for the dinner tonight.” I push the sheets off of my legs and sigh.

  “Of course not mom.” I step into my slippers which immediately hug and warm my feet. The weather has been getting colder thankfully. Cuddling up in warm clothes and blankets is my favorite time of year although it becomes even harder for me to leave my house. My dog jumps off the bed, ready to head outside.

  “Good because your brother won’t want to start without you and that time on Thanksgiving when you,”

  “Mom that was one time,” I interrupt, “and you know that wasn’t a choice the snow was crazy.” I sigh again having to repeat my excuse for my lateness for the millionth time. I step into my living room and let my dog outside. The wind hits me and I quickly close the door.

  “This is important to your brother. It’s his eighteenth birthday and,” she begins.

  “Yes, I will be there. I have to go mom. I need to get ready,” I interrupt. “Goodbye,” I say and hang-up quickly. A second’s worth of guilt rushes through me and I shake it off. I did not need to get ready right now for our 8pm dinner but I at least wanted to enjoy my morning. My mom started with don’t be late and usually ended with something nit-picky about my appearance and how I should do something better with my hair. This is the hair you gave to me!

  I slump down on my couch, enjoying the stillness of my house and reflecting on my dream. The characters’ vividness replays in my mind with a realness I cannot shake. The places I visited stick in my memory. My dog’s bark interrupts my reflection. I let him inside and serve up his breakfast which he gobbles up quickly. I resume sitting on the couch.

  I yawn and stretch and then turn on the television. I decide to watch one episode of the show I am binging at the moment. At some point my dog joins me on the couch and cuddles close to me.

  I can’t really pay attention to the show as my own story plays out in my mind. That man Aleksander, he was avoiding me and for some reason that bothers me deeply. He knew something. He knew about what was happening to me while the others seemed clueless and even though I was in a dream, my instincts insist something more is happening.

  I stop watching TV around 10 am and make a small breakfast consisting of toast and scrambled eggs. Afterwords, I wrap my brother’s birthday present which is a pair of expensive headphones that he had requested.

  My brother and I are six years apart and although we were not close when we were kids, we have a close bond now. We have similar personalities, tastes and a similar sense of dark humor which no one else in our family understands.

  My phone rings and my brother’s face pops up on my screen. “Hey Rob I was just thinking about you,” I say as I answer.

  “Hey, please tell me you will be early,” he says nervously through the phone.

  “As agreed upon but you are going to owe me.” I lean forward on my table, a small smile forming on my face.

  “I know, I just want to spend time with all of them but I don’t want mom to chase off Jessica,” He says. Jessica is his newish girlfriend and our mother is tough on Robert’s girls.

  “I hope she is ready.” I sigh.

  “She is, Kamari, I love her. What about you? Are you bringing your boyfriend?” he asks too eagerly. If I did it would help remove some of the tension off of him and Jessica.

  “Sorry, single once again.” My boyfriend that he referred to was a man I dated briefly for only two months.

  “You don’t even need mom!” he jokes and I laugh although his words hurt me just a little. I stay silent too long and he picks up on it. “Hey I’m sorry.”

  “No you are right but let’s not worry about that now. Happy Birthday by the way. I hope you got to sleep in.”

  “Yeah that does not happen in this house but mom is taking me shopping as a gift, should be fun.” Although our mother does not like his girlfriends, she loves her son very much. He is athletic and smart, a true golden boy.

  “Yeah good luck.”

  “Hey, do you want to come along?” he asks teasingly.

  “Good one,” I say with a laugh and he laughs as well. “Well, I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Yeah see ya!” My brother hangs up the phone. The rest of my early day is uneventful. I clean up the house, make a quick lunch, shower and finally get ready for the dinner.

  Once I arrive at the restaurant, I sit in my car contemplating, reflecting once again on my dreams. When I was younger I used to constantly day dream, thinking about adventures and stories that could happen to me. My younger mind was so much more fun and optimistic. My brother honks as he pulls into the spot next to me bringing me back to reality. I check out my makeup and hair in the car mirror and then exit my car with a deep breath.

  My brother smiles widely at me and puts his arm around his girlfriend. She is pretty and petite. Her long blonde curled hair bounces with each step. “Kamari this is Jessica.” She sticks
out her perfectly polished hands and my short unpainted finger nails wrap around hers.

  “Hi,” I smile warmly, shaking her hand.

  “Nice to meet you. Rob has told me so much about you,” she smiles back genuinely. I find myself scrutinizing her. This is always an issue with me, I always over analyze. I have a problem trusting people and I try to read their intentions. In the end I do trust my brother and his judgment.

  “Here,” I hand Rob his gift. My parents are backing into their parking spot. “Open it now,” I tell him.

  He does and thanks me excitedly. Jessica comments that those are the exact pair he had wanted. He hugs me. “Happy Birthday. I am really happy you were born,” I say. He grins and then decides to put his present in the car. Our parents finally make their way over to us.

  My mother’s eyes immediately dart over to me and examine my hair, clothes and shoes in that order. “You look skinny Kamari, I should have taught you how to cook,” she laughs but no one laughs with her.

  “Hi mom, hi dad.”

  “Hey honey,” my dad says warmly.

  Jessica stands in our circle awkwardly for a second then she surprises me and sticks her hand out. “Mrs. Hanson it is so nice to meet you,” she says politely. Her hand hangs in the air for a moment and then my mother reaches out and shakes it.

  “Jessica,” my mother says formally but with no reciprocation of pleasantries. After she releases Jessica’s hand, my mother grips her purse tightly against her arm and chest.

  “Nice to meet you,” my father says and shakes her hand. I see the relief go through Robert. Luckily birthdays produced my mom’s best behavior. Dinner goes well. My brother beams when Jessica talks and I am happy for him. Jessica is truly a sweet, smart girl.

  The best part of the night is singing happy birthday to Rob in the middle of the restaurant. He acts embarrassed but his genuine smile states otherwise.

  I leave the restaurant around 9:30. My dog happily greets me when I get home and within less than an hour, I fall asleep.