by Lee Strauss
Life Is But a Dream
A Nursery Rhyme Suspense (#2)
Lee Strauss
ESB Publishing
LIFE IS BUT A DREAM
A Nursery Rhyme Suspense
By Lee Strauss
dreams aren’t real
unless they are
when someone wants to watch you drown
you better pay attention
Sage and Marlow are reunited in this second book of A Nursery Rhyme Suspense series. When Sage’s dreams merge with Marlow’s they know something strange is connecting them. But when the drowning dreams start to come true, Sage wonders if she can prevent her own death.
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February 2016
1

Sage
Someone was sitting on my head. And blowing a trumpet in my ear. I groaned, stirring up a tidal wave of nausea. I sat up and the room spun, thrusting me onto my back. I wouldn’t make it to the bathroom; I leaned over the edge of my bed and threw up on my black pumps.
I wiped my mouth on the shirt sleeve of my gray satin blouse, which I’d been wearing since the night before, and pinched my eyes shut, desperate for sleep to release me from my agony. Weighted darkness cloaked me and I slipped back into my dreams.
The air is cool and crisp, like late autumn. Leaves fall from the thinning branches. The world is an overexposed purple and green. My feet slip on the damp ground, and I grab the arm of the guy beside me. I don’t see his face.
My chest tightens with fear, but I don’t know of what. In front of us is an abandoned cabin, dark and sinister. Why are we here?
We’re looking for something.
No. Someone.
We climb through a broken window and my pants snag on the jagged glass. My nose twitches at the smell of dust and mold and cigarette smoke.
Someone has been smoking here. Someone’s here. We aren’t safe! I grab the guy’s arm again, this time seeing his face. Black-framed glasses over light green eyes, shaggy brown hair. His expression is serious. Somehow I know his name. Marlow.
We run down a dark hallway into a bedroom, and my heart leaps! A girl is tied to a bed. She’s a brunette, but she has Teagan’s face. Is it Teagan? My Teagan? Her eyes open and flash with recognition when she sees me.
“Sage?”
“Teagan! You’re alive!”
Suddenly I’m in the hallway, walking toward the front door. I stare at my hand. I’m holding a cell phone, my cell phone, but it isn’t my hand. It’s large and masculine. I have a man’s hand. I reach for the door, knowing what I have to do. I have to call 911. I have to get help. I open the door and yelp. A gun is pointed at my head.
My eyes sprung open. My heart beat frantically, thumping hard against my ribs. Teagan. When reality dawned, as it always did after a Teagan dream, a dark blanket of depression settled over me. It wasn’t Teagan’s body that slept soundly in the bed across the dorm room from mine. Teagan was gone. She was dead.
I squinted against the glow of morning light. An alarm went off and Nora’s red head popped up from under thick covers. She tapped her phone, killing the siren, and yawned. Then her freckled nosed wrinkled.
“What’s that awful smell?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling fresh embarrassment. “I threw up.”
“In here?”
“I couldn’t make it to the bathroom.”
Nora turned on a light and a groan escaped my chapped lips.
“Well, are you going to clean that up?”
“Yes. I’m sorry,” I said again. I was sorry. I’d become a drunken idiot since Teagan died.
“Sooner would be better than later,” Nora said as she spritzed perfume into the room. She disappeared into the bathroom and I forced myself to sit up.
Nora O’Shea was my new roommate. We were in the same math and science program so we shared a lot of classes. Like me, she was focused and tidy, and she appreciated numbers and logic.
Teagan had been my best friend since grade school. She was an artist: messy, colorful and disorganised. She was nothing like me. And I missed her so much.
I heard the shower turn off, a signal that I had to start moving. After reaching for my glasses, my faves with bright purple frames, I managed to inch myself out of bed. I found an empty plastic grocery bag and gingerly picked up my pukey shoes and tossed them in. I stuck out my lower lip with regret. I really liked these shoes. I held the bag gingerly as I shuffled out of the room, down the hall and into the common lounge where I disposed of the bag in the garbage bin.
Nora exited the bathroom just as I got back, and I took a turn. I washed my hands then downed an extra-strength Tylenol with two glasses of water. I reached under the sink for a rag and the cleaning products, returned to my side of the room and started scrubbing the low-pile industrial carpet.
“Um,” Nora started. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
I held my breath as I scrubbed my vomit out of the rug. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been hanging out with Jake.”
My hand stopped and I looked up at her. “Teagan’s Jake?”
“He’s not Teagan’s Jake. They broke up two weeks before she…”
“I know. It’s just, I’m used to seeing him with her.”
“That’s why I haven’t said anything before.”
“So why are you saying anything now?”
“Because I think we’re about to make it official.”
I frowned.
“Sage, please understand. I really, really like him and he likes me. It’s awful what happened to Teagan, but life goes on.”
I inhaled deeply, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the swelling pain in my chest.
“Look, if it makes it easier for you, we won’t hang out when you’re around.”
I sighed again. “No. It’s fine. You’re free to date whomever you like.”
“Thanks, Sage. I know the last four months have been hell for you.”
Four months? Already? It felt like Teagan just left me last week.
Once the carpet was cleaned, I crawled back into bed and watched as Nora got ready to go out. She looked really cute in her jeans and trendy spring jacket. Her hair hung over her shoulder in a long, crimson braid.
She paused at the door. “Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Are you meeting Jake?”
Her glossy lips pulled up into a smile. “Yeah.”
“Say hi for me.”
“I will.”
I watched her go and it was like the sunshine left with her. The room suddenly grew dimmer and it threw me back into my dream. The cabin. Teagan. The guy. The gun.
I’d seen the guy before. He’d called a cab for me once, on my first drinking spree after Teagan died. He’d saved me from a potentially bad situation. I saw him around campus on occasion, but we never had reason to talk since then.
I wondered why I dreamed about him. What was the cabin all about? And why did Teagan sometimes have brown hair instead of her natural blond?
I was just glad they’d caught her killer. Some hotline tip. It wasn’t the first time I’d dreamed about Teagan. That was normal. It also wasn’t the first time I dreamed about Marlow, a guy I barely knew. In one apocalyptic dream, I power-hosed him in a decontami
nation shower. He was buck-naked.
In fact, he appeared in almost all the dreams I had about Teagan. At least the bad ones. Why? What was it about this guy? I wondered if I should look him up.
2

Sage
Nora’s voice shook me out of my stupor the next morning. “You’ve been standing there for five minutes. You’re starting to freak me out.”
I blinked as my awareness returned to my closet. Goose bumps broke out on my bare flesh as I stood in nothing but a bra and panties. Right. I was getting dressed. I chose a black shirt and a pair of jeans, nothing fancy. Socks, sneakers. A tan faux-leather jacket my brother Ben had bought me for my birthday.
“I’m meeting Jake before class,” Nora announced. “I’ll meet you there, okay?”
I stared at her, not really liking that she was seeing Teagan’s old boyfriend. Not liking the thought of walking alone. Nora’s hazel eyes regarded me hopefully. I sighed. “Sure. See you there.”
I inspected my reflection in the mirror. My long dark hair needed washing. I didn’t have time for a shower so I pulled it back into a ponytail and added a purple hat that matched my glasses. It reminded me of Teagan. She wore a lot of bright colors. I tended to lean toward the darker tones, especially now. Dark suited my general mood.
Rain tapped on the window, a soothing rhythm that made me long for my bed. I was tired all the time. I found it hard to sleep, and when I did nod off I always dreamed. Vivid, lucid, frightening dreams.
I added a black scarf before grabbing my things, remembering my umbrella just as I left. The common lounge in the dorm was quiet with just a few girls drinking coffee and chatting as they sat around one of the tables. Abandoned book bags took up the space on the lone couch against the wall. I opened the black umbrella as I exited the main doors.
The damp late-March breeze felt refreshing against my face like a spring spritz urging me to wake up, to open up to life again. I picked up my pace, not wanting to be late for my econ class.
Nora was already there, her face flush with a rosiness that wasn’t just from the wind. She glowed with new-love or at least, new infatuation, and the way she smirked at me, I would bet she’d been kissing Jake Wentworth.
I let out a long tired sigh. The last time I kissed a guy was when I was with Tristan. He ditched me right after Teagan died, and I still hadn’t forgiven him for it.
The professor drew a graph on the board and started talking statistics. I was usually a keener for stuff like that, but those were the days when I actually slept through the night. My eyelids felt like lead weights. I just needed to rest my head on the desk for two minutes.
I’m in a rowboat, moving the oars silently through the water. It’s gray and misty with fog rolling over the canal. In the distance is a dock. It has two pilings towering on either side, each wrapped with a band of shiny silver metal. A girl stands on the edge. She jumps in and my heart jerks. Her head bobs to the surface but the current takes her downstream, toward me, closer and closer until I can see her face. Her long wet hair is mud-brown and flowing in waves behind her. Her face is round and pale, and her eyes are blue and wide and bright with fear. I could help her, but I don’t. I just watch as she flails, moonlight making the white skin of her arms almost translucent. Then she slips quietly under the surface and disappears.
“Wake up!” Nora whispered loudly in my ear. “You’re dreaming in econ class.”
I pulled myself upright, blinking against the bright light. My pulse soared from the intensity of my dream. It felt so real and I was discombobulated with the sudden transition back into the lecture hall. My mouth was dry. I couldn’t concentrate. All I wanted to do was get outside.
“I gotta go,” I whispered to Nora. “Can I borrow your notes later?”
She waved me off. I gathered my things as quietly as possible and left the class. I made a decision as I headed straight for The Literary Café. No more binge drinking for me. No more idiocy. No more hangovers. Teagan would be so sad and disappointed if she could see me now. Enough was enough already.
The coffee shop was surprisingly busy. I stood in line and bought a coffee with cream and sugar. The place wasn’t exactly large and all the tables were taken. I was about to leave when a guy raised his arm for my attention.
My heart skipped when I saw who it was. Marlow again. This time in real life. He sat alone at a table for two and motioned to the empty chair.
I hesitated for a moment, then took the proffered chair. “Thanks.”
“How are you?” he asked. He wore hipster glasses with black plastic frames, but they didn’t hide the tenderness in his eyes. I could tell his question was sincere. I just didn’t know why he cared.
“Truthfully? I’m a mess.”
He nodded. “It’s a tough time. I’m so sorry you lost your friend.”
“Thank you.”
I blew on my coffee before taking a sip. Marlow watched me with such seriousness that I felt myself squirm under his gaze.
“I also want to thank you for that night last fall,” I said, “when you rescued me from that Neanderthal. What a jerk.” I glanced up over my cup and caught Marlow’s gaze. “So, thank you for pretending to be my brother and for calling that cab.”
His eyes darted around the room as his face flushed before his gaze slid back to mine. “You’re welcome.”
“You are a man of few words,” I said.
He pushed at his glasses and grinned. “Sometimes.”
Marlow wasn’t what you’d call hot or beautiful, but his bashfulness gave him a high adorable rating. Plus there was an inner strength and confidence about him I found pleasing. He didn’t wither as I took him in—messy deep brown hair; long, lanky limbs; intelligent pale green eyes. I felt like I knew him. But that was crazy. I didn’t even know his last name.
“What’s your last name?”
“Henry.”
“Mine’s Farrell.”
He nodded and I got the feeling he already knew that.
“I quit drinking,” I said. Something about Marlow Henry made me feel safe. I could trust him. I could confess.
“That’s good,” he said. “When?”
“Just today.” I chuckled humorlessly. “I need to get my crap together.”
“You can do it,” he said. “You’re a strong person.”
I huffed. “No. I’m not.”
Marlow removed his glasses, reached across the table and took my hand in his. He looked me straight in the eyes. “You’re much stronger than you think you are.”
I trembled at his words. At his touch. I was shocked at how his nearness made me heat up.
I gently pulled my hand away and wrapped it around my mug. “I dream about you,” I said.
Marlow’s eyebrows arched, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
My face flushed. “Not like that.”
“Like what, then?” he asked.
“They’re actually dreams about Teagan, but for some reason you’re in them.”
“Tell me.”
I told him about the dream I had that morning. About the cabin and us finding Teagan as a brunette tied up on the bed. About the scene change and how I had a phone in a man’s hand. And the gun in my face when I opened the door.
Marlow had grown pale. “How is that possible?”
“How is what possible?”
Marlow rubbed his eyes and replaced his glasses. “Uh, nothing. Just, yeah, that’s a strange dream.”
“I’ve been dreaming a lot lately. I don’t sleep well, but when I do, I always have these crazy dreams.”
I told him about the short dream I had when I fell asleep in econ class. “It was awful. I could’ve helped the drowning girl, but I just watched her die.”
“Have you seen anyone?” Marlow asked. “A counselor or a doctor?”
I stared at my hands. “Not really. My brother keeps bugging me to go to someone.”
“Why don’t you?”
I shrugged. It was humbling to a
dmit you needed help. I thought I was strong enough to get through this on my own.
Our attention was grabbed by a growing rise in the chatter in the room and I managed to avoid answering his questions. Students at the tables around us were all checking their phones. “What’s going on?” I asked.
Marlow drew his phone out of his pocket and started tapping. Then he frowned. “Apparently a student drowned in the canal last night. They pulled her body out this morning.”
My pulse quickened. “Is there a picture of the victim?”
Marlow held his phone out to me. The girl was Caucasian with blue eyes and long brown hair.
“Oh my God, Marlow,” I whispered. “That’s her. That’s the girl from my dream.”
3

Marlow
I’d been watching out for Sage Farrell for the last four months, hoping a natural opportunity would come for us to hang out. I could’ve forced myself into her social circle, but I knew Sage well enough to know that approach wouldn’t work. Better to wait for the right time to present itself.
My patience paid off. She opened up to me in a way I could’ve only hoped for. It was like she felt the connection between us even though she hadn’t lived through it like I had.
And her dream about the cabin and Teagan—it was identical to my dream last night! It was natural that I should dream of the event because it was my actual experience. But Sage, this Sage, she hadn’t been there. She hadn’t seen this.
So how come she was dreaming about real events that hadn’t happened to her, but to me?
Weird.
She was thoroughly freaked out by the drowning victim. Again, she had dreamed about something that really happened, but to another person. How was she doing that?
