Fly Me Away

That night, I had one of the worst sleeps I had ever had. I woke abruptly at about 5 in the morning curled up at the bottom of my balcony door; my throat felt like it had been grated with a cheese grater.

I groaned and wiped my eyes; they were soaked with tears. When I sat up, my head was throbbing furiously. Minotaur was sitting beside me patiently. His eyes looked somewhat sympathetic when he curled up in front of me.

I stood shakily and collapsed back on my bed, then immediately closed my stinging eyes. Minotaur was up there with me in a flash, his furry body curled up by my feet again. He was being such a good dog, how peculiar.

“Good boy,” I whispered. My hand flew to my throat - my voice was coarse and painful to use. I must have been screaming. There was movement from the other side of my bed and my eyes shot open.

Mom’s sleepy form rose beside me. She rubbed her eyes before focusing on me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay honey?” She whispered. I nodded and closed my eyes again.

“What happened?” I whispered back, my voice breaking in several places. She pushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

“I heard Minotaur barking so I got up, but then you started screaming,” she got out of my bed and tucked the sheets in around me, “you were having a bad dream and trying to get out onto your balcony when I came in. I couldn’t get you back into your bed though…. and I couldn’t understand what you were talking about….”

I was listening, but falling asleep. I nodded weakly. My throat was burning and my head ached – I was just too tired. I felt myself drift back to, hopefully, a more peaceful sleep.

-----

Time flew past and I felt like I had done absolutely nothing productive with it. Pip and I started hanging out together again, which was nice, but I always had that nagging feeling that Kelly should be around too. Jackson was becoming an amazing memory. I didn’t think I would hear from him again, but I was alright with it. He was just a guy.

It had been ages since my horrifically bad run in with a night terror, but I had developed an annoying tendency to have nightmares every night.

My beside clock said nine o’clock that morning and I was still lying in my bed. Minotaur was there too, breathing softly in the space beside me. He had become very clingy over the past few days and I had started to let him stay in my room with me. It wasn’t like he took up a lot of space on my bed.

I sat up and stretched; I had had an alright sleep. The doctor had given me some sleeping pills, but said there was not much else he could do. Minotaur hopped over to me and I pulled him in for a quick cuddle.

“Hey Min.”

His tail wagged excitedly; weird dog. I could have sworn he actually liked me.

-----

I began taking Minotaur for a walk in the woods every Saturday morning. Out of the blue, he officially became a well behaved dog. I trusted Minotaur enough to let him run around off his leash while I enjoyed the woodsy smell and the incredibly fresh air. Minotaur ran a little way ahead of me, weaving through trees happily. Rays of sunlight peered through gaps and made patterns on the wide path in front of me. I was reminded of the dream I had had last night. I started paying attention to my dreams – Doctors orders.

Though I couldn’t entirely remember what it was, I did remember small details. For instance, I remembered being alone and the patterns made of light on the forest floor, those were so vivid. I was on a cliff at one point I think…

I kicked the leaves on the ground as I struggled to remember.

A cliff, patterns of light and…. no, I wasn’t alone at all. There was somebody else in my dream with me. A boy I thought, but my mind was too hazy to recall.

Then I realized something – Minotaur was gone.

“Minotaur?!” I called, cupping my hands around my mouth.

There was no reply. I called again, still no response. I started to panic. I broke into a run and continued calling his name, but I couldn’t hear anything apart from my own footsteps.

I made it to the top of the trail, which was also the top of a low hill with a view that looked over the town. There was still no sign of the dog.

I sat down on a tree stump and caught my breath.

“Minotaur? This isn’t funny!” I called once more, puffing like I had just run a marathon. I should have taken up some kind of sport that summer.

Then, like he had never left at all, Minotaur appeared at the foot of the bench, panting just like I was. I jumped and recovered in the space of two seconds. It was time to play bad cop.

“Where did you go huh? I was worried sick!” I scolded.

He pulled his tongue back into his mouth and gave me his best apologetic look, but that wasn’t going to cut it. I clicked his leash back on roughly and rushed back home. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was so mad, he did come back eventually, but I just....was!

I left him in the backyard that day, while I loitered around the house by myself trying to keep busy. The anger never really subsided, and I was beginning to wonder why.

I had forgiven Minotaur; it wasn’t him making me angry anymore. Perhaps I could pin it on sleep deprivation, or maybe I was developing a bad temper from keeping it all bottled up. I sighed and threw my worn out body on the living room sofa. Not the most comfortable place to nap, but it was inevitable. The television was switched on - infomercials playing on repetitive loops.

*****

I was in a field.
I could see a large, violent tornado in the distance ripping its way towards me. My heart was pounding against my rib cage, but I wasn’t moving. My eyes slid down to look at my unmoving, useless feet. They weren’t frozen or attached to the ground; they were just not listening to me.

My head whipped back up to the tornado – it was so close. The wind was pulling on my hair and clothes. I started to scream, but there was no one around. Then, to my utter despair, I started walking, not away from the tornado, but towards it. My legs had a new found mind of their own.

“Help!” I yelped, twisting my arms around attempting to free myself.

“Stop.”

My body froze.

“I’m here. Listen to me.”

It was a man’s voice. The most beautiful voice I had ever heard in my entire life. I listened, the fear beginning to subside.

“Turn around.”

I turned. The minute I did, the horrifying sound of the tornado ripping dirt from the earth vanished. There was only a gentle breeze now.

“Walk.”

I walked. My legs weren’t listening to me, but they sure as hell listened to him.

The scene in front of me suddenly changed. There was a sun setting and a cloudless purple sky. The grass was tinted orange from it and I could hear birds chirping merrily, but not see any.

“You are safe now.”

I marvelled at the jewel tone of his low voice, and the way it chimed when it reached my ears. I sat down on the grass and folded my legs, waiting eagerly for my saviour to show himself.

“Good girl.”

He sounded happy.

This, in turn, made me feel overjoyed. There was a large goofy smile on my face and I giggled girlishly. It was hard to believe two seconds ago I was screaming for help. I searched for the body belonging to the voice, but I was still alone.

“Hello?” The frailty of my voice compared to his surprised me.

“Hello.”

Butterflies. Literally, hundreds of butterflies littered the field to accompany the ones in my stomach. He responded to me. It was strange, but I was suddenly aware that I was dreaming, and that made everything seem so much more real.

“Thank you…. whoever you are,” I said shyly, hoping I had said it loud enough.

“Anything for you Maggie.”

The butterflies multiplied by a hundred and I was suddenly swarmed by them. A lump rose to my throat – I had to know whose voice this was.

“Who are you?” I asked, searching for him through the butterflies.

Suddenly, there was a black silhouette of a person standing before me. The butterflies grew excited and flew around him in a big colourful flurry. I could not see him, only the black outline of his tall body.

“Is that you…?” I asked, squinting my eyes through the butterflies.

“Yes.”

The butterflies went crazy at the sound of his voice.

“What’s your name?” I shuffled towards him, but he took a step back.

“Hmmm…I think it is best if you do not know.”

The butterflies slowed.

“But you know my name,” I whined, pouting in his direction. He laughed – a beautiful, comforting laugh. The butterflies enjoyed this very much; they appeared to be dancing cheerfully around him.

“This is your dream isn't it? I have to know you name.”

The butterflies picked up the pace again, circling him almost questioningly now.
I hesitated before speaking, “… can I see you at least?”

There was complete silence apart from the birds chirping and the soft fluttering of tiny butterfly wings. I waited in anticipation. Perhaps he was contemplating…

“Another time.”

I gasped. I knew that voice. I recognised the exact way he said those two words.
Then everything began to fade and I could feel my chest rising and falling quickly. I took a sharp breath and my eyes snapped open.

Jackson.