Forsaken Dreams

I sigh, and turn the light switch. That didn’t help. There is no electricity. I go to the bed and sit, my hand searchingly tying to find a knob to a end table.

Got it!

I open it and search for a candle and match.

Ugh, I cant find it!

Wait, there we go. I pulled out a very wax and small candle, with a packet of matches. I lit it, blowing the match out. Now that I have light, I search more in the end table for a base to put the candle on. I found one and put the candle on the base, on the top of the end table. I give myself a mental note to find more candles later, because that candle will not last long.

I look up and gasp. Finally taking in my surroundings. I’m in a little girl’s room. Very pink, cute, and delicate.

Who did this room belong to? I can’t help but wonder.

How much joy, and love could have been in this room. Or maybe sadness, since the owner of this room was no longer here. I wonder what happened. Oh wait, I know. The zombie apocalypse is what happened. I smirk, at how stupid and pathetic I was.

How could I forget? A feeling of sadness sweeps over me. The little girl could have been so young, maybe six or eight years old. And gone. Dead or Returned. Then that makes me think of my family and friends. And how they had the same fait. I sigh, dropping my backpack on the floor, and crawl into the thick wool covers of the bed.

Warmth.

And just as I was about to drift into nothingness, I had a thought.

What is that man’s name? And did he have a sister?

Just then. Blackness.



It was dark when I jolted upright to a shrieking tremendously high and keening. I was in bed and breathing hard. It was still pitch black everywhere, which told me it was a few hours before dawn.

The time when nothing moves - well, except Returned - and life waits for the first warm touches of sunlight. My heart pounded as a terrible premonition gripped me. It felt like a shroud lay over the world, and its darkest corner was over the little girl’s room I was temporarily living in.

I looked to the right to find the candle I lit, giving off smoke. I unfolded myself from the covers. The room was chilly; goose bumps formed on my arms and shoulders. My move legs to the side of the bed, rubbing sleep out of my eyes.

Where is that shrieking coming from?

I groan, quietly getting out of bed. When I stood, I took in my surroundings. I still couldn’t see anything, but it smelt like ashes. I walk, my bare feet swirling the dust on the wooden floor, as I move toward the shrieking noise. Still half asleep, I found myself looking through the window.

After seeing what I saw, I bolted wide awake. My mind catching up with my eyes. I saw him, the man, murdering someone.

How could he! Who does he think he is?

I shiver.

Not from the cold, but the sight. Wait, that’s not right. There is no people. I look closer to see the person he was killing, wasn’t a person at all. It was a zombie. They aren’t people. They are already dead.

I blew a sigh of relief. Tears escaped my eyes, just as I closed them.

What an emotional week for me.

Finally, I opened my eyes. I hoped the zombie and the man were gone. But they weren’t. They were still there. Which confirmed that this wasn’t a dream.

I knew killing a person was bad, and that killing a zombie wasn’t. It was just, that they looked so much like people, that I couldn’t hurt them at all. I could run and hide, but I never had the guts to remove the head of a zombie before.

I just kept wondering, who those zombies once were. Did they have children? Did they have hobbies? Talents?

Just then, the man looked up to my window, our gazes locking. I froze, and after a few moments, I moved out of sight, my back against the wall. Breathing hard, I slide down the wall, until I was sitting on the floor.

I tightly closed my eyes, wishing for my life back. Wishing for my mother, my father, school, happiness, trips to the beach and grandma’s house, vacations to Hawaii. All of it. Down to the last detail. My lips trembled, but I refused to cry anymore. I will be strong. I have to be.

I opened my eyes, and I made myself smile. Something I haven’t been able to do in what felt like forever. You can’t find happiness, you have to create it. I laughed, and shook my head.

What a crazy world.

I’ll prove to myself how strong I can be. With that, I stood up, wobbling. As I navigated my way back to the bed, feeling its warmth.

Soon, I drifted to sleep. But this time in a long time, I fell asleep with happy thoughts, and a smile.