My Reoccurring Dream

(Josie Sayz: I have never really had a reoccurring dream before; not one so precise and exactly the same each time. Over the last month, I have dreamt this often. I often find myself waking up at 2am crying – happy crying. I decided to turn it into a flash fiction piece. Maybe I’ll finally stop dreaming of it, now I have written it down.)

Her stomach knotted. Folding her arms tight, at her chest, she swallowed at the lump in her throat. Shuddering a breath, her insides lathered. As her gaze dropped to the cornflower blue skirting board, her vision blurred. A squeak escaped her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pinched her lips in. Her intestines spiralled around in a circumbendibus. Inhaling a shaky breath, her eyes fluttered to the feathered edging of the worn, leathered, coffee-stained notebook on the desk. Her heart rattled in her ribcage. She squeezed herself tighter. A salty sting tingled in the corner of her right eye, as she gave another sniff.

Voices spiralled around inside her head. Her breathing grew shallow. Her stomach churned. As her fixation in the notebook blurred, the coffee ring-stained coaster, on top of the dvd player, came into focus. Staring at the shaded sunglasses and brimmed hat of the figure etched into the coaster, her chest jittered. The spiralling in her stomach swirled faster. Her tongue scraped against the roof of her mouth. A tingle fluttered to the front of her mind. She staggered back. Swaying her arms, she steadied her balance. She sniffed again. Her voice box squeaked.

Hinges creaked. The door swung open, behind her. She gasped. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she spun around on her toes. Daggering her nails into her forearms, she sniffed, squeaking. “Here you are,” came a warm voice, from the towering man in the doorframe. Her bottom lip trembled. “Come here,” he sang. Holding his arms out, he took a step towards her. With a sniff, the corners of her eyes began to sting. She flopped against him. Burying her head in his chest, she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight. Her body trembled against him.

His touch tingled her spine, as rubbed his hands up and down her back. Shuddering against him, the spiralling in her stomach slowed. The soft fleece of his chocolate brown hoodie stroked at her dampened cheeks. His heartbeat thumped in her ear. A murmur escaped her. “It’s okay,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I’m here, okay? I’m right here. I’m always right here.”

Leaning back, she arched her head up, towards him. Her eyes sparkled. The thumping in her chest fluttered, as his warm grin gazed down upon her. Snapping her eyes closed, she buried her head back into his chest, squeezing him tight. He pulled her near, resting his chin against the top of her head. The thumping in her chest slowed to a calming hum. A murmur escaped her, as she felt the comforting warmth of his toes rest over hers. Closing her eyes, the corner of her mouth prodded up into a smile.

- Josie -