Arial

Arial…

That name. Spoken softly.

Arial…

Repeated slowly, in a voice so sweet and somehow familiar and foreign all at once.

The sky. Blue, clear, but with a tinge of malice. Murder.

Arial…

It was a dream. One that Eron had been having for as long as she could remember. One that had been dismissed by many as next to nothing. ‘Don’t worry about it’. That’s what everyone said. ‘Everyone has recurring dreams’.

But it was more to her than that. Of course she had normal dreams, as well. Usually random things like high school reunions (didn’t she just leave that place last year..?), cars that didn’t drive right, and multicolor ponies. But this one had more depth, more density, as if it were happening as she dreamt it. And each time she had it, more would be uncovered. Like one tiny piece of a jigsaw puzzle was being found and positioned into place.

She felt now as though it was getting closer to completion…

…and she wasn’t sure that she liked the conclusion.

There was more blood this time. It soaked the front of her gown and made it stick to her skin like syrup, thick and warm. She could feel tears pouring from her, her eyes swollen, but she didn’t move. She was frozen, dazed, stunned into place by what she could only assume to be shock or fear. Her hands felt the same warmth that fixed to her torso, and her nails felt dirty. What had she done?

Arial…

The voice again sang to her. The familiarity frightened her. Was he trying to awaken her?

Look. Look at what you’ve done.

He laughed. She stood bewildered in the same spot for a moment, then managed to stagger slightly to the side. As she turned her head, a few strands of hair pasted to her face, a feather drifted around her and fell, sending out ripples in the puddle at her feet…

…and she opened her eyes.

To the morning. She was sweating, and the heavy comforter wrapped around her wasn’t helping. She twisted herself out of it and kicked it off to the side then laid still for a moment, shielding her eyes from the rays creeping through the blinds.

Odd, she thought to herself. That’s the first time he’s said anything other than the name.

She shuddered slightly, thinking of the laugh. It was deep and chilling, and made the voice seem all too happy about what had gone on.

Whatever it was, she tried her best to push it to the back of her mind and roll out of bed. As she sat up, the alarm on her cell phone started blaring, and she made quick work of it. This was not a day to be worrying about the silly, oddly realistic recurring dream. It was her birthday, and she was going to make the most of it.