Keep An Open Mind {Lynn Gunn}

1) I'm The One With The Ghosts In My Bed

"Honey, she's getting worse. What if she... what if her brain is gone forever...?" My mother's concerned voice filled the room.

"Shhh... she'll get better..." my father whispered loudly enough for me to hear, trying to reassure her.

"But what if she doesn't? Caleb, she keeps talking about those absurd dreams. I've had enough of this, we need to do something..." my mum sobbed softly.

They had no idea I was listening to them. In fact, I was hiding behind the door as they talked silently in the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible. That was something I did tons of times, I would simply hide in the corner and act all spy-ey without them even imagining. But their words didn't really matter, they just don't understand. And by that, I don't mean they don't understand my 'condition'...

What even was my condition? I was fine. I was 100% sure to be fine. I'm not crazy or lunatic, I just see things in a different way from the other people, I don't know why!

"The therapy isn't working. What if she remains like that...?" my mum said in a concerned tone. I spotted my dad wrapping his arms around her.

"Let's give her one more week of time, one more week of therapy with Doctor Hoppus, okay? Let's see where it goes. If it ends up badly... we'll figure what to do. We better go to sleep right now." my dad said softly. That's when I headed back to my room quickly, though making sure of being quiet enough to not be heard.

Freaking awesome, another week of torture therapy and then what...? What were they going to do with me?

I didn't want to go back to sleep, it wasn't really an option since I was very awake. I grabbed my notebook and a pencil and started scribbling, sketching, drawing.

I used to do that every night. Well, let me explain: Every night I would have these weird dreams that would wake me up, and I always drew whatever was in the dreams. I usually don't fall asleep too soon, I'm kind of a noceur, because either my dreams wake me up or I just need to draw everything on the notebook.

I scrolled through the pages to see the most recent drawings: a giant blue rabbit that stood on two paws with a purple hat on his head, a fount of crystalline water with mixing colors in as a beautiful pegasus was sipping in, a bridge made of ropes that shined in the night like fireflies, and the last one: it was a sunset, but an unusual sunset. There were no clouds, not even a single tiny cloud. I don't know how it was possible.

They think I'm crazy but I was sure, for some reason, that that place did exist. I just knew it, I felt it, and someone somewhere wanted me to be aware of it. My dreams, maybe they were signals... but one thing was for certain.

I was going to find that place one day, that was my only ambition in life. I had nothing else.

-

I was awoken by the sound of the alarm. Ugh, I hate mornings. Actually, I hate the world in general. No, not the world, just the people living in it. Because after all, everyone misunderstands you. People are mean, the world is a wrong place that never gets fixed. However, I was diagnosed with this apparent disturb called 'depression' about two years ago, and I stayed strong. I think that wasn't gonna change too soon, was it?

It's just that people don't understand, they never did. I had no one to share my real thoughts with, but I'm still alive. Not gonna lie, I attempted suicide once, but was stopped by my mother.

I got up with a sigh, made my way to my bathroom and took a cold shower. Not as comforting as a warm shower but I needed to wake up somehow. When I was done, I brushed my teeth and did my hair, taking about five minutes to straighten it. I liked how it looked, light shiny brown as always.

I pulled on a dark blue tank top, a black leather jacket, a pair of black shorts and black vans. Let's just say I like black, okay? I grabbed my bag and put my notebook in, then went downstairs to be greeted by my dad, who was currently reading the journal.

I took a seat at the table and poured some cereal and milk in a bowl, eating silently. No words were needed... or so I thought. Until my dad broke the silence.

"Lyndsey, yesterday your school called again..." he sighed.

I placed the spoon back in the bowl, swallowing the food in my mouth.

"They said you keep looking distant in class. You don't pay attention to the lesson..." he spoke carefully and slowly, as if his words could easily cut me like knives.

Somehow his words actually upset me. Why did the school care that I zoned out so often? My marks were good, I don't see what the problem was. But I decided not to argue with my dad.

"Okay, I'll pay more attention." I lied and stood up.

"Goodbye."

"Wait, Lynn-" he attempted to say, but was cut off by me leaving the house as fast as possible.

The school bus stopped and I hopped in without making a sound, heading in the front seat as always. The back was for the ones that would do pranks and be loud all the time, not my jam really. I just sat there and plugged my earphones in, humming to myself for the whole ride.

One week... My father said one week. Did they really think I was that... broken? Or that my brain had some dysfunction? The thought saddened me. I didn't want anyone's pity, I just wanted to find a reason to my dreams.

I knew they were real and one day, I would be able to taste them, prove anyone I was right, be happy for once in my life.

I kept reminding myself,

This is not just all in your head.