Hush (ManxMan)

5: Night Mares

After having my fifth nightmare of the week, I decided to take Miles up on his offer. It was beginning to affect me and my work. I was becoming tired and distant. The dreams were scaring me and making me paranoid. In each one I had, Jeremy was mutilated and murdered in some way. His head was almost always cut off, or he had his head but his body was mutilated and a wooden stake driven through his chest. I didn't know what to do or make of it. I was losing my sleep and my hair.

So I caved and looked for Hemmings' Herbs in a public phonebook outside my apartment. Funnily enough, although not actually funny, the holistic pharmaceutical was near the school. It was only a couple blocks from it. I decided to walk there.

My entire state was clammy and jumpy. At every street sound I nearly went flying out of my skin. I didn't know why though. I wasn't the one being harmed in the dreams. It was almost always Jeremy, but I was so scared for him that it was really affecting me. Hopefully Miles' family could give me something natural to take away these horrible feelings.

Finally, I was upon a small brick building, crammed between two other old brick buildings that seemed to be apartment complexes. Hemmings' Herbs was written across the dark green awning in gold cursive. I stepped inside and the door let off a chime that sounded like Christmas bells.

To the immediate right there was a tall clerk's counter. It was filled with all sorts of little bottles and plants that were dried. The whole store looked like a cross between and old library and an apothecary house from a fantasy movie. Suddenly I didn't feel like this was a good plan after all. I had to be careful about things that looked like this, because now that I knew that vampires were real, what else was real as well?

Smoke wafted from the clerk counter out of an incense tray and emitted the smell of lavender throughout the building. I could see a few plaques of certifications and degrees on the wall behind the counter, which made me feel a little better about the qualifications of this place.

Before I could leave a woman stood from a bent position behind the clerk's counter. "Welcome to my store. Can I help you?" She asked when she saw me by the door.

I bit my lip and faced her completely.

She looked almost exactly like Miles. This woman was tall and lithe like him, and her aura was stately. Instantaneously I knew that she was his mother. They were both of the same breed obviously. I could feel all the sensations I felt from him, bellowing off of her: all-knowing, regality, and mystique.

"Uhm," I stuttered away, "A boy in my class named Miles recommended this store for me."

The lady grinned widely, "Oh yes. That's my son. I could go and get him for you." She offered.

I nodded my head and she stepped down from behind the counter, going further back into the store.

As I waited I turned to look at the products on the wooden shelves. There were jars full of tablets and lozenges that Miles told me were homemade. There were dried herbs in other containers and each product had a golden sticker on it that had the store name and product written in cursive in a black marker. Talking to his mother made me feel infinitely better because I got a kind and almost loving vibe from her, even though she also had all those creepy ones.

Soon she was back in my presence.

"Would you like to go to our diagnostics room? There we would like you to take a survey so that we can figure out which medicine to give you. Miles will be doing that." Then she smiled questioningly with her eyebrow raised. I could see now that she was in a black chiffon dress that flowed around her body like a halo.

"Of course." I agreed and let her show me through the store. She took me back and into a room that was to the left where there was a beautifully dark wooden table and chairs. The room was painted dark green with gold trimming and chandelier hanging gently from the center of the ceiling. There was a bookshelf on the left wall of the room that had small samples of medicines.