Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

dream sequence | forty-eight

The bark of the tree scrapped against my palms as I dug my nails into the rough surface. Once again I found myself always reaching for something, moving toward a certain destination in hopes it would help me escape these nightmares entirely.

The anxious yet excited feeling in my stomach grew as I climbed up onto the lowest branch I could get to. I reached up and grabbed onto another, hoisting myself up higher into the tree. My balance shifted with the branch I stood on as a warm gust of wind shook everything around me.

"Don't go." It whispered, sounding like a far off rumble of thunder.

Goosebumps formed on my skin as the blue sky above began to change, growing darker with the clouds that had rolled in with the wind.

"Stay." The voice continued on. "You'll like it here."

My grip on the tree branch over my head tightened and my body tensed at the thought of becoming used to this place. And I was used to it now, but I didn't want to be. I wanted my shadow to be just that. Something I cast, something I had control over.

I shook my head and continued upward. Twigs snapped and pulled at my clothes as I got higher. My breath came out in tiny gasp as sweat formed on my brow, pieces of my hair sticking to my forehead.

The air became warmer the higher I went, like it was the middle of the summer. Hot and humid. But I was so close I could almost reach up and touch the square shaped hatch that had been cut into the floor of the tree house.

When I was close enough, I pressed the palm of my hand against the wooden surface and pushed. The noise of wood scraping against wood made me cringe, the heavy sound of the hatch door as it fell flat against the inside of the treehouse echoed through the branches.

My hands reached up, my nerves slightly getting the best of me as I gripped the edge of the hole in the floor and pulled myself inside.

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