I'm lying in a small bed with thin sheets. Groggy with sleep, I tuck the blankets under my chin and roll over. My eyes open a slit. I'm in a large room with pale green walls and curtained windows. The walls are lined with beds, all filled with little girls sleeping. I look down at where my feet poke up under the blankets. Aren't my legs supposed to be longer?
"Jessie, you're up," comes a low, gentle voice.
I rub my eyes as a man approaches. He has bright blue eyes, full of kindness, peering out from beneath a full head of curly blond hair.
I sit up. Where's Buffy?
"Jarek, where's Buffy?"
Jarek smiles and bends down, resurfacing with a light brown teddy bear in his hands. "Here she is." He hands me the soft brown bear. The one Mommy and Daddy gave me.
I snuggle with Buffy and burrow back under the covers. Jarek scans the area, as if he's looking for something. He walks off and grabs a plastic red chair a couple beds down, then comes back and quietly plops it by my bed. He lowers onto the chair, shifting as he tries to find his balance on the kid-sized seat.
"Did you sleep well?"
I bury my face in Buffy's tummy, breathing in the smell of banana and chocolate pudding.
"I think so."
He tugs a small notepad out of his pocket and retrieves a pen from the crook of his ear. "Do you remember what you dreamed of?"
I shake my head.
"Hmm." Jarek taps the pen against the notepad. "Were you maybe playing with someone in the dream?"
A flash of a memory. Freckles. Water running.
"I don't know."
He sounds disappointed. "Alright." He looks up from his notepad, his gaze resting on Buffy. "Do you want me to put Buffy back on the night table so you can get some more sleep?"
"No!" I hug Buffy tighter, brushing my face against her ear.
His face falls. "Ohh. I'm so sorry, Jessie. I should have known."
I start to cry, my anguished voice muffled in Buffy's dry fur. "I miss Mommy and Daddy."
"I know. I—" He cuts himself off, tears welling in his crystal blue eyes. "I wish things could be different too."
My cry turns into a scream, the pain swelling up in my chest until I think I'll burst—
Cool grass grazes my arms. Stars are sprinkled overhead. Chris is lying beside me.
I let out a deep breath. "I need to walk."
His brown eyes meet mine. "Okay, let's go."
YOU ARE READING
In Your Dreams
Science FictionLOGLINE: A teenage girl meets a boy she's been dreaming about for as long as she can remember, but if she doesn't figure out how his dangerous secret ties into their connection, she could lose him forever. SUMMARY: In Your Dreams is the story of Jes...
