The Enchanted

Chapter-15

I was working quietly at my desk. It was around eight at night. I had decided to work overtime instead of socialising and my boss had agreed readily. It had been a week since Sharon's death and since I had seen Sabrina. There had been a quiet funeral the day before yesterday and I'd decided to skip it. I wasn't feeling up to anything lately. I had one hazy dream after the one in which I had seen Sharon. A woman with long dark hair dripping with water droplets and a blurred face had given me a half-smile before the dream had dissolved. I had been having sleepless nights ever since then.

The time dragged on and soon it was eleven. It was fully dark outside when I closed the office and went to my car. I walked quickly eager to go to the safety of my house as quickly as possible. Starting the car, I drove fast as I could. I was feeling sleepy as though I'd been drugged and everything was moving about slowly. I didn't know if it was safe to drive around when I wasn't feeling well but I sure as hell knew it wouldn't be safe to stop the car in the middle of a deserted road in this town.

I slowly began to feel worse. Biting my lip, I drove as hard as I could. I don't know how it happened but somehow I made it home in one piece. Slamming the front door shut, I tried dragging myself to my bedroom but only managed to make it till the living room. Collapsing on the couch, I closed my eyes. I felt another dream evolving in my head similar to the one I had the night Sharon died.

This time the dream was not as blurred as the previous one. I suppose having experienced it before must have helped. I tried my hardest to see the killer's face but it was covered in some sort of mask and the dream was still pretty blurry. This time again the victim was stabbed but it wasn't someone I knew. It was a balding aged man this time.

The wailing began again and I tried my best to stop it again but I couldn't. However this time, I smelled a faint smell I was sure I knew from somewhere but I couldn't place it. Come to think of it, I had smelled it in the last dream too but had been too terrified to register it. Even though I didn't know the victim, I felt sadness in my soul that ran through deep. Finally, I finished wailing though the experience was as traumatising as before.

Gaping, I felt myself on the verge of waking up when something stopped me. The setting of the dream changed from a dark alley to white clouds and mist floating about. I gazed about, feeling puzzled when I saw the woman with the dripping dark hair again.

She was tall and slim with a sad face and deep brown eyes. She was wearing a dark dress which was stained near the abdomen. It was blood. I stared at her with wide eyes. She didn't seem to be hurting though or if she was she didn't show it. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again.

The woman smiled slowly at me and finally spoke.

"It's truly you," she said. Her voice was warbled as if I wasn't on the right frequency.

"I suppose that's one way to put it."

I stared at her, feeling stunned. Could she read thoughts?

"Only some if I concentrate well enough. And only of some people."

I tried to say something again but couldn't.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to- with enough practise." she had a sort of dreamy feel about her as though she wasn't real. Which she probably wasn't.

The dream flickered again and I frowned.

"No." she screamed, making me jump in surprise. "Don't go yet! Don't do it!"

'I'm not even doing anything!' I thought in bewilderment.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she was yelling as though in pain, batting her hands around her as if to fend something off. In that moment, I noticed how crazy she truly looked. I stepped away from her as the dream flickered again and I felt myself wake up.

I sat up on the couch and ran a hand through my tangled her in frustration. What was even happening to me? I picked up my phone which was lying on the floor nearby. It was the middle of the night, around two. I was surprised to see I had two missed calls from Sabrina. Maybe that had disrupted my dream, not that I was mad about it. I wasn't eager to talk to that crazy woman when I had so many problems of my own.

I tried calling her back but she didn't pick up. I knew I should probably have gone to sleep or something but I didn't want to. Grabbing my coat, I headed out, driving along the silent roads. Before I knew it, I was crying. I needed an outlet for all that I had experienced and crying helped. Stopping the car in the middle of the road, I put my head on the wheel.

Two deaths, not even a week apart. What was going on here? I still didn't know why I was having these dreams. All I knew was I felt an immense sorry at the death of these two people. I thought about the faint smell from my dream but still couldn't place it. Clenching my teeth in frustration, I continued driving aimlessly.

It was about six in the morning when I drove back home. The sky had just begun to lighten. Feeling a bit better from having let it all out, I decided to get some breakfast despite having no appetite.

Pouring myself some cereal, I turned on the television. Even before I had switched to the right news channel, I knew what I was about to find.

Another dead body was found last night, murdered in a dark alley. And it was the same man I had seen in my dream.