Thursday, 22 September 2022

Awake While Dreaming - Short Story - by Angel Edwards



Awake While Dreaming

The gift (or the curse) was present in her life since she was a child. This was the ability to remain awake while sleeping. I suppose it is commonly thought to be lucid dreaming; where the dreamer is in control of what happens in the dream. It wasn't anything like that. Chelsea was not in control of anything that happened in her dreams. She was cognizant, aware of everything that was happening, of every event, every feeling, every sensation, every nuance, every colour, every scope of the dream, but as in waking life, human beings are in control of precious little.

...

A face of a stranger was caught staring through the foggy window. The face wore a disturbing smile. A long hand reached right through the window and grabbed onto her long red hair.

Chelsea managed to free herself but left behind quite a few strands of hair.

The stranger grew long fangs and gnashed them menacingly.

"What do you want? "she cried out "what are you what are you doing here in my dream. Begone"

To her amazement the figure completely disappeared with a wave and exaggerated bow.

Long strands of the pulled-out hair were tangled around her feet

In a temper Chelsea ran to the bathroom and cut off her hair to shoulder length.

The result was jagged but refreshing somehow modernizing.

Chelsea knew that none of this really happened and her hair would be its regular chin length when she awoke in the morning.

She went back to bed back to sleep. Her sleep was not natural. Sleep did not come easily

The predominant emotion in her life now was fear of nightmares, trepidation and the anxiety of anticipating an unknown fear or attack from some occult dream creature.

She didn't tell anybody about this not her parents not her sister not her teachers. None of her friends knew about her other life her non-sleeping life her dreaming awake life.

But as the years passed Chelsea grew to except this phenomenon as just a normal part of her nightly life.

In time she gained control over her dreams and the nightmares stopped.

Her dream world became more real to her than the waking world

 

 

Angel Edwards is a singer songwriter guitarist published writer published poet with 4 books from Vancouver BC Canada. member of AFM local 145. BMI SOCAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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