UNWANTED DREAMS - CHAPTER - II

Iliana woke up early in the morning, relieved and somewhat uneasy that she hadn’t had any nightmares the previous night. She sat up on the bed and tried to remember the last time she was happy. Ever since the nightmares came back a few months ago, she’d barely had enough sleep. Although she had gotten quite used to having them, they were particularly torturous and unrelenting this time round. If she wasn’t too scared to fall asleep, she’d be struggling to wake up from another one and losing energy in the process. She had woken up early that day because Sid would be coming back and she wanted to get ready for that.

She sleepily dragged her feet to the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove to brew herself some tea. She hadn’t been cooking for the past few days because she felt weak, tired, and lazy. Instead, she regularly ordered food from a nearby Chinese restaurant. When Sid was home, though, she usually cooked since he didn’t like Chinese food – something about him that Iliana hasn’t been able to understand even after three years of being together. Who doesn’t like Chinese food?

…

Sid stepped out of the cab and carried a compact overnight bag, which was tightly packed with clothes and a few toiletries. He rushed up the stairs of their apartment building and hurried towards their door. There was a small package on the foot of the door. It was addressed to Iliana. Without thinking further, he picked it up and then fumbled in his pocket for the key to their apartment.

“Iliana! Honey! I’m back.” He walked into the room and hurriedly threw everything on the floor after setting the package down on the coffee table. Iliana didn’t respond. He opened the bedroom door and found her asleep on the bed. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully so he decided not to wake her up.

…

It was drizzling and the weather was dark and gloomy. Her surroundings were unfamiliar. She was standing on a street of cobbled stone. She looked around; there was no one about. She found herself walking forward but then there was something prompting her to stop in front of an unpainted brick house with a red door. She started walking up the steps and tried to get to the door, but every time she got close enough she seemed to be pulled back farther from it.

She was struggling to get to the door. She needed to get inside. She didn’t know why but she just knew she had to. The more she struggled, the more she grew breathless. Suddenly, the rain stopped and the door creaked open. She could see that it was dark inside the house. Something was pulling her towards the door this time… She got closer and closer.

“Iliana! Iliana! Wake up! Iliana?” She heard Sid’s voice. The door disappeared. The whole place faded into a white mist and then she woke up with a start.

“Iliana? Are you getting one of those dreams again?” She couldn’t speak and was breathing heavily. Sid pulled her close to him and held her. “Honey, we have to get some help. This has been going on for too long.” She heard Sid talking but it seemed as though his voice was coming from a distance. Her ears were ringing and her head felt heavy. They just sat on the bed and held each other for the rest of the day.