Al's eyes could not adjust to the pitch black darkness surrounding her every move in the cave. All that could be heard was water droplets falling off the ceiling of the cave, splashing on the stone that surrounded her. Al's hands were touching the stone cave walls as the water that streamed down flowed over her hand making it feel cold and moist. She ran her hands alongside the wall as she walked, unsure if she was going the right way. Her hands could feel the wall's surface, it was rough and jagged. She could only assume she was in a cave. She read about them in school, but never been near one or in one before. As she walked along, her thoughts only raced faster. Questions of why, how, when, where kept running through her head. She kept asking herself where she could be and why she was there. All she remembers is falling asleep in her bed the night before.
Suddenly footsteps growing louder very quickly behind her snapped away the thoughts swarming her mind. Without thinking her feet began moving from a slow walking pace to a sprint. She let go of the wall without hesitation when she began to sprint. For a little bit of time, Al ran straight with her arms out on each side of her, she was able to feel the walls with her finger tips guiding her path. When Al began to lose her breath, she was able to make out a very little faint light in front of her. She focused on it, watched as it got bigger like her hopes for escaping. She could make out green and yellow colors from the light as it grew. Her feet picked up faster until she stumbled to her knees outside of the cave's entrance. As she grasped the ground and felt its beauty that she missed, she looked around seeing a mountain and the cave she came out of behind her. To the side were pathways one leading into a field while the other path led into a forest and in front of her fortunately a bush. She just had to hide there until they came out and went down the pathway so she thought. The sounds of the footsteps got louder and her body shifted gears to the bush, positioning herself behind it so she could see and not be seen. She watched as the footsteps grew closer and closer. As three men rushed out, another
man that was hiding a few bushes down from her, snuck up behind her and shoved a potato sack over her head.
Al's body jolted up right out of bed. Her mother called out to her, "Al! It's time to wake up." Al was laying in her bed while having one of her nightmares again. Al quickly sat up finding herself coated in sweat. She sighed as she tried to wipe the sweat away from her trembling body. The nightmares she has been having every night are different. Some she walks around a castle, another she is greeting people in a city. But this one was one of the scariest she's had yet.
"Okay, Mom, I'm up, I'm getting up." She managed to echo downstairs.
Al had one week left of summer before going to a new school for her last year in high school.
Her whole life she has always gone to private schools. Her parents wanted the best for her, they wanted her to go to a high ranking college and get a decent enough job to maintain her own life without relying on anyone but herself.
This year though, Al finally got her parents to agree to her switching schools and see how a different school would benefit her.
It was her chance to see what other kids were like. She never made any friends at her old school, they didn't accept her for the wallflower she was. She didn't care for sports and just wanted to drown herself into books where she could escape the nightmares of her life.
The thought of being normal always rang in her head, questioning the very existence of what normal really was. She didn't know the meaning of normal when she could feel someone was always watching her. No one knew about the nightmares, letters, and random flowers except for Marco. He was her best friend from childhood.
When she did try to talk to the girls at the school, they would give her disgusted stares and talk about the way she dressed and about the way she read all the time. They didn't like that she wouldn't even give a single sport a shot.
She walked slowly to the computer, rubbing all the eye crust and dirt from her eyes. She started to check for anything new from Marco, hoping there was something to fill the void that has been lying in her heart for the last two weeks.
"Nothing again!" She whispered under her breath. As she stood up, she jammed her pinky toe against the desk. She grabbed her foot as she sat on her bed. She thought about when Marco came over to tell her he had to leave, but didn't tell her why. He told her he wasn't allowed to say.
Marco had lived down the street. He would come over day and night for her. He almost never left her side; like her knight in shining armor.
When they first met, Al was sitting on the curb in front of her house.
"Why do you always cry?" A voice asked her bluntly.
"Why do you always stare?" Al snarled back at the boy. Al had noticed the little boy over the past few weeks watching her outside his window whenever she passed his house after getting off the bus.
"Because a girl should always be strong, never crying. There is more to life than the pain you lived today." Marco said back as quickly as she did. That was the day Marco sat down next to Al and introduced himself, telling her stories of his abusive uncle. He would tell her, "no matter the amount of pain you feel today, it doesn't determine tomorrow."
Al smiled at the flashback of them running through her head. That was the day they became friends and their bond was unbreakable until the day Marco moved away.
Al got up from her bed, shaking the thought away. She softly stepped out of her room and down the stairs. She didn't want her mother to hear her since she always loved to sneak up on her mom. Once down the stairs, she tipped toed and hid behind the wall separating the kitchen and the hallway. As she peeped her head around the wall, she could see her mother going between cooking and cleaning up the kitchen and humming her favorite tune.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, I am happy when skies are gray, please don't take my sunshine away."
Al starts to giggle and slips into the kitchen, telling her mom about how she was singing the song wrong. Her mom snapped back, "so I can still sing my version" they both laughed.
She sat in her same old spot as she watched her mother go back and forth between cooking the pancakes and bacon. The smell of breakfast made her stomach drop to the floor, making her feel queasy in both the chest and her stomach.
"Mom, how do you know you're doing the right thing in life?"
Her mother moved like sly cooper on missions as she cooked and cleaned.
"Honey, with things like that, you just have to trust the pit in your gut and you'll know if it is the right thing or the wrong thing. We all have a thing called common sense, it's just some of us choose to ignore it. Just means you'll know when it is happening."
Al just stared at her, waiting for her mother's wisdom to kick her in the stomach. When suddenly, it hit her like a punch to the face.
"Thanks mom! Call me back down when breakfast is ready." Al raced herself to her bedroom and on the computer.
She started to look things up about reincarnation, stalkers, and recurring nightmares. She couldn't find anything linking them together.
She got off in hopes to find something about the nightmares, the letters and more, but nothing. Once again she was stuck and didn't know where to go from there.
She walked to the window next to her bed, facing towards her backyard.
She could see light blue skies that connected with the dark green leaves that lead down past the brown bark to the flowing knee high light green grass that was filled with flowers of all colors. Pinks, blues, yellows, reds, oranges , and more. So beautiful, so colorful, and suddenly the flowing scenario began to slow almost coming to a stand still when a boy appeared from the treeline.
"It can't be?!" She gasped as her hands covered her mouth.
Al ran down the stairs, through the empty kitchen, and out the back door as fast as she could. She came to a quick stop at the edge of the porch, searching the field, but there was no sign of him there. She glanced down at her cold bare feet. Tears started forming around the bottom of her eyes.
"I know you're not about to start crying because you miss me already."
Al twisted her whole body towards the voice to find Marco sitting in one of the chairs at the other end of the porch. His shirt has tears above his stomach, collar bone, and his left shoulder. There was dirty blood all over his clothes, arms, and face.
Why was he so dirty, she asked herself.
His hair was a complete mess with sticks and grass hanging out of his brown curly locs but underneath it all was Marco.
"What happened to you?" Al asked as she sat down next to him.
"It's a long story and I will explain everything after I get a shower and some of mom's food in my stomach. Do you still have my clothes?"
She nods with a smile and eyes still tearing up.
"Now stop that crying, you dork!" Marco said as he patted her head before standing up.
Right before he opened the back door, he turned around with a grin on his face.
"Why haven't you hugged me yet?"
Al looked at him with salty tears overflowing in waterfalls onto her cheeks. She stood up and acted as if she was about to hug him instead she punched him in the stomach.
"That's for not responding to me. No hugs for filthy people; now go shower young man, you smell like a swamp!"
"Touch'e" he said rubbing where she punched him in the chest. He didn't have a comeback for her, he was just happy to see her okay. As they walked into the house, Al realized the kitchen was empty, only food and a note Al's mom left behind.
"Hey honey! Running some errands and then off to work, I'll be home around 5 or 6, be good. Love, Mom." Al rubbed her hand across the note and sighed.
"Well Marco, it looks like we are on our own today."
They made their way to the table after preparing their plates. Both of them ate in silence with an awkward atmosphere filling the air. Al knew if she tried to speak with him, he would just dodge the subject telling her to wait even longer. As the last bite was taken, Al stood up grabbing both the plates to clean while Marco made his way to the shower. She finished the dishes, moving into the library for a few books.
She found herself picking up her favorite mystery book and headed to the room to join Marco after he got out.
" So… are you gonna tell me now?" Al asked with a grin once she was in the room. Marco was walking out of the bathroom that was connected to her room. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and steam ran off his body like he was a hot meal being served right out of the oven.
"Hold your horses, after I get dressed! He said as he kissed her forehead.
A smile came across her face, making her forget everything that was happening. As Marco got dressed, she sat on the bed while looking out the window, she noticed the same alluring field from earlier. She placed her knees to her chest and took a deep sigh while resting her head on the top of her knees.
"Mom and Dad are non-stop fighting with each other. Dad didn't even come home the last two nights and I've been having nightmares of him dying…nightmares of this life I have never lived along with this letter that came in the mail only saying "I love you" all over it. I'm not sure how much more I can take, I need to know what is going on. It's just boiling up inside then I couldn't get a hold of you.I felt so alone."
Marco finished putting his shirt on and walked over to Al, grabbing her hand and pulling her off the bed as she stood, he pulled her in close to him. Wrapping his arms around her and saying,
"It's okay, things will get better. I know it will, it will take some time. You just have to trust in me."
He put his hands on her hips and she placed her arms around his neck. They started to slow dance to imaginary music. Al slowly put her head on his chest, closing her eyes and just for the moment felt safe again.
When they were kids, Al was never invited to the school dances, it was invite only by dates at her school. Everyone at her school made fun of her and thought of her as a ugly pig because of how plain she dressed. They didn't like her pale skin and her black hair only made her look paler. All the girls at her school had tans and light colored hair making them stand out even more. She didn't think she was ugly she looked like everyone else, but for some reason they all disliked her, no matter the school she went to. Marco offered to dance with her whenever she was sad, ever since it helped her forget even for a moment.
They danced for what seemed like an hour, slowly falling onto the bed until they fell into sleeping comas.
"She whispered, "I love you." as she dozed off.
Marco just laid there not saying anything back. He wondered about how much longer he had to keep doing this to her, how much longer it has to be until he can tell her the truth. He had all the answers on what was happening, but would be punished if he told her too early. He closed his eyes and drifted away.
Al woke up to find herself under the covers without Marco next to her.
"Was it just a dream the whole time?" she muttered to herself as she looked around.
She stepped out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She turned on the water making it just right for herself. She turned around to the mirror and took a piece of clothing off one at a
time. She looked at her body, her eyes moving up and down as each piece of clothing slipped off. She hated how she looked. The skinny bones, long hair, blue eyes, she wanted a change. Then a knock came from the room.
"Marco, is that you? Please tell me that it is you." She called out, but nothing came back.
Al poked her head out but didn't see anyone. Anxiety and fear creeped up her spine as she closed the door and locked it in hopes nothing could get her. She turns back to the mirror looking at her hair from root to ends. She felt like everyone didn't see her for her, they were always looking at the way she looked. She shook the negative thoughts away and hopped in the shower. She could feel as her hair went from dry to wet and heavier with the water causing waterfalls to roll off her curves along her back and hips.
Al was rinsing out the shampoo when she heard the door's lock click. She quickly looked out the curtain with one eye open and saw the door was still closed, she looked around the bathroom and nothing seemed out of place. Al went back to washing her hair. She kept wondering to herself where Marco could have gone.
Suddenly, the door began to slowly open causing a loud creek to echo in the bathroom. Al instantly froze. Her hands slowly creeped to her eyes to wipe the water and soap residue, but ended up rubbing too hard causing the soap to go in her eyes.
"Damnit." she yelled out loud while hurrying to get the burning to stop. Al stuck her head out one more time, but this time to only find the door cracked. She looked around before hopping out and getting the door closed and locked. She blocked the door with a 3 step stepping ladder that was kept in the bathroom closet. She slowly stepped back with fear pouring out of her chest, unsure of what was happening. She didn't think she was dreaming since all of her dreams were always other places than her house.
"I can do this. I can do this." Al kept repeating to herself as she tried not to cry. She slowly hopped back in the shower peeking at the door for any movement. As she began shaking she continued washing her body, starting with her arms and moving down her body to her legs.
There was a light silhouette creeping over her as she washed her legs. When she came back up she froze seeing the outline reflecting off the wall in front of her. She slowly turned around to find a darker silhouette on the curtain.
Scared out of her mind she asked the silhouette, "Marco, is that you…?"
"No my Dear, he is no longer here." The figure spoke back as he inches closer to the curtain and his shadow grew bigger.
Al turned towards the wall while closing her eyes. She kept asking herself who this creepy stalker is. Meanwhile his long fingers crept through the stream, reaching ever closer without making a sound. Just close enough to feel the warmth off her skin. His hand hovered only inches from her, not with violence, but with a possessiveness that made the air itself feel heavy. As she stayed facing the wall with her eyes closed, she could feel his fingers inching towards her, fear consuming her. Her chest rang with pounding from her heart until she couldn't breath.
Al woke up screaming. Her eyes darted to the spot she left Marco, finding him startled awake staring at her. Just past him in her vision was the alarm clock, it was blinking again, there was another blackout in the neighborhood, her area was known for blackouts during 2pm-4pm every Thursday and Sunday. It was just something the city did to save power. When she looked out the window it seemed to still be the afternoon. Al focused back on the clock trying to think of what time it was when they fell asleep.
"Al, what's wrong?" Marco asked while rubbing his eyes.
"Nothing, the power went out again."
Marco got up and headed to the bathroom. Al started staring out the window while having her knees to her chest wondering who this man could be that won't leave her alone. Marco came out of the bathroom and sat next to Al on the bed.
"You have that look, I know the power didn't wake you up screaming in fear, so what's up, what's really bothering you?"
"It doesn't matter..." She murmured.
"It does matter because it matters to you. He grabbed her chin making her look at him as he said it.
"It was my dream." Al said with the happiness of safety behind it.
"What about it? You never have the same nightmare in a row." He said as he got up to brush his teeth.
"I woke up in the room, but without you. I figured I was dreaming about you, so I went to take a shower."
"You dream about me, huh? Marco teased her as he finished brushing his teeth.
"Stop joking around." She gave him a quick jab to the chest before continuing. She began explaining the terrifying moment from where she left off.
Marco watched her expressions as she spoke. He had always thought she was beautiful since the first day he had laid his eyes on her. It was a Monday afternoon, Marco was instructed to stay by the window and watch for a little girl. He couldn't move until he had seen a girl with pitch black silk hair and skin as light as a cloud with a tiny splash of sunkissed color. He saw a few people pass by that day. One kid with brown hair and a blue baseball cap on, red shirt and blue jeans. Next was a mom pushing her baby along in the stroller. But then, the girl he was instructed to look for walked into view as if it were a movie. He watched as she passed with her pink dress on and white hard slippers. She was looking around observing her surroundings. She seemed sad with her eyes tearing up. She made sadness beautiful as she walked past his house.
Marco focused back into reality and braced Al's face with his hand resting it on her cheek.
"Al, I know things have been crazy for you, but I'm here now. I will protect you." As he lowered his hand, he leaned in kissing her forehead, hoping this would ease her mind even for a moment.