Before I wake up

If I hold my breath, I do not confuse the movements of my limbs with the expansion of my chest. My muscles are not working well. I'm somewhat suspended in the air, unable to stand and turning to stone as I struggle against an atmosphere that is rapidly thickening like caramel bubbling in a pan. My suspension breaks. The air is gone and a gravitational force pulls me down and stops me on the ground. A glass tube surrounds me. I felt like I was immersed in the second dimension. 

Did I run away from something? The ground sinks me as the air above pulls at my arms and I'm sucked into the tube, my belly sliding against the wall. Everything is suddenly wet and water splashes on my face. The wall disappears below my stomach and an electric shock runs down my spine. falls I gasp  as my body crashes into a jelly-like pool. Desperate, I breathe  like oxygen. berries... No, it smells like black cherry. I try to swim again. You're not getting anywhere with this. Squirming, I manage to turn around, then a breeze blows in the front of my body. On your back, swing your arms in the liquid. My eyelids flutter open and an army of trees loom over me like giants clad in fire. 

There’s something here. I keep tilting my chin inward until it pushes my body forward, so I find myself outside the pond, facing a tree so tall you could carve a skyscraper. Something invisible draws lines on the bark, then the marks glow. I can’t take my eyes off it. Windows and doors appeared everywhere and spheres of warm light floated around me. An empty spot in the tree glows purple and I  hear a faint hum of music that echoes. It must be there. 

He raises his leg on a thick root arching above the ground. As I lift my body  to stand on it, I can see the purple light start to fade and the music fades away. The door closes. I have to go. It's my father's birthday. 

 I free myself from the root and try to alternate my legs as I descend, but I can't. The leaves covering the forest floor swallow me up like quicksand. Now I'm breathing hard. My heartbeat seems to be beating under the leaves. As they bury my face, I raise my arms  and beat the leaves. I shake my head and look twice at the dirty brick walls on either side of me. On the wall behind me, blue spray paint outlines the outline of a smiling pit bull wearing a fedora. I know this road. I was passing by  on my way to school. My father accompanied me. I inhale sharply. It's his birthday. I have to go to this party. She must be  here somewhere. 

 I stand up and brush the corn off the asphalt and the wet leaves on the back of my jeans. As I turn the corner into the alley, a yellow bus pulls up on the road next to me. The doors open and my sister looks at me from the driver's seat. "Aren't you coming?" » His face looks tired, but his voice sounds worried. I get on the bus and pass the occupied seats towards the back. People are standing in the corridor. I can't see beyond that. I slip between one man,  then another. A cart blocks the aisle and I look at the woman who sits next to me. 

“Excuse me, can I—” I begin, but the woman shakes her head. “Not mine,” she says flatly. I step onto the small front of the cart and stare  at a tightly packed vase of Greek olives. A  sea of ​​bumpy golden pups spills out around my feet as I dismount, blocking the way. I don't want to break it, but I have to find a place for us to leave. I get up on all fours and start wandering among the puppies. A dog is waiting for me on my back, its paw resting on  a chessboard. "I'll be the knight this time, apparently," I don't know why I say that. The dog narrows its eyes as if it recognizes me and nods at the empty seat next to her.  I sit back on the bench and look. Grandma is sitting next to me,  her head leaning against the window. Her eyes are closed. She must be sleeping. She is holding a small candy pink bicycle. Why are you holding it? I don't need it anymore. I look out  the window as we pass a group of men in colorful clothes digging in the attic of a small cabin. Their black umbrellas come out in unison as the city darkens and rain falls from the sky. The sidewalk suddenly turns into a shallow river. As the bus approaches, we pass figures on the roof of a car shooting flames into a neighbor's yard. The bus slows down as we turn onto the adjacent road. A small figure is hiding on a staircase leading to a familiar  building. 

Are you in the mirror? The window glass shakes and becomes cloudy. "Stop!" » I flew out of the bus and over the turbulent water. Clinging to the iron railing, I went down to the steps just below  where I found myself bent over. I am very new here. A small vibrating ball. “Hey, it's okay. What happened? » I don't even look  at myself, I just keep going… laughing? These teeth. I don't remember them being that big. Ecstasy mimics my heart and the door to the building suddenly opens, illuminating them both with a beam of purple light. I can't see her, but I hear my mother's voice over the loud music, stirring me inside. I get up to follow, but the door slams as I take the last step. 

 I have to enter. It's dad's birthday. Pull hard on the door handle. At first she doesn't move, but I focus my will until she gives in and jump inside. The light went out. It is the silence. Then the water drops echoed on the concrete. I'm in a parking lot. There are trash cans and metal bags everywhere. Not a car in sight. As I walk down the slope to an elevator, I hear  the sounds of digging through garbage bags. continued Must be raccoons. They always go through our trash. When I find father, I will get rid of him. 

The slope narrows and the excavations become stronger. I heard a metallic sound and the sound of a whip behind me. It looks like scrap metal rolling on  solid ground. I felt my body freeze with terror. They are not raccoons. I know what it is now. I know, but I didn't look. I felt a familiar warmth growing behind me. It's that bear again. The one I tried to escape before, when my body stopped working. I feel the breath. I moved forward, increasing my speed, but trying to walk calmly. My breath stops. I can see my  back and the ugly brown beast grabs me. I must be completely frozen. 

My heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest as I try with all my strength to balance in the elevator. My fingers hit the buttons hard and my heart skips a beat as the doors slam together in time. Resting my palms on my knees, I try to breathe. Something moves near the corner of the floor. I blink at the family of mice staring at me through a football-sized hole in the elevator wall. A purple light shines from inside. One of the mice waves a paw to tell me to follow. They turn and I cling to the ground, staring into the hole. 

 The rats stop in the middle of the space behind the wall. A piece of cheese  is carved into a sculpture with the number "32". She glows under a miniature disco ball and the mice dance brightly around it. "Um… bye," he whispered carefully into the bubble. Touch turned and rushed to me, "When are you leaving?" she shouts. 

"My dad's birthday," I gasped inaudibly. The party That night he ... rejects the idea of ​​finished events. There is no place for it here.  

The elevator doors open to reveal a small bed in front of me, filled with pencils. Thousands of pencils. "Clean your room, please!" » I heard my mother's distant voice. When I got out of the elevator, I turned around. The closet is full of small shoes and stuffed animals. Someone left the light on. I add and pull on the zipper, but it doesn't work. I go back to bed. Where am I supposed to put all this? I start going through my dresser and all the drawers are full of pieces with holes. I grab a pillow from the bed and remove the cover. While I try to hold it open with one arm, I use the other to insert colored pencils. There are so many pencils. We start lifting the kit and everything spills out on the floor. I have shaving cream all over my legs. Should I go take a shower? I need to find some pants. I look at where the door to my room should be. 

An aquarium stretches the entire height of the wall. I approach the aquarium, bend down and look into his eyes. Stay on tiptoe and check each tunnel. All I  see are bubbles of water and air. Where did the fish go? Maybe they're at a party. I pull on my tight bathing suit, trying to stretch. My hands put my face out the window. I can see the corridor beyond the tank. A door across the hall opens and emits a purple light. I hear the music again, but it's starting to fade. The party. If only I could get there... 

My stomach churns. My father is here. We start to feel  the earth falling from its position in space and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I bang on the window in panic, hoping to catch someone's attention. The back of my father's head goes through the door. "Dad!" I hear the  glass break with my fists. "Dad!" My voice turns into a scream as I throw the side of my body against the glass. I feel like I'm drowning and the aquarium shatters into gallons of  water and glass spears that hit me like sand. My heart is beating too fast. A few more steps. I have to get to him - before he wakes up.

By Omnipoten