I had a dream last night.
I was on an island. I can’t remember how I got there, but I knew that I’d been there before.
I remembered the rope, that I used to tie my supplies together.
A hook. I caught fish with it.
A knife. What had that been for?
A radio, damaged beyond any repair.
A broken mirror. As I looked at it, I saw pieces of my face reflected in the glass, distorted and misplaced.
A plane ticket. What was the name on it? It was too dark to read.
And papers. Papers scattered everywhere, blowing in the wind. Like birds.
The wind was quite loud.
It began to rain, and I was suddenly aware that I was practically naked. The wind began to grow louder, and rain peppered my skin like small pebbles.
I ran to a nearby cave as fast as I could as a palm tree came crashing down to the ground behind me. I pressed myself against the wall, panting. As I began to calm down, I realized I was leaning against something that wasn’t part of the wall. Something that broke in two. I fell backwards, hitting my head against the jagged stone.
My head felt very light for some reason as I saw drops of blood fall onto the sand.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
I staggered, trying to regain my balance, and leaned against the wall once again. Then I realized that thing that had broke didn’t have any business being there.
It was a skeleton. As I stared at it, I began to see another skeleton, half buried in the sand.
They were embracing.
I pulled them away from each other, trying to get a better look. The one buried in the sand had a few scraps of clothing on, nothing more.
Who was it?
As I looked at the second one, something caught my eye.
He or she was wearing a necklace. I grabbed it, and stared at the picture in the locket. In the dark, I could barely make it out, but as my vision adjusted, I realized I knew the woman. I knew the face. I knew the dark brown hair and the warm blue eyes.
And the ring. That looked stunningly familiar.
I had seen her before.
For some inexplicable reason, I began to cry.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
I staggered, trying to regain my balance, and leaned against the wall once again. Then I realized that thing that had broke didn’t have any business being there.
It was a skeleton. As I stared at it, I began to see another skeleton, half buried in the sand.
They were embracing.
I pulled them away from each other, trying to get a better look. The one buried in the sand had a few scraps of clothing on, nothing more.
Who was it?
As I looked at the second one, something caught my eye.
He or she was wearing a necklace. I grabbed it, and stared at the picture in the locket. In the dark, I could barely make it out, but as my vision adjusted, I realized I knew the woman. I knew the face. I knew the dark brown hair and the warm blue eyes.
And the ring. That looked stunningly familiar.
I had seen her before.
For some inexplicable reason, I began to cry.
By Liam Title
Is this a Harris Burdick story?
ReplyDeleteNo it's not, he wrote it for a website where young adults help each other edit their stories and publish them online.
ReplyDelete