Mr. Mervyn and Nimkii

Mr. Mervyn and Nimkii - The Dreams

  Sucking in air deeply as he jerked awake, Mr. Mervyn wished he'd stop dreaming about those haunting and deep, gray-blue eyes. And he wished even more, that they belonged to an older woman, so he wouldn't feel so much like a pedophile. With eyes like that, with that depth, she had seemed so much older. Like the tales his grandmother used to tell him of older souls inhabiting the body of the young, had come to life in that girl. Making them seem other-worldly and more intelligent and wise than anyone he'd likely ever meet. Until today, he thought that was all his grandmothers stories were. Stories.

  His grandmother was the reason he was an English teacher. He'd also studied History and Mythology while in college, but decided that the two subjects would get him nowhere. That was 4 years ago. He was now 32 and in his down time, tended to research some history and myths. After his grandmother passed away, when he was still 28 and fresh out of college, he put his books on history and myths away. And eventually, even donated them to the local library. For the past six months he'd been looking into a few old favourites of his and his grandmothers'. Not with books, but over the internet, which had more information on what he was looking for than he could imagine. So, he set aside a certain amount of time each night to fiddle around a bit.

  Interrupting his thoughts, there was a knock on his hospital room door. It sounded threatening, almost angry. Suddenly, as quickly as the sound came, so did a joyful face that he was happy to see.

"Mom! I'm so glad you're here. I thought the nurse said you'd be in tomorrow to visit." Mr. Mervyn said, grinning brightly as he hugged his mother tightly to him.

"Oh, David! When will you learn that when a mother hears her only child got hurt and is in the hospital, that she doesn't care what the doctors or nurses say. That she's going to go see them." Mrs. Mervyn laughed aloud. Prompting the nurse from down the hall to ask her to kindly shut the door, as other patients were sleeping.

  David watched as his mother quietly shut the door and then erupt into a fit of giggles.

"Well, Someone's having a bad day, huh?"

  David just shook his head. Smiling, David closed his eyes and layed his head back on his sterile pillow. He hated the smell of hospitals. Not for any specific reason, the smell of them just never sat well with him. And as he layed there, he was suddenly struck with an image of and ocean, angry and tumbling. And as the waves pounded the shoreline, he noticed a woman bracing herself against the ear-piercing wind. She was wearing a dress as gray-blue as the ocean waves, and realized that she wasn't aware of the wall of water coming towards her.

  David ran hard, shouting into the wind, "Miss! Miss, Watch out for that wave! It's heading straight for you!" As quickly as the words left his mouth they were carried away by the wind, as if the wind were intent on helping destroy the small woman. Suddenly, she turned with a wistful almost sad smile on her face. It made David stop dead in his tracks. Not because she was beautiful; not because it made his heart hurt to see that look on her young face. No, David stopped because he realized it was his new student.

  Jumping up, almost falling out of bed, his arms jerking so violently that David ripped out his I.V., he screams. He didn't understand it. He didn't understand why she haunted his every thought. When she barely let herself be seen. Even being that close to him, when he got knocked on the floor, he hadn't noticed her until she'd let him. Or until he'd let himself notice her. David wasn't sure anymore.

  Coming back to reality he realized his mother was shaking him, almost violently, trying to get him to answer her while holding down some pressure where his I.V. had been yanked out of his arm.

"David! So help me, I'll smack you across that handsome face if you don't answer me this instant!" His mother's frantic voice pierced through his last shred of the dream. He was now accutely aware of the aching pain that came from the almost fatal gash, that had once been a neat little hole, in his arm from the I.V. being pulled free.

"Mom?! Mom, it's ok. I'm sorry, I was dreaming. Oh god, that hurts!" David rushed out, trying to fight the urge to faint. Even fighting it, he could see the blackness edging his vision.

  Suddenly, the nurse from down the hall had come barrelling into David's room with a doctor and two other nurses. Apparently, from his frantically screaming mother they thought something more traumatic to be taking place. The doctor took David's hyperventilating mother in one hand, and gently passed her off to the tall nurse with the soft featured face, while quickly bandaging David.

  After telling the doctor how the whole incident had happened, David was told to try and rest and that he'd be given something so that he'd not dream at all. David welcomed not dreaming. It meant not dreaming of her. It meant not having to try to save her and fail all over again. Most of all, It meant he could rest up and hopefully return to teach his class tomorrow. He wasn't anxious to return, but he was. Finally letting his thoughts fall to the wayside, David slipped into the darkness of a deep sleep.