Wake Me

I'm almost there I thought to myself as approached the stop sign, had to turn down the music to my favorite Blink 182 song before my self induced anxiety made my heart explode. Rolling down the window, as if listening was going to help me find what I was looking for. I could only hear kids laughing and playing in the park under the cloudless blue sky. What a perfectly beautiful day for finally meeting the girl of my dreams. My chest now pounding even harder and my right hand tapping the side of the steering wheel as I stepped on the gas. I'm going to make sure she hears me coming! Had a brief flashback, recalling what a friend said to me once...your car sounds like a pissed off bumble bee, he said in a deep guttural redneck accented tone. It only heightened the smile on my face rounding the corner into the parking lot. Then it happened, I could see her not 30 yards away, wearing a turquoise shirt and a white skirt walking hurriedly towards my car. I couldn't get out of the car fast enough, releasing the clutch about a second before turning the ignition off made the car jolt forward a foot. At least I manage not to hit my head when I shoved the door open and unfastening my seatbelt all in the same movement. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she ran to me. The Earth must have come to a stop, even time itself stood still as soon as our bodies collided gently embracing one another as if to never let go. The sudden rush of emotion leaving my body rendering me lifeless and weak. The Earth must have been back at full rotation returning its gravity ten fold because I felt like dropping to me knees...I rested the side of my face against her cheek and closed my eyes. I could smell the intoxicating fragrance of her hair as the breeze gently blew it into the crevices of my moistened lips. We stood there for what felt like an eternity. I could have fallen asleep right there in her arms. I've never felt so at peace, the silence was deafening, I could feel and hear her heart beating softly against my chest....

In a brief instance the realization of not hearing the kids laughter struck me oddly and I opened my eyes. Her head withdrew from my chest as I took a half step backwards to see her face. My eyes widened from surprised, instantly diverted from her face, I was shocked to see that it was dark out. Taking another step backwards and looked around in disbelief, her hands slipping from my grasp. Slightly disoriented and off balance, I reached out to grab her wrist and missed.... blinked my eyes and raised my head and looked up to meet her gaze. Staring at me with a blank expression. I wanted to ask her, is something wrong? Her face was pale and discerning partially hidden in shadow from the moonlight.

The night air drenched in humidity was getting strangely colder all of a sudden...something didn't feel right. Looking into my eyes, shaking her head no, not saying a single word, she turns around as if about to walk away. I reach out to grab her arm to stop her. I grasped at nothing but air for the second time. In confusion and desperation, wanting to chase after her but I can't move, I'm stuck!? What is happening!? Something was odd about her movements as she walked away from me towards the pier. I looked down at my feet hoping to discover what was binding me. When I looked up, she was already sitting at the edge of the wooded deck overlooking the lake with her back facing me. Her head turned when I called her name despairingly...... Jennifer?? She didn't look back at me, instead staring off into darkness as if she was waiting for something. I turned my head into the direction she was looking to see if I could see what she was looking at. There was nothing out there...I turned to call her name again, Jen.... her name fading from my lips when I realized she was gone...