Red Dreams

November 20th: Shivering, with purple lips, terrified, afraid to turn on the lights… Ana sat in the corner of the room. Frozen, unable to move, unable to think of the next move. She dreamt of the sun shine warming her skin, of the smell of the salty ocean and the sound of the waves… just 2 miles away. All so close, yet a seemingly impossible journey as she’d been confined to this dark room for weeks and unsure if she could ever escape or if she would die there a slow and miserable life. Her kidnapper, a master of mind games, had paralyzed her mind. Her kidnapper, a master of darkness, manipulated her to the point where she would not dare scream for help. She and her best friend had gotten in a big, messy fight a few weeks back and she knew he wouldn’t look for her. No one would notice how terrible the situation was, not before it was too late.

December 1st: Tammy dreamt of her molar falling again, woke up with a feeling of dread she knew all too well. Today, someone is going to die.

December 4th: A pungent smell & a crying dog coming from apt 403. Tom calls the police. Nathan takes the lead on this and with his team, enters the apartment. He immediately notices the walls, painted in blood. The dog rushed to them, looking ashamed, terrified, hungry. He escapes the moment and loses himself in the art on the wall. The beauty, the power, the detail of it took his breath away. Then, the sound of the dog’s cries brings Nathan back who proceeds to follow the dog as it anxiously goes into the bathroom. Nathan sees blood everywhere opens the curtains then sees the girl’s body. Late twenties, looking almost peaceful in such a horrifying scene. She reminds him of someone. Did he know the girl?

December 9th: The funeral home was lightened only by Ana’s instructions to play epic music. It was a small procession of just a dozen or so people. She’s left a speech to read and careful instructions for Damian. The last 2 days had been the worst of his life. He was overcome by the guilt of not noticing something was seriously wrong the last few weeks. Yet, little did he know Ana was going to save his life again. She wasn’t going to die to never be seen again. She may have felt invisible while alive, but was not going to be invisible now.

December 13th: A mosaic of red birds flying free accompanied by a classical music composition a peaceful, whimsical melancholy. The birds start moving their wings in an animated fashion, the music intensifies, then he notices the birds are painted in blood. In Ana’s blood. As they fly higher, the music twists into a lighter feel good mood. But they rain blood on the people walking below. Nathan wakes up, distraught, he’d been having this dream every night for a week. But today is different. Something feels different. He walks in to the police station, the work day flies by. Then he goes on a date with Lucy. She’d been begging him to take her out for weeks to one of those paint while drinking wine night. He picks up the paintbrush, never having painted in his life, and follows the instructions of the instructor as Lucy playfully mocks him. Then a force takes over him and he knocks over the wine glass and it splashes all over the canvas and shatters on the ground. That’s when it hit him. He knew Ana.

December 6th:
The last 12 hours flash through his mind faster than a bolt of lightning. The phone call, the fight, the music, the envelope with his name on it, the letter. That feeling of pinching himself to make sure this isn’t some terrible nightmare. But it was. He threw up and cried. Cried for the first time in 10 years. He’d lost his best friend. The person he’d taken for granted. The person who’d loved him for him unconditionally. The person who would have moved mountains just to see him smile. The person he viciously told he didn’t need in his life anymore during the fight, but whom he needed more than anyone. She was gone. But that night as he laid in bed looking up at the ceiling he saw the light flicker and wondered if she was watching down on him. He wept and wept and wept until he fell asleep only to be awoken by the lick of her dog, who needed to be walked. The only time he got out of bed that day.

January 12th:
It was like her voice was whispering in his ear. Her sweet, innocent voice. Telling him to get dressed, telling him to get out of bed today. Maybe today would be the day.