Turn Away

I awoke in the middle of an open field. The grass stood tall, seeming larger than life itself. As I stood up and looked around me, I discovered I was actually in a meadow. It was a beautiful meadow strewn with different wildflowers. The vibrant colors that they provided help paint the landscape that now lied before me.

The sun was smiling down on all of creation. The warmth that its rosy cheeks provided was calming, very soothing. I turned quickly as I heard this noise coming from behind me. I was alarmed at first but then found that it was my dog, Autumn. The weird thing was, she had been dead for almost a month now. She was the most loyal and loving beagle a kid could ever ask for though. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on but I didn’t question it. I ran over to her with open arms and hugged her tight. She licked me all over my face. Next thing I know, we were both running through the meadow. We were together again, having the time of our lives.

Then suddenly I heard this yelling. It sounded muffled and off in the distance. I turned away toward the direction I heard it coming from. Everything became blurry rather quickly. I spun around in circles to find myself now in bed, at my parent’s house.

It would seem that I was having a dream. Someone was yelling in some part of the house.

Makes sense why I heard it in my dream. I climbed out of bed carefully and walked out of my bedroom. I knew who it was; I didn’t even need to see him. I made my way toward the other end of the house and found him. It was my step-father- he was drunk-nothing strange about that.

This was a nightly ritual for him. This night though- he was feeling particularly violent. He had just come home from the local pub and he was looking for a fight. I came up behind him slowly as he vomited his usual slurs. He pounded his right hand hard on my mom’s bedroom door. In his left hand, he was holding a butcher’s knife. I could not just sit there and let this happen. No good could come from this. I yelled at my step-father and told him to get out. He turned slowly to face me, knife in hand. He gave me the most sinister grin I’d ever seen. I instantly thought of Jack Torrance in The Shining. He then came at me like a mad man.

I reached for his arms as we grappled. We fell to the floor and rolled around-struggling to overpower the other. My mother came out of her room screaming. She begged and pleaded with us to stop. Then it happened- I heard the most unforgettable sound that someone could ever hear. I heard the sound of a knife entering another human being. I looked at my step-father who was on top of me bearing his teeth like a rabid animal. His eyes were bloodshot-full of this unspeakable rage. I watched as the life left those eyes very abruptly. Death came swiftly for him and with open arms. This rabid animal was now docile. Blood began to come fourth from the corners of his mouth. Then he fell limp onto my chest a few short moments later.

My mother fell to the floor screaming. I just laid there in silence. The silence was actually quite deafening. I could not hear anything though so it didn’t really matter. My thoughts nourished me but at the same time destroyed me. This lovely night, this lovely night that had started with a simple dream had now turned away. It had turned away and into the still-beating heart of one hellish nightmare.