I woke from the dream twisted in my blankets, gasping. The final image was burned into my retinas, and I could close my eyes but not escape it. I felt sick and went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. “You’ve got to do something,” I whispered. But what?
I dressed without thinking. As I brewed my coffee, I realized I had no idea how much time I had. It had seemed late in the afternoon in my dream, but I couldn’t take a chance.
I called Louise. I heard her tired voice on the other end. She was a night owl, and I had undoubtedly woken her up.
“What are you up to today?” I asked her.
“Well, waking up apparently,” she said good-naturedly. “In a couple of hours I’m meeting someone for coffee. He seems like a nice guy, very interesting. Met him on that dating app. Then I’m driving up to the city to see my big sis. I’m still coming to see you, you know. I wasn’t going to bail on you.”
“Good,” I said, “I need to see you. But I think I’ll come down there. We can hang out at your house, maybe see a movie. I can save you that drive. How does that sound?”
“Well, okay, if you’re sure. I was looking forward to doing something fun, though.”
“We’ll think of something. Can’t wait to see you.” I zoned out for the rest of the short conversation, my mind racing. Could it be that simple? Had I prevented a horrendous tragedy with just a phone call?
The dreams began on the night of my twenty-seventh birthday, just 2 months ago. I had a dream that night, a second one a couple of weeks later, and last night made the third time. In the beginning, I just thought I was having a nightmare. The scenario in my first dream came true, but I couldn’t believe it. I thought it had to be some freakish coincidence. Objects fall from windows all the time, don’t they? One such object just happened to fall on my coworker, dislocating her shoulder and fracturing her jaw. Just like in my dream. When I had a second dream, I felt like I had better pay attention. I saw my father trip in his front lawn and fall, face first, onto the sidewalk. His nose was broken and bloody. I called him, told him to stay inside and to be careful, but he only chided me, saying that he would be fine. Later, he called me, asking, “What did you say happened in your dream?” Afterwards, he still laughed it off and said it was just a coincidence. He said that wasn’t how it had happened at all, but he had fallen, and it resulted in a bloody nose.
I am beginning to feel very uneasy. I should not have kept my dream a secret from my sister, Louise. I should have told her what I saw. She could think I’m crazy, in fact I’m sure she will, but that’s a small price to pay for her safety.
I tried to call Louise, but didn’t get an answer. I left her a voicemail, asking her to please call me right way. I quickly packed an overnight bag, threw it in my car and started heading for her house. I had a 4-hour drive ahead of me, so a lot could happen in that time.
I was nervous the entire drive, but I kept telling myself that everything was going to be all right. Just as I was pulling into her small town, I saw the flashing lights of a police car and a fire truck, and I slowed down to see what was happening, my heart pounding. With relief, I saw a car I didn’t recognize that had been in an accident. From the looks of the car, the accident was bad. I pulled over when I could and walked back to the accident, getting as close as I dared. A fireman was prying the passenger door of the car open, and I felt frozen in place. As the door opened, there was Louise, covered in blood, her body limp as the EMTs pulled her onto a stretcher, rolling to the ambulance that had appeared. Then everything went black.
Later, we discovered that Louise had gone with her coffee date in his car, but we never found out where they were headed. Louise didn’t die, as I was sure she had in my dream, but she suffered a head injury. She will have a long recovery but I’m going to be here to help her.
My doctor prescribed me sleeping pills, but said I shouldn’t be on them long term. And I’ve discovered the dark sleep whiskey can bring me. So far, they are keeping my nightmares at bay.
I don’t want to have another dream. But if I do, I will do more than just try to stop what happens on my own. At the risk of being thought of as crazy, I’m going to tell the person in my dream what I saw instead of keeping it to myself. What happens next is up to them.
A Little Bit of Everything, With Love 