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David had not had a good night’s sleep for over a month. Just as the tendrils of dreams would capture him, he would feel a breezy warmth brush his cheek or lips and suddenly he would snap awake. When he was alone in his room, he felt as if he were being watched. Even with a quilt thrown over his only bedroom window, he felt as if he was the subject of a peep show. The only nights he got any decent sleep were the nights he played with his band. He wouldn’t make it through the door until the sun was hinting at dawn and the horizon boasted the planet Venus. That was the only time he felt alone. He spent many nights trying to rationalize these feelings. Normally, he would conclude it was just stress from working while chasing his dream. All of this was once again drifting through his mind during another restless night. It was nearing one a.m. and the heat wasn’t relenting. Even with the fan blowing on him, he was sweating without relief. On top of it all, he had an early morning shift at the gas station the next day. His heart pounded with every passing second and he dreaded what the next day would be like. Tension coursed through his body. Every sound he heard was amplified. Each muscle in his body twitched restlessly, not the least bit exhausted. His skin was sensitive to the slightest change. So sensitive that he pinpointed the exact moment the intruder began watching him. It was like the terror-filled nights of his childhood, when monsters lived in his closet and under his bed. Just then, he suddenly began believing in those things again. He stayed still, even unconsciously holding his breath. He waited for something, anything. Nothing changed. It just watched him. Unlike a child, however, the invasion of his space triggered anger, not fear. He was sick of waiting for it to makes its move. David jumped up and found himself half standing on his mattress. His finger pointed at nothing but an empty corner. “You’re not welcome here,” he said. “Get out. Now.” Just as suddenly as it had arrived, it left. And even in near darkness, he saw it go away. The shadow humanoid figure was pulled back, as if on a string, through the wall. After that, it took David nearly a week to feel safe enough to sleep in his own room. He crashed on friends’ couches and when he had no choice, his own couch, until he felt brave enough to try his own bed. An unfortunate side effect was the nightmares. He kept dreaming of dark figures spying on him. One night it was aliens claiming to be his long lost parents. and at other times, it was the FBI accusing him of smuggling kittens to Africa. It wasn’t until three weeks after the encounter that he had a normal dream. David was so thankful to have it; he remembered each detail quite clearly. He stood on the banks of a river and a field that was so utterly green it was almost cartoon-like. Across the river was a woman. She shone like an angel with an aura that was so white it was nearly silver. Her lips moved and they formed words, but the river’s rush blocked them. David called to her, but not by name. She repeated her words again. The second time he watched them float across the gentle rapids and caught them with his ear. “I’m sorry, David.” That’s when he woke up. The words had been too powerful, too sudden, and too full to ignore and dream on. From that night forward he kept dreaming of her. She was never within reach. If he tried to get close she would turn a corner, duck behind someone, and simply vanish. Night after night, she eluded him.
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