Lyla tossed and turned on her bed, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead and neck. Outside, the moon shone brightly as the stars danced around, illuminating the dark night. It was quite the sight to behold, but inside the lonely, dark room, only the sound of her covers shifting with her every movement could be heard
The dream started in a daze, as if she had been unconscious and suddenly awoken, and was still trying to piece everything together. She rubbed on her blurry eyes before squinting while looking around, her vision getting more clear by the second and when they had finally adjusted she sucked in a breath at the sight
Before her were two different worlds, which she conveniently stood in the middle of. One was covered in dazzling, bright white light that surprisingly didn't hurt the eyes. In that world, flew ethereal creatures with the most magnificent wings she had ever seen, wings that produced mighty sounds whenever they flapped.
The world on the other side was blanketed in darkness with sparkling bright stars filling the skies while little bugs that looked like fireflies moved around spreading their beautiful twinkle as they went, there were also massive creatures prowling around, and there was no mistaking the power they held
Then there were the people on each side. Beautiful beings that held a grace and power she had never beheld. Even just standing there, she knew they were no ordinary human beings, perhaps they weren't human at all, and that thought suddenly made a shiver spread all over her. Panic ensued within her, and her mind rang in alarm; she had to leave. With careful, tactful steps, she started to retreat slowly, but the moment she made the third step, every creature and being from both sides turned to face her
Her heart dropped, and she froze. The creatures beheld her with curiosity at first, tilting their heads to get a better view, but then the hissing and growling started from some as realization dawned on them. Their eyes turned fierce, and even some people looked at her with such loathing that it made her shudder. Those present who didn't react the same way just looked at her in calm realization with a hint of interest
Fear choked her when they all started moving towards her, and she realized she couldn't move. Her eyes darted around, looking for help from any single soul who could save her. Maybe one of them would be merciful enough, but she found none, so she did the only thing she could: she started screaming. She screamed so loud that the sound bounced from every corner, but the noise did not deter any of them, and soon they all ceased her and started pulling, each to their side, and that was when the real pain came
Their nails dug themselves into her flesh, biting into her so deeply that she could feel them on her bones, blood pooled beneath her as she continued to scream. She pleaded and begged for them to stop, but they didn't care; they all wanted a piece of her to themselves, and if they had to tear her bit by bit to get her, they were more than willing to. How they hadn't already was a miracle in itself, but the pain she was experiencing was too much, which made one wonder if they would truly consider it as such
The creatures pulled while she screamed till her throat became sore and all that came out were ugly screeching noises. She could feel it, they were finally going to rip her flesh out completely, and just as she was ready to embrace that fate, she awoke in a shrieking scream that pierced through her whole house
Her mother rushed into her room with a baseball bat in hand, searching around for any potential threat, scanning every inch before looking at her distraught daughter, who sat on the bed, trembling while murmuring something to herself. Her brother appeared at her door, panic spread across his eyes as he tried to figure out what was happening before beholding his older sister, and the terror written on her face did nothing to calm him
Lyla kept mumbling as her mother approached, and when she tried to touch her, she shouted for her to stop. Her mother retreated a step before asking
" Sweetie, what happened?"
"It hurts…it hurts"
"Where? Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere.."
Her mother looked at her traumatized daughter, worry and fear taking hold of her
"Who hurt you?"
"I…I don't know…don't know. There were so many…they were pulling, they wanted to tear me apart."
Lyla scanned the room, her eyes wide. It took a long time for her to register where she was, and it was only when she saw her little brother's panicked face that she realized she was in her house. Her mother attempted to touch her again, but she winced
"Stop, stop….it hurts"
"Sweetie, calm down, you're okay now. It was just a nightmare," her mother said softly, unsure of what else to say
"But it hurts, everywhere hurts."
"Okay, I'll get a cold cloth."
The woman rushed to fetch what was needed as her brother moved to sit on her bed, and despite his worry, he reassured
"It's okay, Lyl, it's over now." Maybe it was the words 'it was over', or perhaps the tone used, either way, she eased a bit. He was right, it was over because she had not been torn apart
Her mother returned and started to place the towel on her arm while instructing her son to use the ice pack on her other arm, and slowly, the pain eased as her sanity returned
'She was fine, it was nothing but a dream. A crazy, very vivid dream, but she was okay, she kept telling herself
When they were almost done, her mother asked her brother to head back to sleep while she continued to tend to her daughter before wrapping her in a warm blanket
"Wanna tell me what it was?"
"I…" in almost a whisper, she explained the dream to her mother, who listened silently. After she finished, she kept silent, leaning into her mother's embrace.
Her mother did indeed find it strange, but without an explanation, she could only soothe her daughter while trying to lure her back to sleep with a hymn she sang to her when she was younger, and as always, it did the trick
The woman only left when she was assured that her daughter was deep in slumber, and when morning arrived, she did her the favor of letting her sleep in as she informed her school of her absence. She also made a point to call the doctor to inform him of the strange pain her daughter experienced from a dream, and it was only when he promised to come by later that she let him off
Lyla slept for most of the day, only waking up to have a meal and see the doctor, but even as night fell again, a little part of her was still scared because she couldn't shake the feeling that the dream held more than she allowed herself to think