The dream that won't go away

The ground seemed to shake beneath her feet. Her senses became numb. She couldn't move or speak for what seemed like several minutes. Suddenly, the room she was in became crowded. The rustling of leaves on the tree beside the window, students talking loudly, the scraping of benches as people were trying to sit close by. All seemed to be faded on her. Then, a loud clap brought her back, "Take your seats everyone", shouted the professor. "Hey, are you okay?" asked a girl next to her as she took a seat. "I'm fine", the girl replied. She sat there, watching the various activities happening around her. Where was she? How did she get here? She just couldn't remember no matter how hard she tried. Yet, a lot of the faces seemed familiar. The sudden ring of the bell made her realize, she was in fact, in her school. School? But she has already graduated from her school. 

She made her way outside. The cold wind hit her face, it was snowing. "It snows a lot here doesn't it", she recollected to herself. Slowly the things started coming back to her. She was in her old university which she had already left, but for some reason, she was back here again. The scene in front of her changed. Now she was at a lake and it was dark. She turned around and found her friends. A joyous rush filled her mind. She had no idea what she was doing here, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from having fun! Minutes and hours passed by as everybody drank and danced around the lively firepit. As the night grew darker, the scene changed again, now to a vivacious food court. It seemed like just yesterday when she used to work here. She ate and ate till she could no more. She walked, hand in hand with her friends. She talked loudly and sang and danced without a care in the world. Because she had already realized that she was inside a dream. A dream, that truly was as good and cheerful, as her real-life was when she was studying at this school.

As delighted as she was to have been in this dream, she couldn't stop thinking about why she was sad and anxious in the beginning. She shook the thought away and continued with another day as she was determined to make most of this dream. The scene changed, and she was back in her classroom again. "So, about what I said yesterday, I think you should just forget about it. It's not like he's gonna really come here", said her friend. "What?", the girl asked. In a flash, she remembered the conversation they had at the beginning of the dream. That's right, it was her ex-boyfriend that was coming over. And so it began. The rapid breathing, increased heart rate, the restlessness, the feeling of impending doom, it overcame her. "But why did you invite him?", she asked her friend. "What's the big deal?", she replied.

The next thing she knew, she was sprinting across the classroom, out the door, and kept running and running. But why wasn't she going anywhere? The scene wasn't changing. It was as though her feet were stuck to the ground. "No, no no no no..... Please, I have to get out of here...", she cried. The fact that she was inside a dream, had completely left her. At that moment, all she could think of is getting as far away as possible. But where could she go? Is there any place left where she could escape and never return? Even so, she was tired of running. So she stood still. She couldn't even muster the strength to retaliate when he walked in, took her hand, and dragged her along.

The scene changed, she was sitting beside him in, what seemed to be the cafeteria. She couldn't believe it, after all these years of incessant running, running from the thoughts, the people, the society, and her home, she was stuck again. She didn't know what to do. The guilt and the blame clouded her mind. She had spent years trying to be independent, strong, and someone who could stand up to a bully. Everything was washed away in a second. All the images in her came into the picture. The fights, the abuse, the verbal insults, and of course, the threats. 

Time passed by for what seemed like an eternity. It was happening all over again. They were fighting. Each time she felt more and more disgusted. She took all the criticism and humiliation. She took all the blame and the lack of respect. But what made her snap was the violence. She backed away and yelled as loud as she could, "DO NOT TOUCH ME!". "DON'T you DARE touch me, ever again". She was shaking and crying. But she stood her ground. She kept saying to herself, "This is it, no backing down now". She was so frustrated for having to do this over and over again. "No, stay away from me", she cried. "Why won't you go away? Why do you have to keep coming back like this? WHY?? To which end of the earth, am I supposed to go, to escape you?". He started walking towards her, faster and faster. She had no choice but to run again. So she started running, faster and faster, screaming and yelling. She came to a sudden halt at a pit and looked back. As she fell in, she could swear that he smiled and said "You will never escape me".

With a jolt, she woke up.