Chapter 1
Start writing here…The smell was the first of the five senses that I could use. What my nose picked up was the scent, oddly enough, of the ocean. Saltwater ocean. My other four senses appeared to be under repair. Or something. It was pitch black, I couldn’t hear a thing. There was nothing my ears could pick up on. I held out my tongue and tasted the air. Nope, nothing. I felt all around me, but nothing was in my grasp. I bent down slowly, my fingers reaching out until I felt what was below my feet. It felt solid but crumbly...what?
Then, in a blink, I could see. But there was nothing to see. As far as my eyes could see, there was nothing but clear skies. Just a blanket of light grey. No sun nor any clouds. As for the ground, it was just light pink. The impulse to taste overtook my mind, and I reached down to pinch the unknown substance in between my pointer finger and thumb. I lifted it to my nose, inhaled the scent, and realized that was the odor I had been smelling. Then, I placed it onto my tongue. Salt. I was surrounded by salt. It was getting hard to breathe. Where was I? How did I get here? What was happening? Why why why?
I sat down and placed my head in between my knees. “Right now is not the time to have a panic attack, Annie,” I told myself. “Breath in, breath out.” After what felt like hours, my heart finally slowed down. Who knows, maybe it had been hours. There wasn’t exactly any way to tell time. Then, I thought about my mother. She must be worried sick! If she knew I was gone and unbeknownst of my location. The thought of her all alone made my stomach sick. It was just the two of us at home, no other siblings, and definitely no faithful husband. I was not one to make my mom worry, and even though it technically wasn’t my fault I was in the middle of Salt-lantic, I still felt guilt-ridden.
Just then, a voice behind me spoke. I spun around and faced a man, only three feet away from me. We were about the same height, our eyes meeting right away. The clothes he was wearing were...familiar. In a pair of blue jeans and a pea-green sweater, I realized why. It was my father, wearing the last outfit I remember him wearing. “Be ready,” He spoke again. My cheeks became wet with tears. “What are you doing,” I sobbed. “Why am I here?” Ignoring my questions, he just pointed at his watch. “Time is ticking.” Not understanding and getting more and more distressed, I lurched forward to beat at his chest, but he disappeared as if made of vapor, and I fell to the ground. Scraping my hands added to the pressure and I just sat there on my knees, screaming.
I woke up screaming. When I stopped, I jerked my head around taking in my surroundings. Instead of vast salt lands, I was on my bed, in my own bedroom. My body was damp with sweat and my heart was pounding. Suddenly, my mother burst through the door. “What’s wrong?!” She asked frantically. I realized she had my old baseball bat in her hands, arms prepared to swing. Realizing that I wasn’t in any danger, she ran to my side and clutched me in her grasp. I started to cry yet again. Only partly in fear, and then knowing that it was all a dream. She rubbed my back in a soothing manner. “Did you have a bad dream?” she asked, her voice much softer than what it had been just a few moments ago. I nodded. As she rocked back and forth, I felt much calmer. After a bit, she pulled back and looked at me with a gentle smile. “How about I prepare some waffles and strawberries for breakfast, then we head out on a walk to the park?” Unable to form words, I just nodded in agreement. With the last sqeeze, she headed out of my room. I heard her in the kitchen preparing. I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and grimaced. I looked like I had been in a fight with a bobcat. My hair apparently was now a rat’s nest too. I grabbed a washcloth to wash away the tears and snot off my face when I saw my palms. They were scraped and bloody as if I had fallen. Horror filled my stomach. There was no possible way that was possible.
Unless it all wasn’t just a dream
