*Warning: Strong depictions of graphic violence and gore. Proceed with caution. *
Woe to those who call evil good
And good evil;
Who put darkness for light,
And light for dark;
Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Isaiah 5:20
***
The nightmare came to me again. I saw the kitchen door from my parents' home. The door is similar to any other old door, its hinges rusting a dark brown, the white paint peeling to reveal the yellow interior wood. Its size is still larger than me. It used to have pink flowers in the door before it was painted its white color. Hollering can be heard behind the closed door, but undisguisable from gibberish. I stepped closer to the door and placed my ear onto it. I still couldn't differentiate the noise.
Whoosh. Swish. Crash.
The sound changed. It was no longer yelling but the sound of crashing waves. Confused as I was, I kept my ear to the door.
Squeak...
I pull my head back. The door is opening. My heart is racing. Usually I'd wake up by now, but I didn't. Little by little the door slowly opened until it exposed the other side.
A pitch-black darkness. The color of midnight.
Whoosh. Swish. Crash.
The waves are louder. Drowned by the overwhelming waves, I couldn't feel or hear my heartbeat. I felt calm for the first time. I stepped into the void and felt the trickle of liquid between my toes.
Did I forget my shoes?
The ground is made of an unknown liquid but solid to keep me from falling. I see a light switch in the distance, the only light in this pitch of dark. I walked towards the switch. Though the switch seemed close at first, it was further than anticipated. Every step took me further and further from the entrance. I felt lighter with each step I took like a feather falling from the sky. The switch is floating from the ground, yet familar in the its distorted yellow color. Before I decide to flip the switch, I looked around. The entrance is gone, and the darkness engulfed my vision but the light switch. I flip the switch, and suddenly everything shifted again.
A sky of blue and orange. An endless plain of sand. Seagulls flying above the soil. Clouds spurring a never-ending stream of vapor. The smell of rusted metal and sulfur. I've never seen anything like it.
It's beautiful.
The pomegranate blue shore[1] reflects the spectrum of warm colors off the sun.
Gasp. Gag. Argh.
I flick my body to see what the noise is.
An abomination.
The eyes were gouged out to form a groove. The once-known location of the hair shows the blood-stained lining of the skull. The jugular slit from ear to ear. The mandible dislocated from its socket. The arms were pierced by its snapped bones. The legs folded inward. A gash along the abdomen to reveal the guts and intestines. The umbilical cord stretched into the ocean shore.
Whoosh. Swish. Crash.
Once more, the waves silenced my heart. I didn't feel anything from the corpse.
Argh.
"m.....y....s.....o...n....." The abomination exhaled.
I stood silent with no expression; they couldn't see me anyway.
Gag.
"m.....o.....n.....s.....t.....e.....r....." the creature sounded.
"What?"
Gasp.
"M.....y....s.....o.....n....m.....o.....n.....s.....t.....e.....r....." Mother called me.
I felt my body itch and explode with anger.
I stomp my foot on the creature's face. I stomp once more. Again and again until I felt satisfied. It's head squashed like a watermelon to make a thick brain soup.
Is this a dream?
Gasp.
I finally woke up, coughing water from my windpipe.
Knock. Knock.
"Bel, are you in there?"
Cough. Cough.
I'm still in the shower. I must have fallen asleep and dreamt about going back to bed. It's rare for such occurances, but it still happens.
"I'm just about done, Claire. Just head back to bed and I'll be there in a minute or two."
"Alright, Bel, but if you're grumpy in the morning, don't call me out."
The sound of footsteps walking away from the bathroom door. Of course, the warm shower is still weeping, and the light is still on.
I wonder what time it is. Probably too late for me to get a good night's rest. They'll[2]most likely tell me to get a cup of coffee.
Sign. "Is it even worth it?"
[1] The pomegranate blue shore
[2] They'll