I
|
jumped out of bed, and ran to my car, not knowing why or how, just that I had to find him. It was still dark, but I could see the car, as if the moon were shining only for me. Someone was hurt. I had heard a cry come out of the dark, and terror filled my mind. I had been sound asleep, but the vision was real. I had seen it and heard it, and I knew I had to get there without fail. Where I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. I tried to open the car door, but my hand kept slipping. I tried to get to the other side, but I couldn’t move. My legs wouldn’t work. My body felt leaden. My heart was racing, and I could feel the sweat trickle down my neck. The terror returned. I reached down to move my leg with my hands. Nothing happened. I tried to holler, but my throat was dry as dust. I was trapped. I felt the world closing in on me. I would smother and die. Then suddenly, I gasped, and awoke in my bed.
I was alive. It was only a dream. I lay there quietly while my heart stopped thumping in my chest. It’s just a dream. I kept repeating the mantra until I felt calm. It’s just a dream. My mind knew it was just a dream, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone, somewhere, was hurt.
***
Unsettled by the dream, Noah got up and went outside. It was almost dawn, the best time of the day. He scanned the sky. It was going to be a beautiful one. He was already up, and he decided to start the day right. He got the car and drove to the most peaceful place he knew, Jim’s woods, where he felt most at home. There, he got out of his car and walked while his mind gradually rid itself of the memory of that dream. As he walked, he allowed his thoughts to drift, and memories of other Fall days filled his mind. He savored the feeling of freedom and enjoyed the quiet as he wandered the woodland trails. He remembered his school days and cutting through these woods after school. Without a thought in his head, he would stroll along as if time had stopped. Noah continued walking and thought about the dreams which had always plagued him. He could never pinpoint what triggered them. They had always appeared unexpectedly and seemed to haunt him with the feeling of someone crying for help.
As he walked, he looked around. The sun was starting to appear, and he could see more of the colors in the woods. Fall was his favorite season, and although in Maine the season is full of death, Noah accepted it as just another part of nature’s work. First came the beauty and devastation of Fall. Then came the peace of Winter, while nature rested under a frozen blanket, waiting. Finally, Spring arrived, with its rebirth of life and beauty, bringing joy to the world.
Now it’s the middle of October, and Fall is presenting another extraordinary show. The trees lining his path are full of leaves bright with colors of red, yellow and bronze, competing with a sky so blue it dazzles the eyes. Noah hears the crunching of dead leaves as he walks. Dew is sparkling on the few green leaves left on the trees, but their stems are weakening in the frigid air. Soon, they too will give up, and fall to the ground to die—brown and shriveled—on the cold earth, no reds, golds and bronzes for them.
Noah stops, stunned. Ahead of him on the path lies something so awful, it fills him with dread, and the terror of his dream comes back. The thing is laying in a patch of morning sunlight, as quiet and colorful as the stand of hardwoods surrounding it. Only this time Fall has outdone herself, for the colorful body is red with blood, a red so bright and beautiful no leaves can compete. Noah knows now an angel of Death has come for his friend, and there will be no rebirth in the Spring for him.
Colors of Fall in Maine
No comments:
Post a Comment