Mr. Sweeney had unknowingly dropped in her lap, she had decided it was time to confront this so called Sandman. If he was the one behind her dream, then, from what she understood, he would have to be there in her room with her. She shivered at the thought of someone watching her sleep. Trying to control her through her dreams was creepy enough, but if he was watching her drool, while she slept, well that was on a whole other level. By the time she left the clinic, she was so keyed up she felt like she had just drank ten sodas and chased them with energy drinks.
“Get it together, Sarah,” she told herself as she pulled into her aunt and uncle’s driveway. The first thing she noticed was that Wayne still hadn’t returned from his hunting expedition. At least that was one less person she had to convince that she was okay. She imagined Darla would have a few concerns if Serenity continued to shift from foot to foot like a three-year-old needing to pee. She took several deep breaths before finally going inside.
“Hey, honey,” Darla greeted as she looked up from the book she was reading. “How was your day?”
Play it cool, she told herself. “It was good,” she nodded and then realized that her head was moving entirely too fast. She snapped it to a stop and then smiled at her aunt. She was pretty sure it was one of those wide smiles that made her look like she’d had her face lifted just a little too tightly. “I’m just going to, that is, I’m pretty tired so, busy day.” She stumbled over her words because she was just so cool under pressure. She pointed in the direction of her room. “I’m going to lie down.” There, I made sense, surely she can’t be suspicious of me now.
“Are you sure everything is alright?” Darla’s eyes zeroed in on her.
Well crap, Serenity growled at herself. “Yes, I’m just a little scattered because I’ve got a lot of homework and I’m worn out.”
Darla watched her for a minute longer, making Serenity feel like she was some newly discovered bug under a microscope. She finally decided that Serenity was telling the truth. “Okay, then you better get on it. I’ll bring dinner in to you in about an hour.”
“Thanks, Aunt Darla,” she called back, already moving before the ‘okay’ left her aunt’s mouth.
Serenity closed her bedroom door and threw her backpack onto her bed as she let out a relieved sigh. Her cat climbed out from under her bed and let out a big yawn as he looked up at her. “Looks like you had a rough day,” Serenity said dryly as she watched Mr. Whitherby wind himself in and out of her legs. Unable to focus on showing him the attention he usually demanded, she grabbed the notebook that contained her thoughts from the past week and snatched up the pen lying next to it. She wanted to get down everything she had learned in her history class. It was the first bit of possibly factual information she had on this Dair being, and she wanted to confront him about it, if he was indeed real and if he’d show himself to her. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. “I’m going crazy. There is no other explanation for planning a conversation with an immortal being only known from folklore.”
After having written everything she could remember from class, she set the notebook down, pushed her backpack from the bed, and laid down. Who knew doing research could be so exhausting? Serenity didn’t intend to go to sleep; she just wanted to rest her eyes for a few minutes. How many times had those been famous last words.
Sometime later she woke to a dark room. She didn’t remember turning off the light but then her aunt could have done it. There was something strange about the darkness that surrounded her. Like a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders, the darkness seemed to envelop her. She pushed herself up until she was sitting and blinked several times, attempting to get her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, but it was no use. She
“Get it together, Sarah,” she told herself as she pulled into her aunt and uncle’s driveway. The first thing she noticed was that Wayne still hadn’t returned from his hunting expedition. At least that was one less person she had to convince that she was okay. She imagined Darla would have a few concerns if Serenity continued to shift from foot to foot like a three-year-old needing to pee. She took several deep breaths before finally going inside.
“Hey, honey,” Darla greeted as she looked up from the book she was reading. “How was your day?”
Play it cool, she told herself. “It was good,” she nodded and then realized that her head was moving entirely too fast. She snapped it to a stop and then smiled at her aunt. She was pretty sure it was one of those wide smiles that made her look like she’d had her face lifted just a little too tightly. “I’m just going to, that is, I’m pretty tired so, busy day.” She stumbled over her words because she was just so cool under pressure. She pointed in the direction of her room. “I’m going to lie down.” There, I made sense, surely she can’t be suspicious of me now.
“Are you sure everything is alright?” Darla’s eyes zeroed in on her.
Well crap, Serenity growled at herself. “Yes, I’m just a little scattered because I’ve got a lot of homework and I’m worn out.”
Darla watched her for a minute longer, making Serenity feel like she was some newly discovered bug under a microscope. She finally decided that Serenity was telling the truth. “Okay, then you better get on it. I’ll bring dinner in to you in about an hour.”
“Thanks, Aunt Darla,” she called back, already moving before the ‘okay’ left her aunt’s mouth.
Serenity closed her bedroom door and threw her backpack onto her bed as she let out a relieved sigh. Her cat climbed out from under her bed and let out a big yawn as he looked up at her. “Looks like you had a rough day,” Serenity said dryly as she watched Mr. Whitherby wind himself in and out of her legs. Unable to focus on showing him the attention he usually demanded, she grabbed the notebook that contained her thoughts from the past week and snatched up the pen lying next to it. She wanted to get down everything she had learned in her history class. It was the first bit of possibly factual information she had on this Dair being, and she wanted to confront him about it, if he was indeed real and if he’d show himself to her. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. “I’m going crazy. There is no other explanation for planning a conversation with an immortal being only known from folklore.”
After having written everything she could remember from class, she set the notebook down, pushed her backpack from the bed, and laid down. Who knew doing research could be so exhausting? Serenity didn’t intend to go to sleep; she just wanted to rest her eyes for a few minutes. How many times had those been famous last words.
Sometime later she woke to a dark room. She didn’t remember turning off the light but then her aunt could have done it. There was something strange about the darkness that surrounded her. Like a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders, the darkness seemed to envelop her. She pushed herself up until she was sitting and blinked several times, attempting to get her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, but it was no use. She
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