Salty Sea, Dirty Apartment

A little expansion, a little more flair put into a dream I had a few months back. Enjoy =)


The tang of salt is in the air, mixed with warmth on the breeze. An ocean comes up to my knees, and I am surrounded by swells and seagulls. Jagged coral encrusted rock peek up between the waves, and I am holding hands with a man I've never seen. The water is sapphire and emerald, the sand fine beneath my toes. My red dress, marked dark by the water splashing up my hips, dances in tune with the current. There's a presence here but no matter how fast I turn, he stays just out of sight. It makes me curious and queasy, not seeing this person who hides in the open ocean.

There in a shabby bedroom, I start. Paint peels from the tops of the walls, and a shabby curtain hangs by threads in a small window. There is no box spring and the bed sits in the corner; the only other furniture is a night stand set by the door. I'm trying to read the writing scrawled on a note in my hand. The letters appear blurry and nonsensical, as if written by a lazy child. A man whispers in my ear but his words are nearly inaudible. The words I hear, "payback" and "strange", do not make any sense. I am confused beyond reason, and don't know who or where I am. The room is small, claustrophobic, and dingy. Spinning in a circle, it is clear there is nothing else to be seen here.

In the ocean with a beautiful stranger, we sit on a large rock. We are surrounded by gentle waves and a sea lion swims by, chortling and snorting for air. The rock is rough beneath my fingers. My dress is teal and seaweed is tangled in my toes. The man tells me something but his words are caught by the wind. I stand and leap off the rock thinking to catch them- to grab the spoken words from the wind and hear them in my hands. I leap and frolic happily grasping at air. Splashing toward the shore I see a dinner party off in the sunset. Tables are covered in white and beautifully dressed women stand staring in my direction. There is fear, and then there is Fear, and I feel them both. These women mean harm on the world, my world, and I’m too scared to stop them.

The door to the room bangs open and I struggle to get away from the note I can't read, the man I can't hear. I run through the apartment and out the front door, thinking I'm getting away. I make a turn and end up back in the bedroom holding the note, listening to words I can't understand. I look up into his dark eyes and suddenly he says, "Go back to the ocean. Don’t come back here.'' As if my ears had opened with my eyes and everything fell into place with diamond clarity. And yet, confusion still plagues me. The hard wood floors are scarred and bruised, stained by a life too hard to bear. The curtain fascinates me; pulling my attention from the note I now understand but don’t want to learn. “Keep her here,” it says. “Don’t let her back to the ocean,” it demands. There is something expected of me as this man stares into my eyes but it eludes me.

Splashing in the shallow waters, not sure if I'm running from the rocks or running to the people on the shore, I gasp. My chest thumps with exhilarated adrenaline, fast and hard. Am I laughing or screaming? A man's arms wrap around my waist and pull me back into the water. There’s salt on my tongue and panic in my mind as I kick and thrash for freedom. I erupt from the dark teal waters, gasping and scared. The women on the beach have lined up in front, awaiting my arrival to the shore. There is nothing in this world that will make me go to them. The rocks behind me call out with comforting and soothing sounds. Falling back, I swim away, gazing at the cobalt sky. I blink in dazzled bliss. A hand descends upon my eyes, long fingered and terrifying.

It’s a blackout. I scream.