A Sibling Nightmare

My item has been submitted for consideration for "Inspiration Station" .


Word Count:  992

         It was a story I had never told anyone.  I was twelve years old at the time and my brother, Tom, was ten.  I had gotten into an argument with him earlier that day.  You see, we used to be inseparable, but I had made new friends, older friends, and it wasn't cool to have your little brother tagging along.  He didn't even like girls yet.

         After our big fight that evening, Mom sent us to our rooms.  I slammed my door, and he slammed his.  I fell asleep.

         I had a dream that night.  I was standing next to a giant tree.  There were more trees, yet smaller, about me.  I was at the top of a hill, and from where I was standing to the horizon I saw nothing but green.  The sun was high in the sky and the warmth was comforting.  The air about me smelled fresh and wonderful.  The sounds around me, the trees blowing in the wind, the birds chirping, running water from a nearby creek, were peaceful and relaxing.

         Tom suddenly appeared next to me and I cringed.  He couldn't even leave me alone in my dreams.  We began walking in silence.  He took my hand.  I pulled it away.  He put some space between us.

         We entered a field and the sight before me made my jaw drop.  Dozens of kids were scattered across the expanse.  Many were playing, some were sitting in the grass, others slept, but all had smiles on their faces.  There was laughter around me.  I had never felt an atmosphere full of this much joy.  A smile was now on my brother's face as well.  He ran ahead and made a beeline to a familiar face.

         Tom's friend Joe was playing Red Rover with a bunch of other kids.  I watched from a distance as my brother played the game.  I looked around and realized that I was the oldest person in the field.  Most seemed to be my brother's age.  All of this seemed too strange.  It didn't even feel like a dream.  My attention returned to my brother as he and Joe approached me, followed by a boy I didn't recognize.

         “What is this place?” I asked Joe.

         “I don't know,” he responded.  “I just got here myself.  Ask Michael.”  He gestured to the boy that had joined them.

         “It's just a place where kids like us can play,” Michael told me.

         “What am I doing here then?” I asked.  “I'm not a kid.”

         “You are too a kid!” Tom snapped.  “Just because you're twelve now doesn't mean you're not a kid anymore.”

         I was about to argue back, but a bell interrupted me.  In the distance, I saw a woman in a white dress, but she quickly disappeared through the trees on the other side of the field.

         “What's going on?” I asked.  “Who was that woman?”

         “That was Clarissa.  We have to go,” Michael answered.  “It's going to get dark, and we've played long enough.”

         “Where are we going?” Tom spoke up.

         “It's time for us to eat,” Michael said.  “Then Clarissa is going to tell us stories.”

         “Really?!” Joe said, excited.  “I love stories!”

         “Me too,” Tom agreed.  He, Joe, and Michael began walking towards the trees that the woman disappeared in.  Already other children were entering the dark forest.  Something definitely wasn't right.  I ran up to Joe and Tom and grabbed them each from behind, using their shirts to yank them in the opposite direction.

         “You're not going,” I told them.

         “What do you mean?” Joe asked.  “Yes we are!”

         “It could be dangerous,” I said.  “I can't let you kids do this.  We're going back to the place I was when I first got here.”

         “No!” Joe screamed.  He kicked me in the knee.  I yelped and my grip slackened.  Joe twisted himself away.  He and Michael ran ahead to the other side of the field and vanished into the trees.

         Tom struggled against my grip, but he knew better than to hit me.  I wrapped my hand around his wrist and pulled him back the way we had come before.  His cries drowned out the pleasant sounds of the trees, birds, and water.  I hadn't noticed it before, but the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon.  I didn't know what was going to happen once the sun set.  I did know that we had to hurry.

         Finally, we reached the tree.  The color around me was rapidly fading.  Everything was turning from green to gray.  I think even Tom had noticed because he had stopped squirming and had a frightened look on his face.  We stood facing the tree, looking for something, anything that would get us out of here.  Then I noticed that while the color around me was fading, the tree stood there as vibrant as ever.  Tom and I looked at each other and nodded.  We reach out our hands and touched the tree.

         I woke up with a start.  My alarm blared, and I quickly hopped out of bed.  I felt tired.  It was as if I hadn't gotten any sleep at all.  I opened the door to my room and Tom was in the hallway looking like a zombie himself.  An understanding passed between the two of us.

         Later that day we discovered that Tom's friend Joe had gone missing.  Guilt cut through my stomach.  Joe was never seen again.  From that day on I never yelled at my brother.  I had come so close to losing him, and I got a taste of how painful it would be if I did.  And though I made an effort to play with my brother every day, we never spoke of the dream.  We both knew it had not been a dream at all.

*          *          *

Liked this story?  Check out some of my others.  I have something for everyone!

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Or try checking out my real pride and joy.  Mysteries starring my seventh grade detective Nate Gillen.

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