Dawn's Break
Red eyed Dreams
In her dream Jenn felt at peace. It was as if she always belonged there
and she never wanted to wake up. She found herself standing upon a long
beach with the whitest of sands and long rolling cliffs off in the
distance. A cool breeze rushed off the ocean and played with the hem of
Jenn's skirt. She gazed out over the crystal blue water to see the sun
setting off in the distance. Beautiful reds and purpled swirled off the
clouds with yellows and oranges highlighting the edges, the colours
sparked off the waves in the water as they washed up on shore. Jenn
smiled as she scanned the beach, taking in every bit of the scenery.
Suddenly she spotted a person laying face down on the sand not far from
her. She quickly rushed to the person’s side, ignoring the fact that her
shoes were getting wet. As she drew closer she could see that it was a
small girl wearing a long white summer dress and she had flowing fiery
red hair that covered her entire back. She was drenched to the bone and
looked as if she had recently washed up on shore. Jenn crouched down
next to the girl and was about to touch her shoulder, to see if she was
all right, when the girl abruptly lifted her head and stared at Jenn.
Her fiery red eyes setting firmly upon Jenn’s causing Jenn to jump and
stumble backwards, falling into the water, the same eyes she saw in the
window that very morning.
********
The sound of the school bell ringing startled Jenn from her dreams.
Stretching she gazed up at the clock. It was already lunch hour; she had
missed her second period class completely, but could not really
careless. She'd just have to make up the schoolwork after school. She
cracked her neck and let out a yawn, then leaning over to grab her shoes
to find them slightly damp and small amounts of sand in the heel. She
turned her shoe over in her hand, letting the sand pore into her hand,
as she recalled the dream she just had. It was nothing like her other
dreams, it was almost real and the presence of the sand only reassured
her that it was in deed real. She shook her head trying to clear it;
nevertheless she could not shake those eyes from her mind, those ruby
red irises. They were filled with so much sorrow and pain that Jenn
wanted to reach out to the girl and hold her. Jenn wondered if it was
someone she met in the past. Certainly she would never have forgotten
such a beautiful face, so she dismissed the idea. Hearing girls filling
the halls, Jenn quickly jumped into her shoes, ignoring the slightly
soggy feeling and joined the stream of bodies. Before long she found her
sneakers had dried and herself at her homeroom door, which she knocked
lightly upon door before entering.
"Come in!" Mr. Johnson called out from his desk and gave her his
trademarked warm smile upon seeing Jenn standing at the door, "I'm glad
to see you. How are you feeling?" He asked anxiously.
"Alright, I guess." Jenn shuffled in place. She just wanted to get her
schoolbag and get out of there as quickly as possible, not wanting a
repeat of the incident from earlier.
"You looking for this?" Mr. Johnson inquired, pulling her bag out from
behind his desk and picking up her books from his desk with his other
hand, "I thought it would be safer here."
"Thank you." Jenn shyly crossed the room and took the bag and books from
the man. Her eyes fell upon the book she had been reading and she
quickly flipped through it in search for any sign of the blood from
earlier. Not finding any she dropped the items into the bag and prepared
to leave.
The teacher watch her carefully as he leaned back in his chair, "You
know, I was expecting it to be a lot heavier.” He chuckled, “I thought
there was a laptop in there." He said pointing at the bag.
"It was my mom's." Jenn admitted, clenching the bag close to her chest,
"She let me have it when she got a newer one."
The teacher's face grew long, "How long has it been since you last saw
your mother?" He questioned, concerned for his student.
"I... I can't remember." Jenn started uneasily. She didn't like talking
about her mother. It always made her realize just how much she missed
her, "I . . . " Her lip quivered and she started to tremble, "I have to
go . . . " Jenn rapidly backed away and turned towards the door.
"You know you can talk to me anytime." The teacher called out to Jenn’s
back, "That is if you need someone to talk to."
Jenn lowered her head and took a deep breath, "No, that's alright." She
murmured before disappearing out of the class.
Jenn slipped through the crowds, weaving her way to her locker. She
reached into her school bag when a ball of paper hit her in the head and
rolled to the floor. She scanned the crowd to see who threw the paper,
but there were too many girls around. She slowly picked up the paper and
unravelled it to discover someone had childishly written the word "DYKE"
in large letters with a marker. Jenn smirked at the paper; she found it
amusing how people liked to state the obvious and actually thought
calling her a dyke would bother her. She crumpled the paper back into a
ball and tossed it at a nearby garbage pail only to have it snatched out
of the air by a long slender hand.
"And what do we have here?" Kris inquired curiously, opening the ball
and reading the note, then peering over the top of the paper with a
raised eyebrow, "Is this true?" She prodded with a knowing grin.
"Nope, it is all lies I tell you." Jenn replied, trying hard not to
laugh while fiddling with the combination lock on her locker.
"Lies you say?" Kris leaned against the locker next to Jenn, "You so
sure? It would be a shame because you are quite a good-looking little
girl."
Jenn pulled the lock off and glanced at Kris, "Why, Kris Tallet, if I
didn't know you as well as I did I would think that you're coming onto
me." Jenn spoke with the best fake southern accent she could muster
without breaking into laughter.
"Depends on what you want." Kris set her eyes upon Jenn's. Such deep
blue eyes that Jenn felt like they would engulf her.
"Uhhhh . . . " Jenn stammered, staring into those eyes Jenn could feel
herself flush. Kris had a way of looking at girls that made it difficult
to turn away at times and Jenn was never sure if Kris was serious or
just playing around. One could never be sure when it came to this girl.
Kris was the first to turn away and stared up at the ceiling, "I hear
from May that you weren't feeling too well this morning." There was a
concerned look upon her face and a serious tone to her words.
"Yeah." Jenn turned back to her locker. She could still feel her
heart-beating deep inside of herself. She sometimes wished Kris would
stop playing around and at the same time was terrified of the idea,
"I... I just needed a small nap. Nothing to worry about." Jenn half
lied as she opened her locker and two small envelops fell to the ground.
Kris quickly scooped the letters up before Jenn could process what had
fallen in the first place.
"Now what do we have here?" Kris wondered with a mischievous grin while
turning the letters over in her hand. Each letter had “Jennifer North”
name written on them in neat feminine handwriting and Kris placed the
letters under her nose to take whiff of them, "I smell new love in the
air." She teased.
"Give me those!" Jenn demanded as she snatched the letters out of her
friend's hands. She could not help to sniff at the letters to see what
Kris was talking about, but could only smell paper and glue. She felt
another wave of heat when she noticed Kris beaming at her and quickly
dropped the letters into her schoolbag, to be opened later. Other than
herself, Kris was the only other girl that was treated more like a boy
around the school. Over the year the two of them would challenge each
other to see who could get the most love letters and gifts. Jenn
nervously pulled out a couple of textbooks from the bag, attempting to
not let her eyes drift back to Kris, and dropped them to the bottom of
the locker.
"You know you are really cute when you blush." Kris reached out and
gently brushed Jenn’s hair over her ear and gazed into the girl’s eyes,
and then abruptly pulled back and pushed off of the lockers, "We should
really get going. The others will be waiting." She stated as she started
to walk down the hall.
"Right!" Jenn closed her locker and locked it before running after Kris.
As she fell into step beside her friend she glanced up at the girl and
wished that she knew what was going on in her mind, she wouldn't mind
understanding girls in general for that matter. It always amazed Jenn
how mature Kris appeared to be for a seventeen-year-old. Most of the
other teens were still flustered about who they were and where they were
going, however Kris always held a quality to her that makes it seem as
if she knew exactly what she was doing no matter what it was. For
instance at this moment she walked with a long stride and her hands held
her wrists behind her back in a casual manner, while between the fingers
of one hand she held the top edge of a brown paper bag. Not a care in
the world could be seen upon the girl’s face and Jenn wasn't sure if
Kris was just a good actor or just wise for her years, but for some
reason the calm demeanour of her friend always made her feel better,
even if she was a big flirt.
The two girls stopped at a door with a small sign hanging beside it,
which read "Club Hen." Jenn opened the door and entered the room. The
teachers allowed them to use this room all they wished, as long as they
didn’t do anything that went against school regulations, so some of the
girls had brought in a few pieces of furniture for the club. A small
couch rested against one of the far walls, on which two girls quickly
sat up from their curled up position and relaxed when noticing the new
arrivals were not teachers. Two recliners were set to either side of the
couch next to the far windows with two large bookcases, filled with many
books that had been donated to the club, taking up the far corners. A
long table was set in the middle where several girls already sat, eating
lunch. The girls exchanged greeting as they walked across the room and
found seats at the table. May looked up from her lunch with a smile that
disappeared the moment she saw the ragged look upon Jenn’s face.
Tanya jumped up from her spot on a recliner near the window, "How you
feeling, Jenn?" She inquired worriedly, perching upon the arm of the
chair, eagerly awaiting her friend’s answer.
"I have a slight headache, but nothing more." Jenn explained pulling out
a tuna fish sandwich from the brown paper bag that held her lunch.
"Did you get some rest?" May pried, more anxious then she was before.
"I'll be fine, May." Jenn countered, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry I
snapped at you earlier. I just... "
"No no, I ... I'm sorry I got in the way." May stammered apprehensively,
"I... was just worried about you."
"I'll be fine." Jenn repeated attempting to swallow back the irritation
she felt from the battery of questions and good wishes.
"Is it your time?" Tanya remarked bluntly.
"No! It's not!" Jenn screamed, finally fed up with the interrogation.
She hated it when people brought up her period every time she was
irritable. "I'm just having a day, alright?" The room filled with an
unsettling quiet that could be felt. It was unusual to see Jenn get
annoyed by anything like this, and nobody really wanted to upset their
dear prince, so they kept quiet for the duration of the lunch hour.
Jenn ate her lunch quietly then moved to her favourite reclining chair.
She curled up on her side and stared out the window as that feeling
began to build up inside of her yet again. It felt as if something was
twisting deep in the pit of her stomach like a nagging feeling that she
couldn't really put her finger on. She didn't know how long she stared
out that window watching the autumn leaves playing tag with the wind
before she drifted off to sleep once again.
****
Once more, Jenn found herself on the beach watching the setting sun. The
red headed girl washed up on shore and again Jenn approached her. Jenn
knelt down and reached out towards the girl, just as her fingers touched
the girl’s shoulder her mind rushed with a flood of images. Visions of
blood and dark creatures invaded her mind along with a mixture of pain,
torment and anguish that threatened to tear Jenn’s mind apart, causing
her to reel backwards and stagger into the ocean waves. Suddenly she was
knocked off her feet by a wave and icy cold ocean water rushed around
her body, pulling her into its deep dark depths. She could feel her
lungs fill with salty ocean water as she struggled for breath, death’s
grip firmly around her throat.
*****
"Jenn!" Kris's voice called out to Jenn in her sleep, "Jennifer." She
called out to her again. It took Jenn a moment to realize that the voice
was not coming from within the dream itself. "KRIS!!!" Jenn sat bolt
right up in the recliner to find herself in her friend’s arms. She
coughed and struggled to catch her breath. She could still feel the icy
cold fingers of death’s hands around her neck, slowly loosening their
grip, and the taste of salt in her mouth.
"Shhhh..." Kris whispered softly into the girl's ear, "It is just me.
You have nothing to be afraid of, everyone else has already left."
"Kris . . . It’s really you . . . " Jenn stuttered, trying to catch her
breath. She felt like something had reached into her heart and tried to
crush it. Bewildered her eyes darted around the room in search of
something familiar, but everything had a strange feeling to it and she
could feel a pressure building up behind her eyes. Frightfully she
clenched at Kris's arm, "Kris, I'm scared." She stated shakily.
"You were having another nightmare, weren't you?" Kris inquired softly,
making sure to keep her voice low so she didn't scare the girl anymore.
"It was horrible." The image of the red head flickered before Jenn's
eyes, "I can still see her." Jenn's whole body shook violently and she
started coughing again, tasting salt water and sand upon her lips,
"What's wrong with me?" She asked between coughs.
"Nothing is wrong with you." Kris stroked the girl's hair, "When do you
have to see that doctor?"
Jenn was visibly terrified, "At five o’clock, but I don't want to go."
She replied, clinging to the girl’s shirtsleeve.
"Would you like me to come with you?" Kris suggested, setting her
forehead lightly on Jenn's.
Jenn hugged the girl tighter, "Please, but I don't think I can make it
through the rest of class." She felt a comfort in the warm flesh of
Kris’s head against her own.
"That is alright.” Kris soothed, “I'll just tell the teachers you are
not feeling well and we'll skip the afternoon classes."
"Thank you.” Jenn set her head on Kris's shoulder. “I don't know what
I'd do without you."
Kris let out a soft sigh and for the first time she held her friend
securely. With Jenn’s head resting lightly upon her shoulder, Jenn felt
a familiar solace in her friend's embrace. There was something about
being in Kris's arms that made Jenn feel at home. She looked up to see
that Kris had her eyes lightly closed and Jenn could feel her own heart
pounding heavily in her chest as an urge to kiss the girl building up
inside of her and she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from
the girl’s soft pink lips, but something deep in her heart knew that
they could never be. Jenn suddenly lifted her head and shook the idea of
a kissing from her mind, causing Kris to open her eyes.
"Are you alright?" Kris asked quietly.
Jenn simply nodded. She didn't trust her own voice, afraid that if she
did speak that she might cry. Something inside Jenn told her to run,
told her that if she spoke her feelings out loud that everything would
crumble and fall apart, like some kind of forgotten dream.
"Let us get going, okay?" Kris urged as she stood up from her spot on
the arm of the chair.
Jenn quickly followed closely behind her friend with her head down, not
wanting Kris to see the pain that was building up in her eyes.
At the office Kris explained everything to the principal, who was very
understanding and let the two girls leave without question. Now with the
afternoon free, they left the school in search of a way to kill a few
hours. Their homes were out of the question and they couldn't go to the
mall in their uniforms, since security would cause a fuss. It was
finally decided that they would spend the rest of the afternoon watching
the day pass by in one of the local parks.
They found a park not far from Jenn's doctor's appointment and sat upon
one of the many long wooden benches with their curved black iron legs.
Kris leaned back with her head hanging over the back of the bench and
stared up at the clouds in the sky while Jenn tried hard to watch the
squirrels playing with the autumn leaves. They sat like that for some
time, not saying so much as a word. Just enjoying the cool breeze that
would swoop by from time to time, curious about the two girls, and cause
some of the leave to dance around their feet.
"Kris?" Jenn inquired after a little while.
"Yes?" Kris answered, not moving.
Jenn glanced at Kris, trying to search for the words that were stirring
so deeply inside her. She remembered the comfortable feeling of Kris's
embrace and swallowed hard, turning her eyes to the ground, "Have you .
. . ever been . . . in love?" She explored.
Kris sat silent for a moment as if she pondered the questions
profoundly, "Once." She finally informed with a sigh, then leaned
forwards in her seat, with her elbows upon her knees and looked out at a
couple of birds searching for food.
"What happened?" Jenn sat up and observed Kris closely, "I don't mean to
pry."
"No worries." Kris continued to watch the birds while letting her mind
drift through memories from long ago, "We sort of drifted apart." She
answered in nearly a whisper.
"Drifted apart?" Jenn was confused, "Didn't she really love you?"
Kris closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "We loved each other more
then anything on this earth."
"Then what happened?" Jennifer felt both excitement and frustrated. Kris
was not known to talk much about her past so Jenn was all ears to learn
more about her friend, however the idea that Kris just left her love for
no reason bothered Jenn to no end.
Kris took a deep breath, "She was in an accident." She explained closing
her eyes, trying to keep her emotions in check, "Afterwards she could
not remember anything."
"Amnesia?"
"Something like that." Kris leaned back on the bench again and wrapped
an arm over her eyes, "After a while she gained a new life without me."
She spoke with a tremble in her voice, "There is nothing worse than
watching the one you love drift away from you." She whispered merely
audibly.
"Oh, Kris . . . " Jenn tried hard to understand her friends feeling, "I
. . . I didn't know."
"It is okay." Kris wiped at her eyes, "She has her life now and I have
mine."
Gently, Jenn reached out and touched Kris on the shoulder, "You still
love her, don't you?" When Kris's eyes fell on Jenn there was a great
depth of pain in them like nothing Jenn had ever seen before. She
couldn't even imagine the amount of torment her friend must be in. Yet
now she was starting to understand why Kris pulls away when the two of
them got too close, "Kris, you know I'm here for you if you need me."
Jenn soothed softly.
"I..." A tear formed in the corner of Kris's eye, "I'm sorry." She stood
up and wiped the tear away with the back of her hand, "We should
probably get going to that doctors of yours." Without waiting she
started down the path out of the park.
Jenn glanced at her watch, "Yeah, you're right." She stood and ran to
catch up with her friend.
*****
To be Continued . . .
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