Flickers

It first happened on my way home from work. The time had just changed, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself driving home in daylight for once.

I live near the airport, so it isn't uncommon to see airplanes flying low, readying themselves to land. I admit, I have a tendency to fiddle with my phone while waiting at red lights. I changed the song I was listening to and looked up to check the car in front of me. Still seeing brake lights, I looked up farther to see if the light had changed, and that's when I noticed a large white flicker “blink” just over the horizon.

I thought it was a plane. But if it had been a plane, I would still have seen it making its way to the airport. Instead the ‘flicker’, or the thing I saw, disappeared behind trees and buildings.

I pondered on what I could have seen on the way home. At the time, I wasn't very bothered by it. It could have been a bright flash of light that played a trick on my eyes. It could have in fact been a plane, and I had only been paying half attention. But my gut told me what I’d seen was something else entirely. 

A few days passed and the same thing happened again. I never could get a good look at the enormous thing that seemed the populate the area just outside of my line of sight. But the idea that it was NOT a plane ate at me. The fact that I kept seeing it gnawed at my subconscious, and from just my being aware, I seemed to see it more.

Sweet Dreams | #PlaylistPrompt

Photo by Anselme Servain

There's a certain "truth" present within dreams. This "truth" is nearly impossible to find in the real world. This is due mainly because our inhabitions and fears are manifested plainly in front of us while in the dream.

Feel like you can't get through to a friend? You may dream about a brick wall. Go to bed hungry? You may dream that someone or something is eating you.

No matter how far removed a dream might seem to be from reality, I promise it's all interrelated. I know, because I'm the one that sends the dreams.

Oh, you thought I was human. 

Ha! 

Most people do. I look human; I suppose I feel human as well, but there's no way for me to know that with any certainty. I feel fear, loneliness, love, happiness, gratefulness and regret just like the rest of you, only, I've been feeling these emotions for eons now. 

Over the millenia, I've watched as prayers, wishes, hopes and daydreams are sent out into the ether each night. People wishing/ asking for better lives. Better luck for the ones they love. For safety. I can't answer their prayers, but I can send them beautiful dreams. I try to send them the good ones, but their human minds often distort my effort into something twisted. Stress and fear can ruin the best of dreams, and if you believe nothing else from this little essay, then you should believe that. 

So, as I listened to the prayers and hopes of generation after generation, I noticed there are a group of voices stronger than the rest. Humans call them Witches. Bruja. Čarodějnice. 巫婆. Cailleach. I could go on and on...

These ones are different. 

They ask for the nightmares.

And they pray to me. In fact, they call me out by name and request horrific visions of the future. My twin brother thinks these Witches are crazy, but that doesn't stop him from doing business with them regularly... Anyway, I'm getting off topic.

Sometimes, when I see a human man circling a Witch, I'll send him a dream to warn him away. It usually works, but not always. I saw something like this just the other day.

The Witch this guy was going after wasn't as bad as some, but she has a talent for the art of hexing, and that alone makes me worry. I feel a certain kinship with human men for some reason. Maybe it's because my body resembles one, so that's how I identify, (even though I'm technically far from human).

Anyway, I sent him the dream, he ignored it. (No surprise), and now I can't find him. 

I can feel every living creature in existence when they sleep, but I can't find this guy anymore. 

It's been three days.

So, I asked my brother if that poor man had passed through his gates. When you're the god of death, you eventually meet EVERYBODY. 

Thanatos said he hadn't seen the mortal I was speaking of. I remember feeling perplexed. If you weren't alive, or dead, or asleep, then what were you?

As a god, you'd think I'd be able to answer that question, but I couldn't. The only other thing I could think to do was find the Witch and see what she was up to. Maybe she'd done something to the guy, but still, I should have been able to find him when he slept. 

When I couldn't find her either, I decided to break into her apartment and snoop around. I found a grimoire laying on her kitchen table. A book of spells, but they didn't belong to her. 

There were chairs tipped over in her kitchen like a gust of wind had knocked them on their side. Papers were strewn about the area. I saw a dog's food and water dish, but no dog. No clothes in the dresser. 

I realized then that the Witch and the guy must have ran off. But to where? Like I said, I could find them in this universe --- there was no place to hide from me. Everything that lives needs sleep, and everything that sleeps eventually dies (that's where my brother comes in). There's no getting around it. Even immortals sleep.

Feeling annoyed and outdone by a mediocre Witch at best, I flipped through the grimoire and the answer became clear. The first page of the book said the following:

"There are seven ways to open a portal to another universe. 

I know two of them, but I wish I knew none."

"Hypnos" by Taner Ceylan

I tried looking for the page that told you how to open such a portal, (because I'm a god, and even I can't do that); but of course, she'd ripped it out. 

Can you imagine what might be out there? What they might be seeing right now? I mean, I've been alive for a long time and I've never figured out how to transcend my own dimension, and trust me, I've had time to think about it. 

In closing, let this be a warning to you. Sometimes, when I send you a dream, you might want to heed my subtle warnings. Other times, it may be the beginning of the greatest adventure known to both gods and man alike. Just sayin'.

Sweet dreams.

Everyday For A Month: Day 14

I know this witch lady that makes these cookies that give you superpowers for 24 hours.

I never believed anything like that could exist, but I went to her shop and I'd tried her regular cookies before. They were good. Excellent even. The rumors all said to stay away from her "Roulette Menu". Roulette, hence, when you bought one of these cookies, you couldn't be sure what you might be getting.

I ate a roulette cookie this morning. I'm still not sure what it does, but I feel like I've been hearing other people's thoughts all day.