I could see them in the distance, the shapes of what appeared to be two people standing, but not moving. Perhaps they were statues, put there to decorate the avenue under a canopy of trees. But they were too far away to be of use where they were. I decided to walk toward them, watching as the sun disappeared above me. Under the trees, the temperature dropped several degrees. I shrugged it off to lack of sunlight and continued on.

Getting nearer to the end of the road, I could see the white, that I thought was sunlight reflecting off the grass, was actually a dense mist. No wonder I couldn’t tell if the objects ahead were real or not. I came to the end of the road. Looking about, I could still sense a coldness around me. Should I venture into the mist to try to discover what was really standing in the middle of nowhere?

They still weren’t moving, but I could feel eyes on me, watching, but I didn’t know from where. I looked around, several more times, trying to decipher this unsettling mystery. The closer I got, the colder it got, even though the sun blazed in the sky. I felt a shiver throughout my body, and briefly wondered why I hadn’t brought along a jacket, realizing then that it was August. Much too hot for jackets. So, no rational explanation of why I was cold, or why the mist lingered, or what the heck those two things were standing in front of me.

Maybe I was dreaming. I had been having some rather odd ones lately. Perhaps this was another. But I was awake, wasn’t I? A glint of light broke my attempt to figure it all out. It was then I heard a low whispering voice welcoming me. Welcoming me where? It answered back, admonishing me for being impatient. I wasn’t impatient. I was petrified! Again, I was told to calm myself. Whoever or whatever this was, it must have the ability to read my thoughts. OK, blank out, no thoughts, nothing to fuel this intruder in my head.

Taking several steps back, making my way under the canopy and down the avenue again, I could no longer feel the cold. Warmth had returned, so I turned and made a mad dash to the other side. Looking back, the statues remained, but the fog was lifting. I was startled by a low whisper, welcoming me back. It was then I realized I was in the hospital. I had come back, awakened from the nightmare, grateful to those around me, for defeating the demons who dared to claim me, before my time was up.

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo ©Sue Vincent