A Sound in the Dark

It was very cold. And dark. But peaceful nonetheless. That was why I chose this particular spot. I lay on my back on the cold, brittle autumn grass, tracing out the constellations with my fingers. I shivered. Mom was right, I thought ruefully. I should have brought my jacket.

I had just finished tracing Pegasus when I heard a peculiar noise. I sat up quickly, my heart racing. I am prone to adrenaline rushes, see. Little things such as strange sounds can set my blood pounding. I stood up as quietly as I could, looking in the direction of the disturbance. Then something drove itself home, and I smacked my forehead. Looking around was pointless, as I couldn’t see my hand an inch in front of my face, let alone an unknown object twenty or so meters away.

I let go a pent-up breath and sat down again, convincing myself that it was nothing. I hung my head. I missed a good adventure. I went to lie back down, when…

I started. There was that noise again, louder this time. I stood up, wanting to check it out. I hesitated. I didn’t actually have a flashlight, and I could get lost or hurt. I shrugged, and my curiosity got the better of me. I plodded in the direction of the sound, trying to discern my surroundings. I stubbed my toe on a tree once or twice, occasionally getting a whack in the face by an overhanging branch. But other than that, my search was uneventful. The noise was getting louder and more clear, and now that I could hear it properly, it sounded like a groaning, sucking, hollow noise that your stomach might make when you’re hungry. Except this was magnified by a thousand times. It was just getting to the point when I couldn’t bear it any longer, when…

“Aaaauuuugghh!”

I screamed. I was plummeting, down, down, and just when I though it couldn’t go on, it all stopped. The sound, the falling, the screaming, even my heart. But that was only temporary. As everything returned to me in a rush, so did my heartbeat. I was just sane enough to take in my environment. I was laying face-down on a beach, the warm sea breeze playing across my face, the high tide cooling my side. Then I realized what had happened. I was walking through a thin wood, when suddenly I had fallen, and here I was. Strange, I thought. I figured I should try to get back. I had fallen down to get here, so, logically, I looked up. Nothing. Just the starry night sky. Except, I didn’t see any constellations I recognized, and I had been studying constellations for six years. Where am I? I thought in panic. How will I get home?

I tried to keep a level head, considering my options. I could walk a ways until I found something, I could wait here until morning, or I could sit here and scream. I seriously considered the sitting and screaming option, but I realized that wouldn’t do me any good. So I decided to wait until morning. I rolled away from the tide and slept.

I awoke with a jolt, drenched in cold sweat. I looked around wildly, expecting to see the beach, but instead I found myself in bed, neatly tucked under the covers. I relaxed. It was just a dream.

Oh, how I would rue the day I thought it was a dream.