The cold rain slowly dripped on my face sliding off my skin and to the old creaky cabin floor. I pinched my eyes shut trying my best to get some rest while still hiding an underlying fear of sleep. It wasn't exactly the sleep I feared but the lack of control I had over my vivid dreams.
I had been an avid lucid dreamer for as long as I could remember. Sometimes it was fun to enjoy the dream world but other times it was a trap built within the walls of my mind. I tossed and turned on the hard wooden floor of the old leaky cabin, it was the best shelter we could find for daylight hours. The sky was covered in a dark overcast of clouds but we couldn't take the risk of sun exposure and played it safe.
I tossed and turned until finally I found myself lost within the world of lucid dreams. I rose up from the Forrest floor looking around to find a big beautiful full moon overhead.
"Jezebel." I heard a woman's voice call from the woods as a shadow flooded past. "Jezebel, come to me." the voice called smooth as velvet.
I blindly followed the voice deeper and deeper into the woods. The setting seemed to get darker and stormier the further I went. Soon I was standing at a cliff behind a woman in a long flowing black gown.
"Jezebel, come closer." the voice echoed eerily.
I felt a pit in the center of my stomach I knew it was the wrong decision as I moved closer.
"Who are you?" I asked confused as I got closer.
"My dear sweet Jezebel. Don't you remember?" she chuckled and it echoed all around me.
"No..." I trailed off as I got closer.
"How could you forget your own mother!" she screeched and when she turned to face me it was the decaying face of my mother.
"Come to mommy." the corpse laughed as it reached its bony arms out to me with maggots falling from its eye sockets.
I screamed and the corpse grabbed me and I started to fight.
"Jezebel!" her voice was now that of a man as she repeated, "Jezebel, wake up!"
I quickly snapped out of it and woke to Loki holding my shoulders.
"Are you okay?" he asked looking concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine just a bad dream." I answered hugging my knees to my chest.
"Penny for your thoughts?" he answered with a warm smile.
"It's nothing really, I just had a bad dream about my mother." I said shyly pushing a few strands of hair behind my ear.
"Well after meeting your father, I guess I understand." he joked putting his arm around my shoulders.
"No, no it's nothing like that." I explained, "My mother she died when I was very young."
"I'm sorry to hear that, if you don't mind me asking, how did she go?" he asked.
"She was actually murdered." I mumbled.
"Oh, Im sorry for asking." he said genuinely sorry.
"Don't be how could you have known. I guess I just still miss her even after all these years."
"Loss is never easy, it just eventually becomes a part of us. We just need to learn to live with it is all. You think something triggered your nightmare?" he asked trying to offer comfort.
"I think maybe my father telling me she wasn't my real mother was a pretty good trigger." I answered looking to the ground.
"Wow, that's a lot to deal with on top of your current situation. You know you don't have to help me. I would hate to burden you further."
"I know I don't have to, I want to." I answered placing my hand on top of his.
"Well I can't say I'm disappointed." he smirked pulling my head over and resting it on his chest.
"Thank you." I whispered.
"For what?" he asked.
"For listening." I said as a tear ran down my cheek. "I've never really been able to talk about my mother before."
"Hey," he smiled wiping the tear from my face, "We are in this together, that's what I'm here for." he said in a comforting tone as he ran his fingers down my back.
"Same to you." I answered leaning in closer feeling lost in his powerful scent.
Something was blossoming deep inside me a feeling I had never before known. It felt like butterflies were dancing under my skin. With him things were different, even in the midst of a chaotic world I felt safe with him. In all the uncertainty of the world today, there was one thing I was certain of, our journey had just barely begun.