The Superheroes Side Mission: The Tale of Linda

Dream 1

I fell asleep and drifted off into the world of dreams. At the time I was only seven years old. Me and my parents walked across the grassy field to a small orphanage. The building was black and gray, with a little bit of wear and tear. However the building itself wasn’t the important part, it’s who I met inside the building. A young, beautiful girl by the name of Linda. Immediately I was star-struck upon gazing at her. I don’t remember the color of her eyes. My memory is telling me that they were blue, but they could have easily been jade. She had a smile that can warm up even the coldest of hearts. However, what I remember most about her appearance was the green dress and white long skirt she always appeared in. This appearance I would remember for the rest of my life. “Hello,” I said to her. She giggled and we went to play in the playground out back. I don’t remember exactly what we played, but I believe we may have been playing ball or taking turns on the teeter-totter. Childhood pastimes that seem to last an eternity with the right people. Next thing I knew my parents adopted her and she ended up going home with us. I never really considered her a sister. Like I said, I was star-struck with her. A childhood crush if you will. All I know is that I was really happy to spend time with her and I believe she felt the same way. We walked across the field back home and that’s when I woke up.

Dream 2

Unlike most dreams, she didn’t just appear once and disappear into the far depths of my subconscious. No, she was consistently there in my dreams ever since she first appeared. It was as if I was peeking into another world. No. As if I was living another life. One completely different than the one I was actually living in. These were also my most serene and humblest dreams. Each one bright and sunny casting a light on Linda making her shine even more than I thought she could. We were walking across the field, Linda carrying her trademark parasol. I did not know what it was at the time, I just thought it was an umbrella. I guess TV influenced me more than I thought. Once again we were walking along a grassy hill and stopped for a brief moment on a log. From there we had a pleasant conversation. I don’t remember what we talking about but I believe it was about our goals in life, what we wanted to do, and what I thought of her. I wish I remembered exactly what I said so I could relate it all to you, but it was so long ago that I can’t. And sadly, the unhappy memories stick out more than the happy ones. The dream ends sometime after the conversation.

Dream 3

Our parents took us to the park to play. The whole dream was just us playing in that park being the best of friends. Playing all that we could. I remember when we were playing under this one thing, I think it was a slide and pretending like it was a secret base. At least I think that happened. We also slid on the slide, went on the monkey bars, and climbed the jungle gym. If only the fun can last forever.

Dream 4

My memory must be fuzzier than I thought. I could have sworn that there were more good times until it happened. For all I know, there probably was. One of the biggest red flags was that while all the other dreams took place during the daytime, this one took place at night. Linda asked me to meet her at the playground. I believe it was the playground of the school I went to in real life but I’m not too sure. Clouds were up in the sky obscuring the moon as wolf howls could be heard in the distance. I went to the playground and Linda asks me, “Can you keep a secret?”

I was surprised, but naturally I said yes. However, this prompted her to ask another question. Well, more like a favor, “Promise me you won’t hate me after this.” There were tears in her eyes. I’ve never seen her cry. I’ll told her something along the lines of “I could never hate you.” She smiled, sniffling, wiping away the tears. This was the last smile I saw of her before the clouds moved to reveal the full moon and she mouths the word, “Run.” That’s when I saw it, the moment that haunted me for the rest of my days. Fur grew on her entire body as her clothes tore, her fingernails slowly turning into claws as she went down on all fours, her face turning into a wolf’s muzzle as she screams in pain during the entire process. I was so terrified that I couldn’t move until the transformation was complete. “Linda?” She roars and lunges at me, running at all fours, slashing at me with her claws. I just barely duck under it and run in the opposite direction, away from her, pleading with her to stop, tears in my eyes. While running, I could of sworn I saw a faint shadow on the monkey bars that disappeared. But I wasn’t concerned about it at the time. All I cared about was making out of there alive. However, that was easier said than done. She had me pinned down on the ground, ready to take a chomp out of me. I was crying, bawling, scared for my life. She goes in for the kill and that’s when I woke up. I bet I was in a cold sweat that night. After that nightmare, I never saw Linda again for years. As I learned throughout the years, dreams are hosted in two separate worlds. The Dream World for good dreams, and the Nightmare Realm for nightmares. I always remembered Linda, but I never went looking for her. When she turned into that…thing, she became trapped in the Nightmare Realm, and I was too scared and too naïve to go get her. I was merely a child. A frightened child. And the Nightmare Realm is literally everyone’s idea of hell. I can only imagine what she went through while she was in there.