The Dreamer

From the moment he was born he knew he was special. It wasn’t that he was told so. It wasn’t that he was part of a whole line of special people. He just felt something that made him believe that he was different. It all started with the dreams. He would awake in the middle of the night and worry and he couldn’t put his finger on it. The dreams were never remembered at first. They would always reoccur in reality and then he would remember them. For example, one day he was walking down the street and had a conversation with a friend and all of a sudden his dream came back to him. It was too late however because he wasn’t able to save her from getting hit by that car. Thank heavens that she wasn’t killed, but it did ruin her life because of the scars. Things like this would happen to him more and more often. One day he sat down and thought about it and things started to change for him. He was beginning to be able to remember his dreams for a short while after he had them. He started keeping a journal. This wasn’t enough however because he still didn’t know when his dreams would become reality. He just knew that bad things were going to happen, but not when.

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One morning he woke up with an idea in his head to try to fix this tiny little imperfection. It was the morning of his 12th birthday and it was very early. His dream was about his parents…

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“Let’s go for a ride on our new motorcycle,” his father said.

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“I’m looking forward to it!” replied his mother.

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They set off around 5 O’clock in the evening and he waved to them as they went. His sister and he were stuck home together. It was a bummer because she had to watch him which meant that they were not going to have any fun. The next moment of his dream he was his dad and saw a car pull out in front of him. Trying to stop his father pressed hard on the brakes, but it was too late. The car was too close to them and they made impact with it. The next part of the dream he was home and a police officer was knocking at the door. The look on the officer’s face was grim. He had bad news. The scene then jumped to the hospital where he was waiting to hear news. A doctor came in with a young lady by the name of Charlotte. The doctor said there was nothing he could do and Charlotte was there to speak to his sister and him about the tragedy. Then there was a flash and he woke up.

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He raced down the stairs to look in the driveway. The bright blue motorcycle was still there and he felt relief. Then he felt panic and raced back upstairs. “What am I going to do?” he thought. This was the beginning of the long road he would take to control his powers. He laid back down deep in thought trying to come up with a solution. It felt like hours, but then he had an idea. He jumped up and went to his computer desk in the corner of his room. There he started to research dreams. Online he found a website that discussed the possibility of dream control. The research suggested that it is possible for certain people to control what happens in their dreams. What decisions they make can be altered, but they cannot control their verbal interactions.

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He sat there in awe for a moment or two and didn’t know what to think. He knew that he could change his actions in the dream, but not warn people of danger. This didn’t make sense. He suddenly felt angry. What was the point of being able to know that his parents were going to die and there was nothing he could do about it? He felt helpless, he felt lost. He stormed back downstairs to get himself a snack and coffee.

Deep in thought he hardly realized that his sister had walked in the room and sat down at the table. His sister sort of just sat down and started reading a book that she had. His brain burned with anger and he was mindlessly tapping a fork on the table when she said, “What are you doing?” This woke him up from his trance and he realized he hadn’t eaten a big of the mac and cheese he heated up. He looked at her and she backed up suddenly sitting straight up with a look of shock on her face. This startled him and then he realized that she seemed afraid of him. This was a first considering she bullied him his whole life. Why would she be afraid of him? She then said, “What is wrong with your eyes?”

He shot back, “What are you talking about, there is nothing wrong with me?”

“Yes there is,” she snapped back. “They… They’re all white.”

He then jumped up and ran back upstairs to his room and went right for the mirror. When he got there, there was nothing whatsoever different about his eyes. Angry once again he went back downstairs to confront his sister and give her a piece of his mind.

“There is nothing wrong with my eyes,” he barked.

His sister looked up at him standing there and then relaxed and stated, “Well it wasn’t my imagination.”

He didn’t know what to think so he just sat back down and went back to his mac and cheese. Of course it was cold and needed to be reheated, but he was just too exhausted to get back up and heat it up again. He sat there and enjoyed his cold food while his parents came down the stairs and joined the siblings.

“Good morning,” his father said.

“Happy Birthday dear,” added his mother.

“What do you want to do today?” asked his father.

He sat there and thought about it for a bit and couldn’t come up with anything at the moment. All he could think about is what life would be like without them in it anymore. It was the type of thought that brought a sudden pain to his stomach. The kind that makes you feel like your world is crashing down around you and that no one can save you. As he sat there deep in thought his mother started making real breakfast for everyone. After a few moments his mother looked over at him and then repeated, “What do you want to do today sweetie?”

“Well,” he said. “I just want to relax today as a family.” “Can we just stay here all day?”

“If that is what you’d like son,” said his father. “Maybe we can rent a movie or play a game together.”

“Sure,” he said with a brief fake smile on his face.

“What’s wrong dear?” his mother asked.

“Nothing.” He lied.

“His eyes were white this morning when he got up,” his sister stated.

Rage took over him when she said this and he didn’t know what to say. He decided that it was best to mock her and call her names instead. This made it look like she was telling a flat out lie and not the possible truth as she claimed earlier.

His father and mother ignored the comments going back and forth between the two siblings and decided to change the subject. “Well,” his father started, “Let’s go to the video store after breakfast to pick up that new movie you wanted to see. What was it called again?”

“The Eagle,” he said.

“Right that one,” continued his father. “We can take the new bike out if you want.”

The mention of the bike brought back his dream again. This is the last thing he wanted to think about right now. He replied, “Um… I think I would rather we take the car.”

“Whatever you’d like,” said his mother. “I thought you were really looking forward to going for a ride on it though.

You have been talking about it nonstop for a week.”

His father looked at him with curious eyes studying his face and said, “It is ok hun, I will be more than happy to drive him over in the car.” His eyes never left his son's face when he said this.

So the breakfast was served after his mother finished with cooking. There was a feast of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, home fries, toast, and pancakes. Everything that you could possibly want in one breakfast was on the table.

There were several types of juices and coffee flavors. They ate like royalty that morning and then all gathered in the family room to watch TV as their bellies, stuffed to the brim, began to settle.

About an hour later his father and he went to the video store to find the movie. On the way over there was an awkward silence between them at first until his father asked him a question. “What is on your mind?” “What is bothering you this morning?”

He didn’t quite know how to respond to this question. How do you tell your father that you have been having dreams of the future for years and now all of a sudden you have a dream about him and mom dying in a motorcycle accident? Where do you begin? Instead of trying to explain the unexplainable, he just shrugged and said “Nothing,” with a sigh.

Unsatisfied his father tried to guess what was wrong with him by starting a story. He said, “Son, when I was your age I began having problems too. I know it is hard growing up in a quiet neighborhood with no kids in it. I am sorry that there aren’t many kids in the area to invite to your birthday party.” “I had the same problem as you do. My parents thought it was a good idea to live in a house in the middle of the woods. At least you get to go to school,” he finished with a chuckle.

Of course his father was way off the mark, but he decided it was just best to nod and smile at him. All the while thinking to himself, at least you weren’t aware that you were about to lose your parents and there was nothing you could do to save them.

They pulled up to the video store shortly after the conversation died down. Walking inside he saw a girl from his class and his heart skipped a beat. He began to feel hot in his face and tried to disappear.

“Oh, I see now,” his father said with a chuckle when he noticed his son’s reaction to the girl.

They walked to the right of the store first to the new release section of the store. The movies were always in alphabetical order, which made things convenient especially if you knew exactly what movie you wanted. They walked to the “T” section and couldn't find the movie. Confused by this they looked at each other and decided to walk up to the counter and ask for help. The girl and her mother were on line to pay and she saw him and waved.

“Hi,” she said with a blush.

“H…H...Hi,” he stuttered out.

“Hello Miss,” said his father, “Say, it is my son’s birthday today, are you and your mother here free today?”

The little girl looked at him and then at the boy for a second. Then she looked over at her mother who said, “I am sorry sir, we have plans today. Maybe we can get the kids together another day soon.”

“Sounds good to me,” the father replied. “What is your name and number?”

“My name is Charlotte,” she said as she held out her hand. “Here is my number.”

The card read Charlotte Jennings, Child Psychologist. On the back of the card was a number that said cell before it.

“Thank you,” he said, “My name is Mike. I will give you a call soon.”

Around this time the man behind the counter said, “Miss you’re next.”

The mother and daughter turned away and went to pay for their movie. The father stared at the mother for a moment studying her. She was beautiful, with long brown shiny hair and bright blue eyes. Her face had high cheekbones and she was taller than him. He started to turn away and walk back over to the movies when his son poked him and said,

“Um, dad we have to ask the clerk for help.”

His father nodded and turned back towards the counter and approached the smiling clerk. “Can I help you sir?” the clerk asked.

“Yes,” his father said. “We were looking for the movie ‘The Eagle’ but can’t find it under “T” on the shelf.

The clerk sighed and stated, “People do that a lot, it would be under “E” over there (he pointed), but we are all out of that movie. “

A frown came across Mike’s face when he said this and he turned to his son. His son wasn’t too worried about the movie being here or not so he said with a smile, “Don’t worry dad, we still can play a game.”

“You’re right son,” he smiled back.

They left the store shortly after to return home. The car ride back was full of laughter and fun conversations. They were joking about the movie store and his father poked and prodded for information about the girl he blushed about.

The day seemed to be turning around in a more positive direction.

They got home and he jumped out of the car and ran into the house. He had to get the games out before his dad got inside so they could pick one out. There weren’t many choices because they had to play something that all four of them could play. That made the choices between Monopoly, Trouble, and Life. He never really like trouble, but

Monopoly and Life involved working with money and numbers so he enjoyed those two. He decided on his way to his room to grab Monopoly and Life and leave Trouble behind. If only real life was that easy he thought.

Back in the family room his father and mother were setting up a folding table and four chairs for the game. His sister was in her room getting ready, which meant that it could be a while before she was down stairs. She was about 17 years old and pretty. Of course this meant that she took forever to do her make-up and was always worried about her hair. Not that it mattered since they were all staying in for her brother’s birthday, but she needed to look like a prom queen.

“You coming down sis?” he asked as he paused in front of her room with the games in his hand.

“Yeah, I’ll be down when I’m ready,” she replied.

“Come on Alexis, you will take forever! We just want to play,” he added.

Alexis stood for a moment with a brush in one hand and looked over at him. She had a scowl on her face, which usually meant bad things were about to happen, but this time she turned it into a smile and said, “I will hurry up for you today brother, but only because it is your birthday.”

He smiled and turned back to head down to the family room. When he got there his parents had everything all set up and his mother was in the kitchen making snacks. “So which would you rather play dad?” he asked, holding the two games up for him to see.

“Well,” his father began with a pause.

At that moment his mother came into the room with chips and salsa and cheese and crackers for everyone. “I think we should play Life again because everyone seems to enjoy it,” she said.

She was right about that. Life is the one game that no one seemed to argue too much about during the game.

Monopoly always seemed to end in a fight between his sister and him because she always tried to cheat.

“Okay then, Life it is,” he said as he tossed Monopoly on the couch.

The three of them set up the game board and passed out their cars. They all had a different favorite color so there was never an argument about who got what color car. That was another reason that Life was the better choice. After all of the pieces were set up and the beginning monies were all passed out, Mike said, “Well should I call her down or send up a search party?”

This made the boy laugh and mother smirk. The boy said, “Don’t worry she will be right down.”

He was right. Alexis kept to her word and came down quickly after. Of course she looked like a beauty queen anyway with her long, wavy blonde hair and green eyes. She had a natural beauty about her, so it didn’t really matter how much make-up she put on and what she did to her hair. She scanned the table and food and said, “Oh darn, I was hoping for Monopoly.”

They started playing the game shortly after she sat down and it was going well for everyone. His mother and father somehow both were lawyers, his sister was a doctor and he was a teacher. In the game of life it is good to be any of these professions. All four of them had two kids each, his father two boys, his mother a girl and a boy, his sister two girls, and he had a boy and a girl like his mother. Life was going well. Later in the game he landed on a spot and won a bunch of money and it seemed like all four of them were going to end the game successfully. It ended up with Alexis winning by only a few hundred dollars.

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After the game they all had lunch together and decided that it would be a good time to open presents and have cake.

Lunch was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, his choice of course. His father brought out his gifts and lined them on the kitchen counter. There were about 12 of them to his surprise. He smiled when he realized that there were as many gifts as years he was alive. The cake was of course brought out and they had to sing “Happy Birthday” to him before he was allowed to open presents. This made the anticipation to see what all of the gifts were higher.

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His mother had made the cake from scratch out of his two favorite ice creams. The top of the cake was chocolate chip-mint ice cream and the bottom was chocolate peanut-butter cup ice cream. Between the two layers of deliciousness was a layer of chocolate cookie crumbs. On top of the cake were more cookies because he was not fond of icing.

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During the birthday song Alexis of course had to add lines like “You belong in a zoo” and something about chimpanzees, but it was all in good fun and he laughed with her on the joke. When it came time to make a wish and blow out the candles he froze for a minute. What was one thing he wanted the most in the world? He thought about it for a few moments and decided that he would wish on the one thing that he was thinking about all morning. “I wish that I could learn to control my dreams and save my parents” he thought as he blew out the candles.

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The gifts were mostly small things that you need everyday like socks and underwear. He guessed it is because they wanted to get him twelve gifts, but didn’t want to spend a fortune on too many expensive gifts. There were three “big gifts” his father had told him. His mother made sure that those gifts were the last ones to be opened. A couple of the “small gifts” were a journal, a deck of cards and a new book to read. The “big gifts” were a new bicycle, a gift certificate to the movies, and a trip to the museum of natural history. All of these gifts are something he had been asking about for a long time. The excitement of these trips were overshadowed by the dream he had the night before so his reactions were minimal.

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“What’s the matter?” his mother asked.

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He just smiled at her and his father and said, “Thank You.”

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The rest of the evening was filled with more laughs and games. They ate dinner around 8 O’clock in the evening.

His mother spent much of the night running back and forth from the kitchen to the family room to check on the dinner she was making. They had his favorite food for dinner, a roasted turkey with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans. It was the perfect day.

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Around 10 O’clock at night they all went to bed. As he lay down in bed his thoughts were all full of happiness. His day with his family was better than he had ever remembered. Even him and his sister got along all day and had laughs together. He closed his eyes slowly blinking and fell asleep.

“Let’s go for a ride on our new motorcycle,” his father said.

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“I’m looking forward to it!” replied his mother.

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He found himself looking around for something in his dream that might help him stop this horrible event. He ran to the end of the driveway as his parents sped off on the motorcycle. He knew what was going to happen and began to panic. Slowly turning from the street to head back to the house he noticed a whitish object on the ground. It was a newspaper! He quickly grabbed it and opened it to the front page. He knew he was looking for something on it but couldn’t tell what. Then he saw the date and dropped it.

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He woke with a start and sat straight up in bed wet with sweat. “November 4, 2011,” he said in shock. “That is only this Friday.”