Déjà Vu

It’s 3am—and here I am, stuck in the same dream as the night prior. I never asked to be in this place but my mind, whenever restless, casts me into the pit of this nightmare. An evening that grows into a deep indigo that stains the sky. The howls of a strong wind roaring behind me. Lush Western Hemlocks rustle in perfect synchronization around me and at the foot of these gigantic trees—there I stand.



My feet are firmly planted into the dry bed of chipped soil and I gaze into the speckled night sky—lost and confused. I am doused in tattered clothing with my skin, pale and cold to the touch. Through the trees, I witness a fire growing on the nearby shrubs. They jump from one bush to the next—inching closer to where I am standing. It’s absurd for me to be here in the cold, paralyzed—unable to move.

Why was I mesmerized by the dancing flames and the things being engulfed in it? 



The fire continued to dance, creeping up closer to me. I sat there—eyes wide, drowned in my own curiosity like a moth to a flame. The crackling of twigs seemed to be making music as the fire continued to grow around me. I was on the brink of being swallowed whole by it then suddenly, its shape shifts, taking on the form of a beast with black eyes as deep as the ocean floor. I couldn’t help but to feel fear as it nestled itself in my stagnant body while the beast snarled at me—sizing me up.



I am prey to it.



Its large eyes stare blankly into my soul as its massive hind legs cock back before sprinting towards me at full force. Its gaping mouth reveals jagged rows of razor-sharp canines before it lands a fatal blow to my neck—and I wake upon being slaughtered.

*3:42 AM

I find myself gasping for air in the Devil’s hour every night; around three a.m—every night. I am tormented by its recurrence and as a result, my reality is negatively altered. My gauntly appearance is a sign that my hunger subsides constantly—almost everyday. My body is completely deprived of sleep and insomnia is the common byproduct of having to relive this moment—over and over again. I live in fear, anticipating the worst with every passing night. I can never figure out the true meaning behind this dream. I’ll scour the internet for hours, only to find resources that draw a blank every time I get closer to the truth. Recently, I came into contact with a Romanian gypsy that practices black magic. After a brief exchange of words over the phone, she invited me to her shop.

*6:12 AM

In preparation for the meeting, I decided to dig deeper—I mean who would it hurt? I began doing my research on her, only to come across a marketing page for her services. I then turned to Reddit to see if anyone knew more about her. One thread that I had discovered was written by an anonymous user who claimed that their friend went missing after consulting this Gypsy.

Thread Topic: People Gone Missing After Seeking Guidance For Night Terrors:

Posted by Anonymous User: ”An old colleague of mine, Jon Lamen, posted that he was going to “purge” his nightmares with the help of this Romanian witch. After that day he never posted a follow-up review which I found kind of strange. His social media accounts were all deactivated—like he fell off the face of the earth.”

I’ve come across many crazy, attention-seeking posts in the past so I tried not to get too invested. I then decided to visit her webpage where she was advertising this profound “dream journal” that was supposed to seal away nightmares after writing them down on its pages. I thought it was pretty intense and oddly enough, I could not locate the listing price for this little black book.

I felt hopeless, like I was going to be trapped in this never-ending cycle until my death. I was flushed with anger as I sat there, staring blankly at the floor. Briefly, I remembered—not too long ago, that I had unexpectedly inherited my father’s life savings of about $20k after his untimely death. I promised him that I would use that to take care of myself in case of an emergency.

”I could take some cash out but even that would be pushing it. This money is for real emergencies.” I thought to myself.

”Wait, but isn’t this a real emergency?”

I began contemplating on how I could obtain the book. Immediately, the irrational thoughts began to take over.

“I could just trick the Gypsy and take the book!”

Although it was not in my heart to embody this negative behavior, my mind was set on “desperate times call for desperate measures.” I had to make this stop one way or another and this was my chance to do that. I mean—how else was I supposed to get the dream journal?!

It’s now 8:15 AM— I lay there awake until I feel the warmth of the sun poke its way through the cracks of the shutters. Restless, I knew that I needed to get this done and if I wanted this to end, I would need to be proactive.

Around 10:30 a.m that same morning, I went to pay the Gypsy a visit at her shop to explain in greater detail—the gravity of the situation and the immense amount of stress that I was undergoing daily. When I arrived, I had knocked on a thick glass door. Before I could ring the doorbell, it had opened itself up; unmasking a narrow, dark corridor draped in black silk tapestries that stretched across the walls and the ceiling. As I began venturing down the eerie hallway, I led myself into the main chamber of the shop. At its core, I stumbled upon a charred, wooden table with red candles around a quartz sphere in its center. The crimson tapestries in this room gave the atmosphere somewhat of a rigid aura as the air was crisp and no sign of light, other than what was emitting from the candles, was present. Through the faint light, I could see a figure hobbling closer to the center of the room. Instinctively, I cried out to the figure and in an instant, I found myself gazing into the bronze-colored eyes of a woman— who, like a snake, enticed me to take a seat right at her table.

“I have been expecting you” she muttered, as she laid a leathery, little black book flat on the surface of the table.

Not long after, I managed to get a full glimpse of the woman that was speaking to me. I had been expecting a more mature woman, however, she appeared youthful with skin as smooth as marble. After recollecting my composure, I took a seat and immediately began spouting out my issues to her. She gave me a great deal of advice on how to purge this nightmare, referring to the little black book at the end of every breathe she took. She was set on having me write on the pages and I couldn’t help but to feel uneasy as she watched me—motionless—while I reached for the pen. She was like a predator—patiently waiting.

“Please, write down your dream into the book and it will make all of your problems go away... I promise.” She insisted in a seductive voice.

“And if it doesn’t work,” I retorted as I grabbed the pen and began writing.

“It has and always will work,” she hissed.

A few moments passed by...

*sigh* “Can you stop watching me, please. It’s weird and you are freaking me out!” I shouted as I continued to write.

The words fell out of my mouth like vomit and before I could apologize, she snatched the book and placed it back on her side of the table. She looked angry as she excused herself before disappearing abruptly into the darkness. I sat there contemplating nervously on whether or not I should leave her money as an apology or just take the book and run.

“It’s 11:32 AM”— I thought to myself as I checked my wristwatch; my heart racing faster as the temptation continued to fluctuate inside of me.

“The Gypsy‘s still no where to be found” —I thought to myself.

...

In that instant, without any hesitation, I jumped up and grabbed the book!

There I was, sprinting for my life up the dark hallway as if I were being hunted down like an animal. I found myself looking behind me in fear, trying to locate the Gypsy in the darkness. Everything was silent and only my footsteps could be heard.

I stopped abruptly.

*rapid footsteps on the ceiling*

”GET BACK HERE!” —she screeched, her high-pitched voice like that of a Banshee.

It was fight or flight.

So I took off, every step pushing me closer to my freedom. The dim light emitting from the glass door was a sign that it was just within reach. I glanced over my shoulder one last time to reassure myself that I was in the clear and before I could pivot my head back around...

BANG!

I could feel the warmth of my blood running down my face while I lay there, seemingly unconscious. A throbbing sensation in my head grew tremendously as I got up to try and regain my balance, only to collapse back onto the floor. I could barely move—as if my body was still recovering from the collision with the door. The strength I had left in me—I used to rest my eyes.

Upon reopening them, I looked up at the ceiling to find her—her eyes locked onto mine staring blankly at me.

“Those eyes—I’ve seen those eyes somewhere“ I thought to myself.

A deviated grin revealed a series of rotting teeth and her eyes were completely jet black and filled with hunger as if I were a meal—ready to be devoured. Her skin began to tear and slide off as if she were transforming into some creature.

I lay there, on the floor in the faint light—helpless and mortified. I could hear crunching as she began biting the tips of her nails, filing them until they were serrated. She dropped to the floor and on top of me, drilling her claws directly into my shoulders.

The sharp pain I felt as my shoulders were being lacerated caused me to let out my loudest scream in agony. I had no strength in me to fight back.

“Did you think you could outsmart me...did you think you could run away from me?!” —she screeched.

She continued to drag me by my shoulders through a room off the side of the main corridor. Her strength seemed to grow exponentially, as she threw me onto a steel table and strapped down my hands and feet. Bewildered, I tried to let out a cry in efforts to intimidate her—however, the Gypsy was unbothered as she reached for a small vile on a nearby counter—only to blow a translucent powder in my face. The sulphuric taste from it had scorched my tongue and my face began to sting as if shards of fiberglass were digging into the pores of my skin. Instantly, I began to feel disoriented and the Gypsy’s cackling became distorted in the distance.

“Ne vedem în curând, Marionetă” (See you soon, puppet) she hissed; her voice becoming fainter as my eyes grew heavy; drifting off into the darkness.

*3:00AM

Moments later, my body surged abruptly. The sharp pain in my shoulders seemed to dissipate upon awakening from the induced slumber. I slowly began regaining my consciousness not long after. My eyes began darting back and forth, trying to make sense of my surroundings and that was when I knew.

“It‘s the Devil’s Hour, my body can feel it.“

I knew this place— this hell.

I woke up to find myself in the same place as the night prior...

The same evening that grew into a deep indigo that stained the sky; along with the howls of a strong wind that continued roaring behind me. The lush Western Hemlocks that were still rustling in perfect synchronization around me and at the foot of these gigantic trees, there I stood—a final time.

My feet, firmly planted into the dry bed of chipped soil as I gazed into the same night sky—only to find no stars this time. It was now pitch black.

I was doused in the same tattered, now blood-ridden clothing with my skin, still pale and cold to the touch. I knew that I was in hell—my hell.

Through the trees, I saw the fire growing on nearby shrubs. The flames jumping from bush to bush and then finally to where I was standing; scorching the soil beneath my feet. I stood there— paralyzed...unable to move.

I was mortified.

The flames weren’t the same ones from the previous dream. They were larger and emitting a bluish hue which meant that the heat intensified. I could feel the burning sensation on my skin as it got closer. The pain was excruciating and my piercing cries couldn’t drown out the loud crackling of the fire.

No one could hear me nor could anyone have saved me.

I was slowly being swallowed whole by the fire before its shape shifted into what I was familiar with— the beast with glaring, black eyes deeper than the darkest void of space. I had no control over my body—I was paralyzed as the beast began circling me. She continued to snarl at me, drooling from her mouth as she sized me up—she was hungry.

...And I was her prey.

Her eyes were locked onto mine and her hind legs—cocked back with her claws dug deep into the earth, ready to take off. It was at that point that I realized I was defenseless.

“You will never escape this dream because you decided your own fate when you wrote into the book. I knew that you’d desperately come crawling in here for help—how pathetic you look. Trapped like a fly in a web. Now, tu vei muri (You will die)” she screeched, as her mouth began opening wide to reveal jagged rows of razor-sharp canines. She then sprinted up to me at full force and sank her teeth directly into my neck.

I shut my eyes — only this time, I did not wake up...