With a Twist
by Elizabeth Averay
I wake up with a start. It was just a dream. A dream I have had before but this one was a little different. The strange man spoke to me this time. I never know how the dream starts, what I can remember is suddenly there is a man in front of me. I can only see him from the waist up. He isn’t clothed, has pale skin with a light dusting of freckles over his massive shoulders with dark flowing hair and the greenest eyes you could imagine. He holds his hand out to me, beckoning to me. This time he spoke. Saying, ‘It is time for you to return to your family. Come with me.’
This may seem lame but in the dream he has a strong, almost overwhelming, presence that makes you want to go with him.
I give up on getting more sleep and decide to get ready. My Dad and I are going on a cruise for two weeks. I am nervous, as I’ve never been near water that’s bigger than a bathtub. Dad thought this would help us try to start life again after my mother died in a car accident last year.
My first sight of the ship is breathtaking. It is huge, absolutely enormous, towering over everything. How can something so big float? I am in a daze as we are shown to our twin rooms. I have an odd feeling, like I am coming home – but why I would feel that way I don’t know.
Six days into the cruise we hit rough seas. I feel so sick, I am stuck in the bathroom…
I must be delirious. I can hear the man’s voice. The man from my dream. He is saying that I will be home soon, I just have to go with him.
There is an ear-splitting tearing sound, and the room shudders. Dad runs in. ‘Come on, kiddo, we’ve gotta go.’ He grabs my arm and we run up to the deck to find lifeboats being lowered and people lining up to get in. A member of the crew is handing out life jackets. In a frenzied mind-fog we get into a boat and push away from the ship. Dad looks at me and says, ‘Now I see why your mother hated anything to do with boats and the sea.’
My mind feels slow. Nothing seems real. We row and float for three days, and come upon a large rock with a flat surface. Everyone agrees that we will land there so we can at least stretch our legs.
There is a small cave on the other side of the rock formation, and what looks like steps leading to a pool with a sandy shoreline – and there in the water is the man with the green eyes, staring at me! Just like my dream he holds his hand out to me and says, ‘It is time for you to return to your family. Come with me.’
Shaking my head I take a step back, but I smack into someone. It’s my dad. He looks sad. He nods. ‘It is time, kiddo. Your mum tried to run from her life but this trip has shown me you can’t run from what you are.’
I look at my dad in confusion, but he just nods toward the man in the water. I look back to see he is lying on the sand with an electric blue tail instead of legs.
Dad hugs me, and tells me he loves me, but I need to be with my biological father now.
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