The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Somewhere I Can’t Follow
by Melissa R. Mendelson 

They say that aliens abduct your children.  I say that it’s bullshit.  How could anyone believe such a thing?  Then, one night, I walked into the nursery and found my child frozen in mid-sleep, but something told me that this was not my baby.  It only seemed to be her, and everyone thought I was crazy.

Three years later, I started having this bizarre dream.  A little girl was running away from me in what seemed to be a maze.  Strange structures surrounded me, material that felt like iron and sand.  I called out to her to stop, and she giggled in response.  But she never turned around to look at me.

My husband pushed me to go into therapy.  It’s been three years, he said.  How about we try again?  I refused, still remembering that night in the nursery and how hard I cried, despite the feeling in my gut that told me that I was wrong.

“It’s not her,” but everyone told me different.  “Stop looking at me like I am crazy,” but they still did.

I finally surrendered, going into therapy.  I had a bad experience once with these therapists, and I did not trust this woman sitting across from me, hmmmmming every other moment.  What was she so busy jotting down in her notebook?  They’re probably going to lock me up, I thought.

“Have you ever stopped to explore the dream?”  She asked.

I sat back in my chair and thought about it.  “No.  I’m always chasing her.  She knows I’m chasing her, but she doesn’t stop running from me.”

“How often do you have this dream?”  She asked.

“Almost every night.”

Hmmmmmmm.  “Next time you do, stop chasing her.  Look around.  You said that you are aware of this place, can feel the strange structures around you?”  She watched me nod.  “Then, explore.  See where the dream takes you.”

A few nights later, I had the dream.  I found myself chasing her, calling to her, but then, I stopped.  I looked up at the sky, a light blue with faint clouds, and there were trees nearby.  I breathed in, the air was sweet, and my feet felt light.  I stuck my hand out in front of me.  It faded and then re-appeared, fading again a moment later.

She appeared next to me, taking my hand in hers.

“Where are we?”  I asked, trying to see her face, but she still didn’t look at me.

“I’m sorry that you can’t stay,” she said, avoiding my gaze.  “I want you to stay, but they said that you can’t.”

“They?”

“Tonight is the last night.”  Now, she looked at me.  She was beautiful, a mirror image of my aunt.  Her eyes were different, darker, but the sadness was obvious.  “I wanted to say good-bye, and I will miss our game.”

A coldness seeped into me.  I was going back.  “Wait,” I said.  “Our game?”

“Our chase,” she replied.

I was almost gone.  “Wait.  What’s your name, and why are you saying good-bye to me?”

“Elizabeth.”

I woke up.  My husband slept like the dead beside me.  I nudged him but got no response.  I moved away, thinking about what she said.  Elizabeth, I thought.  How did she know what I named her?

I made my way into the kitchen and brewed some coffee.  Shadows raced by the window, cars screeched in and out of driveways.  What was going on out there?  Then again, it was Monday morning.  Maybe, there was traffic or an accident, and people had to get to work.

Screams shortly followed.

I opened the front door and looked up into the early morning sky.  It was similar to the sky in my dream, and it looked like sunrise.  But sunrise was not followed by debris, debris that cratered the ground.  Instead of panicking like everyone else, I stepped back into the house and made a cup of coffee.

They say that aliens abduct your children.  I say that they are right.  Somewhere, out there, she was safe.  But I couldn’t follow.

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Fiction © Copyright Melissa R. Mendelson
Image courtesy of Pexels.com.

About Author Melissa R. Mendelson:

Melissa R. Mendelson has been writing short stories and poetry since high school and has been published by numerous online and in print publications such as Sirens Call Publications, Page Turn Press, Altered Reality Magazine, State of Matter Magazine, Owl Canyon Press, Wild Ink Publishing, The Horror Zine and The Yard: Crime Blog.  Her short story collections, Better Off Here and Name’s Keeper can be found on Amazon.

If you’d like to learn more about Melissa, you can visit her accounts here: www.MelissaMendelson.com