Weekly Contest, "Creating Stories Week #6"

Six months had gone by and the pain of losing one of my closest friends had not become any easier. I slept quickly most of the nights because of the amount of alcohol I was consuming. When I was alone I just listened to songs that reminded me of the many moments we shared. I would drink and cry myself to sleep and wake up with a pounding headache and nauseating feeling in my guts. We had just passed through a new year’s eve, many of our common friends gathered to continue mourning our loss. We drank heavily and many tears where shed.

The next evening I went to sleep for once without drinking mainly because my system could not take it anymore. I slept earlier than usual and turned my phone off.

Then the dream began.

I was standing on top of a black and white checkered thick marble platform, just like a chess board. The structure was suspended in the middle of space but there where no stars. Just a surrounding deep blackness. A yellow tape lined the edges of the board all around with the word “WARNING!” repeating across it. I had a few distant relatives approach me telling me that I was sick and will probably die unless I do something about it. None of them were actually close just relatives through marriage. It’s funny how the subconscious arranges stories for us in our dreams.

I was angry and refused treatment for my condition. I told everyone to leave me alone and that I will deal with my illness in a natural way. I shouted back at every suggestion they made in concern for my health. I felt so much anger at the onslaught of instructions. I kept furiously refusing their help until I woke up with my heart pounding hard.

I got out of bed and stood in the lonely silence of the night with only my thoughts and racing heart beat making a sound. I was scared. I could not brush off this dream. The setting was ominous and the discussion about my health worried me. The word “WARNING” was the most disturbing of all.

“Am I supposed to go make some tests tomorrow?” I thought.

“NO!” my own mind responded.

A moment of clarity came over me. My friend was a life loving human. He always told me to make the most of the moment. He constantly preached about living to the fullest with our family, our friends and ourselves. This dream was not a warning about my physical health but my mental and spiritual one. I was blessed that nothing was wrong with me physically and that I needed to stop suffering his loss. He would not have wanted that.

I decided that night that I would do what ever it took to follow a wish of mine. My friend and I bonded by the sea. It was where he felt most at home. I myself have always wanted to surf and would have to find a way to reach a place where I could learn. It would be my chance to honor his passing as he would have wanted me to.

A few months later I was in a far off land where I had never expected to be but I was surfing. I did not go alone either.