“Come on… We’re doing the ‘jay’” the girl said as she pulled my arms. My arms stretched out as far as possible while the girl pulled me into a little dance. My bare feet swiveled as I felt them scrape against the brick floor of the tower. But it didn’t hurt. It’s not like I could feel anything.
“All right. Geez, stop before my arms break off,” I said. The girl just smiled brightly.
A great big smile…
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The sound of my alarm clock rang through my ears as I shot out of bed. I came to my senses and now I was alert of my situation. A dream. That’s all it was. The same dream.
Why did I still have it? It was bad enough when my mom had gotten me therapy sessions as a kid to figure out why I constantly had that same dream. I looked to my desk. Taped on the walls were horribly drawn pictures from when I was 7. The time I started having the same repeated dream. The only things I would draw in my art class were scenes. More specifically, scenes from my dream. My favorite one was a picture capturing the moment the girl smiled. Of course, she looked different. I wasn’t exactly have Leonardo Da Vinci’s level of skill when I was 7. Harmonie was scrawled with a blue crayon across the top. That’s what I named her. Because I knew it wasn’t just a dream. It was more of a vision.
Whenever I played the piano as a kid, I would have the whole dream playing in my head. My mom would always wave her hand in front of my face as I was staring out to space. But, whenever I came back, I would feel the urge to rest my hands on my lap and stop playing. Harmonie wore a vibrant red dress and a dark black hat. Her hair was long and it was blonde with the tip dyed red. She always looked so intriguing somehow.
“Honey, time for breakfast,” my mom called. I snapped out of my thoughts.
“Coming,” I answered.
Everybody is always in their own world. In their own different world. About their past, their problems, and their secrets. It’s hard to enter someone else’s world. Especially when they keep themselves so guarded. I’m probably one of those people. No one needs to know about Harmonie no matter what.
“Class, we have a new student with us today. His name is Zack. Be nice,” our homeroom teacher said. The boy stood in front of the whole class. He’s just fresh meat. You can tell by the way the guys are looking at him. He’ll probably be the new errand boy.
After 3rd period i sat at my desk and ate my lunch. “Hey Jade, have you changed your ringtone lately?” My friend, Summer, asked.
“No, I don’t really have any other ringtones downloaded,” I replied. Then, before I knew it, Summer had snatched my phone from my bag. I tried reaching for it but Summer was way taller than me. She started scrolling through my phone. Damn it! Why’d I tell her my password. I just sat back because I knew there was no way I could stop her.
“Hey you have one other song here. I’m gonna put it as your new ringtone okay?” Summer asked. I just mumbled a “hmm” and put my phone under the desk when the teacher walked in.
At the end of 5th period, a heard a familiar song. I felt my vision become a blur. I couldn’t focus. My head started ringing. Was I having a headache? No, I remember this. In front of me stood a girl in a red dress. Harmonie. Huh! No way. My phone. I panicked as I rummaged for my phone. I kept tapping ‘hang up’ repeatedly until the call ended. I looked up and everyone was looking at me. I hugged the phone close to my chest and bolted out of the room with my stuff.
I caught my breath as I sat on the stairs. I completely forgot. I had recorded that song when I was young. I’m so stupid. Then, it came again. That song. Was it my imagination. My eyes started to blur again but this time, I saw a man. In a black suit and black hat. I named him The Magician. I shook my head and looked down at my phone. It wasn’t ringing. But then, where’s that coming from?
“That’s your ringtone right?” A voice asked. I looked up and there stood the new boy, smiling and holding a phone. He turned the phone around. It was a music app. Piano keys decorated the screen. “Sorry, I have an obsession with playing music I hear. Did I get it right?” he asked.
I just stared at him, my mouth agape with bewilderment. “Um…” I managed to say. “Is there something you need?” I asked.
“Oh I was just wondering if I could listen to the rest of the song,” he said. I stared at him with disbelief. What was wrong with him. He’s so…. So weird.
“Sure, I guess,” I said in a monotone. What?! NO! NO! I suppose to say ‘No’. He just smiled and stretched out his hand, palms open. I searched through my bag and took out an iPod with my headphones attached. There were three jars drawn on the back with black crayon form when I was 7. “Here,” I said. “It should be in there, I think. I haven’t used it in a while so don’t take my word for it.” I handed him the iPod and ran down the stairs and out of the school entrance.
The next day, I kept my head down and tried to avoid everybody’s stares as I entered the school. A body stood in front of me. Just when I was about to raise my head and tell him to step aside, he spoke first. “Hey, I listened to it,” I looked up to see Zack standing in front of me with a huge smile. I grabbed him arm and raced through the hallways and up the stairs. I stopped at the floor right below the roof to catch my breath.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
“Oh, um, it was really nice but I kinda fell asleep while listening to it a few times,” he said. “Oh, about the pictures on the back.” I looked at the back of my iPod. “You know, the red, green, and blue jars,” My eyes widened. My breath hitched. No way.
“What did you say?!” I asked, my shoulders shaking.
“The red, green, and blue jars on the back.” I turned back and put the back of the iPod in front of him.
“It’s in black crayon. How did you know what color they were?” I asked, not able to even blink.
“Um, I sorta had a dream after falling asleep,” he answered. I knew it!
“What was it about?!” I yelled stepping closer to him.
“Well, if I remember correctly, there were three men in black walking somewhere. And they were holding three jars. One of them had a black hat. Then, there was a tower. Like an old tower. And a girl. In a red dress. And we were dancing. The “jay”, I believe,” he said and chuckled. This is unbelievable. I wasn’t the only one. I pulled my bag off my shoulder and unzipped it, furiously looking for my phone.
“Look!” I said – well, demanded – and showed him pictures of the drawings in my room. “Is this what you saw?”
“Yeah, it is,” Zack said with a wide smile. I really wasn’t the only one. I really wasn’t crazy.
That night, I layed on my bed holding my iPod. I wasn’t the only one. I really wasn’t the only one. I put on my headphones and listened to the soundtrack. I hummed along. Suddenly, it skipped to the next track. Did I record something other than the song?
“Go ahead Jade. Play that song for Dr.Roberts. Tell him about your dream” That’s my mom’s voice. Dr.Roberts. My therapist. What?! When did I record this?
“I saw three men in black suits. And then, there was this girl wearing a really pretty red dress..”
“Is that what you drew for us?” I unplugged the headphones and stared at my wall. My mom recorded my therapy session. Then, I remembered what Zack said.
“I kinda fell asleep while listening to it a few times”. “I sorta had a dream after falling asleep”.
That day, I thought someone had finally entered my crazy world. I guess not.
I really was the only one.