Dream Threads

I see fire. It dances across the floor and disintegrates the curtains, cackling as it consumes the house. The battery powered alarm wakes me from my half sleep, knocking sense into me. This is really happening. I slide out of bed and onto the floor, remembering what they teach in elementary school about crawling under the smoke.

"Jenna!" I called, attempting to yell over the roar of the flames. "Jenna, wake up!" In the fog I felt my way to her bedroom, climbing over the toys scattered on her floor. "Jenna, wake up! We have to get out."

I shook her from her slumber. When her bright blue eyes fluttered open, panic filled them. "Ellie," she breathed, coughing and sputtering to expel smoke from her already aching lungs.

"It's okay, Jenna. Stay calm." Stay calm. I helped her slide out of her bed and onto the floor, tucking her into my side. We crawled together out of the room and towards the stairs. One by one we descended on our knees, backwards, keeping our faces low to the ground. I tried to guide her, but quickly found it hard to lead backwards. She sped up, eager to reach the bottom. "Slow down," I warned her as the crackling grew louder. Too late. The next step crumbled underneath her and she tumbled down the remaining stairs.

"Jenna!!" I slid down the stairs and gathered her into my arms. Her chest rose and fell just barely, her eyes fluttered closed. "Stay with me, Jenna."

I tucked her face into my shoulder and ran through the rest of the house. Smoke attacked my lungs, but I didn't care. I just knew I needed to get out. The heat seared my eyes and blurred my vision, so I tried to journey through the house by memory.

I burst out the front door, wheezing. My lungs felt small and weak, like no oxygen was actually reaching them, but again, that didn't matter to me. I kneeled on the ground with my baby sister in my arms, knowing that seven years wasn't enough time for her to do all the amazing things she wanted to do. "Jenna wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, just long enough to look up at me. "Ellie," she breathed. Then, I watched as the color drained from her eyes. The essence of her left her body in colorful wisps and danced into the air, wrapping themselves around me. Her soul was in my body. I was feeling what she was feeling. And she was so scared.