• “I could write about anything…” thought Melody, as she sat in English class wandering what she would write about. As she listened to the sounds of papers rustling and pens writing, the perfect idea came into her head. She smiled and began to write. Then, suddenly, the lights went out. There were gasps of surprise from all around the classroom, and one or two girls even screamed. Melody looked up in annoyance. How was she supposed to write in the dark?! She then realized that it was pitch black. No light came streaming weakly in from the windows, where outside it had been day just seconds ago.
    “How odd,” she thought, but her thinking was interrupted when someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a large, cold hand. She felt a small p***k in her shoulder, and a new darkness began to wash over her as she slowly closed her eyes.
    Melody opened her eyes. She was standing in a meadow. The air smelled of rain, the sky looked angry, and she could feel the tension of a storm about to be unleashed. Her long, dark hair whipped around her face as a strong wind swept by. She felt raindrops on her cheek. For a while she stood, trying to understand where she was. She silently watched the grass and wildflowers of the meadow dance with the wind. And then she felt a presence she had not felt in a long time. It was him. She looked up to see him standing a short distance away. He reached out his hand to her, and she reached for him, but she could not move. Then lightning struck, and as her heart filled with fear as all became dark once more.
    She opened her eyes for real. It was dark and she could feel movement, as if she was in a vehicle. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she realized she was lying on her side in the back of a van. She was gagged with a foul smelling cloth and her hands were bound in front of her. She attempted to sit up, but the lingering effects of being drugged along with the movement of the van made it nearly impossible. Finding herself surprisingly calm despite her strange and frightening dilemma, Melody tried to think of what she should do. Looking around, she saw that there were two windows on the back doors. There was light once more, but it was dim, as if it were growing dark. Melody wondered how long she’d been out of it. For all she knew, she could be miles away from her home and family. How would anyone ever find her? She tried again to sit up, this time succeeding. She felt a wave of nausea hit, but it went as quickly as it had come. Working with bound hands, Melody struggled to ungag herself. After a few seconds of fighting with the rag, she finally got it off and threw it across the floor of the van. The rag gone, she began to work at the knots of the rope that held her. The rope was course and fibrous. After a while Melody’s fingers began to hurt from bending at odd angles and pulling at the mean rope. But the knots were a little looser. With a few more minutes of prying and pulling, Melody managed to get it loose enough to pull her hands free. She felt a little better as the rope joined the cloth with a small thunk as it hit the ground.
    The van came to a spine breaking halt, sending Melody flying forward. She heard the driver’s door open and then slam shut, footsteps slowly crunching on gravel as they came towards the back doors of the van, then silence. She heard the handles creak. Scrambling for anything to defend herself, her hands fell on something cold and metal. Lifting it, she found it to be heavy. Crouching on her toes while holding her breath, she waited for the doors to open. Her heart thudded against her ribs.
    The doors opened. With a small yelp, Melody jumped out with her weapon poised to strike. There was no one. In her surprise she fell out of the back, landing on her hands and knees. She quickly jumped up in case someone was on the other side of the open door. But it was silent, and she was all alone. She looked at the heavy, metal object she clutched in her pale, shaking hands and found it to be a wrench.
    “Hello? Anyone?” she called out in a small shaky voice. Her words were quickly swallowed by the silence around her. It was dark, and the only light came from a few flickering parking lot lights. The parking lot belonged to a small gas station, which appeared to be open. A heavy mist hid most of the surrounding areas, so Melody quickly and quietly made her way to the gas station.
    As she pushed open the glass door a small bell jingled, causing her to jump and almost drop her wrench. She forced herself to steady her breathing as she looked around the small store. There was no clerk, or even any employees. It appeared to be entirely empty. Melody had seen two cars in the parking lot. There had to be someone.
    “Hello?” she called again, this time a little louder. The only response she heard was the buzzing of the freezers where the cold drinks were kept in the back of the store and the flickering of the florescent light bulbs. For a short time she simply stood there. Her mind was flooding with thoughts, many of them frightening. She fought back tears as she tried not to panic. Forcing herself to focus, she looked at her surroundings. On the wall next to the cash register was a large map. Above it was a colorful sign.
    It read,” You are here.”
    “So where is here?” muttered Melody, looking over the map. She quickly spotted a large tack labeled “Here”. Fountain, Colorado. She was a long way from Arkansas. Her calm left her, and the tears came pouring down her cheeks. Sobbing, she sat down with her back against the counter. Eventually, exhausted, she fell asleep, tears still wet on her face.
    “Melody.” a soft voice called. “Melody.” She opened her eyes to once again find herself in what appeared to be the same field she had dreamed of before. This time the sky was clear. She was sitting in the green grass and she realized her feet were bare. It was amazing. Looking next to her, she found the source of the voice. It was him. He was smiling at her, and her spirit instantly lifted. Her green eyes met his hazel, and he took her hand.
    “Melody,” he whispered, “it’s time to wake up.”
    Her eyes opened once more, and she was back in the gas station. She thought about her dream. It was just that. A dream. He was a dream. He had been a dream ever since the cancer had taken him away from her. She slowly stood up.
    For days Melody wandered on foot. She never found anyone. She never knew what had brought her hundreds of miles from her home. She didn’t care anymore. She continued to wander. And when she slept, she slept a dreamless sleep. Because her dreams were only dreams. It was time for her to live in the real world.