Tick. Tick. Tick.
The clock in the room ticks away melodically. I can see the moon rising above the trees in the distance because my bedroom window faces the lake. Crickets chirp in the background.
The dead are not around me.
Since I can't sleep, I sit up begrudgingly and head downstairs towards the upper deck. I'm hoping that the warm night air will lull me to sleep.
I would give anything to relax in the hot tub; but it's off of Aunt Nancy's bedroom -- and since it's the middle of the night I don't want to wake her.
I head towards the glass door off the living room that will lead me to the outside. I have no idea where I've left my flip flops. Maybe they're on the upper deck?
When I get outside, it's eerily quiet, and I can't see my flip flops anywhere.
"Hey darlin'," I hear from behind. I turn around to see Charlie laying on one of the deck chairs reading a design magazine.
He rolls his eyes as he shows me one of the pages he's looking at, "Zen white is so passe. What were they thinking?"
"Scooch over," I tell him as I sit on the lounger beside him. He smells the same; that faint combination of cologne and beer, mixed with the scent of good laundry detergent.
I plant my face in his shirt to overdose on the smell.
Charlie laughs.
A moment later when I've gotten my fill, I sit up and ask him; "Is it true what Aunt Nancy says? That it gets eerily quiet when the dead are around?"
He nods, and then puts his magazine down. A moment later he wraps both his arms around me and gives me a kiss on the top of my forehead.
"How are you kiddo?" he asks.
"I'm good. But I can't find my flip flops." I say as we continue to dance on the dance floor in the Sports Bar. I get really self-conscious because the floor is sticky and my feet are getting gunky. I start to look around.
I wonder where Deandra is?
I see the bartender looking over at me. He looks concerned.
I head towards the back hallway where the washrooms are. There are no lights. It's pitch black. I think there is broken glass on the floor, so I try to step cautiously. I have no shoes -- so I'm worried that I will cut my feet in the dark.
I fumble my way in the dark by patting my hands against the wall. I'm worried that I'm going to cut my feet on the broken glass.
The air becomes cold.
"Deandra?" I say.
In the distance I can hear someone in the bathroom; and there is a light shining out from the cracks around the door frame.
I walk slowly over towards the door and reach for the handle...
"Deandra?" I say one more time.
I open the door to see a very scared Robert standing there, crying. He looks confused. He's huddled behind the toilet on the far side of the room.
"Help me!" he pleads.
When I looks to the left I see the Caballos Demonios.
He growls a deafening growl.
I try to scream, but I can't. I take a step back but my foot is caught in something. The Caballos Demonios steps towards me.
I turn to see Robert smiling and laughing.
My heart is pounding. The Caballos Demonios takes another step towards me. I open my mouth to scream --
"No," I whisper, as I open my eyes.
My pillow is soaked, and my heart is racing.
I can't remember what exactly I was dreaming about, but my body is almost frozen in fear. I feel like I've been running for miles.
"Yer iz ok," whispers Consuela from the foot of my bed. I readjust myself so that I can partially sit up and see her.
"I think I was having a nightmare," I tell her as I reach for a the glass of water on my night table. As I take a sip of the water, I notice that Consuela is talking to someone else.
"Who are you talking to?" I ask her.
She ignores me for a second, talks some more with whomever she is talking to, and then turns back to me.
"I iz talking wis yer Angels," she says.
"I see," I tell her and switch my pillow for one of the others on the bed that is dry.
A moment later, I nestle into the drier pillow and allow sleep to slip in. And, as Consuela whispers away, I am lulled back into a deep slumber by the melodic and repetitive soft sound of her voice.
