They say in the beginning that man and woman were as one creature. A creature with two heads, four arms and four legs;
in attempts to steal the knowledge of the heavens they were subsequently separated and placed at the opposite ends of the earth for ever to be doomed to search for their other half...…
Sophia lay restless in her bed, her sheets and comforter twisted. She flipped over hard on her right side and stared at the red numbers on the alarm clock, 3:45 a.m. Frustrated she rolled on to her back and looked intently at the ceiling fan as it slowly spun. After a short spell of watching the fan she dozed back off. Her dreams were filled with the same man that she had dreamed about since her earliest memory, though then he was a young boy. She slept only an hour then she awoke again. Aggravated as usual, unable to put a name to the person in her dreams she arose and walked down stairs;her chocolate lab, koko, followed close behind her. She seated herself at the kitchen table; koko rested his head in her lap and looked up at her with soulful eyes.
“oh, koko it’s too early boy.”, Sophia said in desperation as koko whined and paced his feet.
“okay! Fine! Go get your leash.”, Sophia said loudly.
Koko dashed off down to the basement, while Sophia dragged herself back up stairs putting on clothes and sneakers. Koko waited at the bottom with his leash in his mouth. After their brisk walk, Sophia returned to her house and showered then headed out for work. Her day proceeded as usual, she sat sluggishly in her cubical her eyes heavy from being sleep deprived. The hours drug unhurriedly passed, unable to shake the thought from her head about the man in her dreams unlike before. Every detail about
him was fresh as if she had rose from the dream on moments before. Lost in thought, amber startled Sophia when she spoke.
“hey, amber. What’s up?” Sophia said unnerved.
“are you okay?”, Amber questioned with her eyebrow raised.
“yeah, i’m fine. Just not been sleeping well”, Sophia responded with a chuckle.
“well, the reason i have stopped by is mrs. Pedimont called in complaining that you have had loan documentation that hasn’t been processed.”, Amber said as she propped
herself up against the cubical wall.
“mrs. Pedimont?”, Sophia questioned as she searched her mental index.
“yes, mrs. Pedimont....File Number 02009834578.....She Was trying to take out a second mortgage and she is saying you have had the paper work for nearly a month and a half.”, Amber continued.
“Amber, I don’t have any files and i don’t remember talking with any pedimont.”, Sophia retorted in her defense.
“well can you check your file cabinet....and let me know?”, Amber questioned with a heavy sigh as she walked away from the cubical.
Enraged Sophia began to go through her filing cabinet, much to her horror she found the pedimont file. Frustrated and anxious she called her supervisor ; then left for the day. Her mind was cloudy, unable to focus she went home and stretched out on her sofa. Koko wagged over in all his lab like goofiness, his body almost smiling. Sophia’s face was buried in the throw pillow when koko licked her cheek.
“what is his name koko?”, Sophia asked through the pillow; koko whined as if to say, ‘i don’t know’.
“i have got to figure out who this person is....”, Sophia said aloud. “i have to figure out why they are in my dreams every night....”, She continued.
After a few moments of lying on the sofa she stood up and walked down to the basement. From a shelf she pulled down a box marked school annuals, she pulled them out one by one going through photographs in an attempt to put a name
with the face in her dreams. After she exhausted five hours to the project she came up empty handed. Even more perturbed she slammed the box back atop the shelf and went back up stairs. She paced in front of the telephone, her mind twisted
with contemplation on whether or not she should discuss the dreams. After she squabbled with herself for a few moments she picked up the phone and dialed a close friend’s number.
The phone rang a few times before it was answered, “hello?”, Katy said almost out of breath.
“hey, katy....Do You have a minute?”, Sophia asked.
“sure. What’s on your mind?”, Katy responded.
“more like who.....”, Sophia replied as she began to explain her dreams to katy. After a thirty minute conversation katy was unable to help figure out the mystery man.
“okay describe him again....”, Katy said.
“okay describe him again....”, Katy said.
“he has dark brown hair, slightly feathered on top. Grayish blue eyes, a scruffy goatee; he isn’t extremely tall, slightly built....”, Sophia replied.
“and what are your dreams about?”, Sophia asked.
“usually we are trying to stay together.... And there is always something that is hell bent on keeping us apart.”, Sophia retorted.
“wow, okay. I don’t have any answers for you hon....I Don’t know what to tell you....and you have this dream every night?”, Katy inquired.
“yes. Every night now for as long as I remember, and when I wake up and happen to fall back asleep it picks up where I left it off?!”, Sophia exclaimed.
“that is really weird.”, Katy replied.
“well, i guess i will let you go....I hear Kara screaming.”, Sophia responded.
“yeah. Nap is over sooner than anticipated.”, Katy replied then ended the call.
Desperate to find answers to the dreams she opened her laptop and began searching through websites for meanings of dreams. With her energy levels already depleted from the restless nights, Sophia began to doze as she read. She lethargically
closed the laptop and went to the sofa, too weak to climb the stairs. She collapsed in a heap on the sofa, once asleep she began to dream again.
In her dream she was standing on a grassless knoll beside a bare tree with twisted limbs. In the far distance she could see the figure of a man running in her
direction. A few miles back there are four men on horses pursuing him. Her heart races and she begins to jog towards the man running. At the base of the knoll they embrace, he wildly and passionately kisses her until the four on horseback arrive and drag him away.
She awoke sobbing; koko sat with his head rested on her shoulder, his cold wet nose
buried in her neck. She rose quickly, as she swiped the tears away. “it’s past time for you to go out isn’t ko.”, Sophia said with her nose reddened he hastened down to where his leash was hung. His thunderous paws thud echoed through the house. She sighed heavily, as she fastened the leash to his collar. With a deep breath she clambered to her feet and took koko for his nightly walk. After the walk, Sophia retired to her room where she spent another night with her sleep agitated.
Subsequent weeks of insomnia~like restlessness Sophia went to the doctor, who recommended a vacation; he claimed that it was stress related. She also received a prescription of sleeping aids, advised to take them only when necessary. With a doctor’s note in hand, she requested her vacation leave earlier than originally planned. She packed up koko’s leash and a few of his things to take with them. Her thoughts still
nebulous, most consumed by the dreams; it was inevitable that she would forget some necessity item as she packed.
After an eight hour drive to the coast line she discovered she had forgotten her luggage all together. In a frantic moment she called up Katy, who rushed over to make sure that
it wasn’t left outside. Instead she found the luggage situated in the garage as she had left it. It was a little after five o’clock when she arrived at the little bed and breakfast cozily arranged between two sand dunes that were capped by pampas grass. The salty fish breeze blew up over the dunes and flooded her senses. It had been over ten years
since she had seen the ocean, needless to say felt its caress. From the opposite side of the dunes she could hear the gentle roar of the sea as it turned over sand, and exposed its hidden shells.
The room itself was about a thousand square feet complete with a kitchen, dining area and the bed was on the second level loft. The floors were pine wood, and had slight
indentions from high-heeled shoes. Settled in the room, Sophia sat and stared at the bottle of pills on the kitchen table.
“some vacation huh, koko?”, Sophia mumbled then found her feet. Koko bounced about in hopes that he would get to chase the seagulls and killdeer that ran along the surf.
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