The day that stopped

I finally pulled into the driveway of my home after saying my final goodbyes to my family. I get out of my dad's truck and head towards the front door, fumbling with my keys and finally finding the house key.

"Come on dog, lets go inside its been a long day for the both of us." I say to her, she looks up at me with sad eyes. She runs in and gets on the couch sniffing around for mom and dad. "No one is here babe, its just you and me from now on."

I walk over to the fridge and pull out the only thing that will help me forget about this whole mess, vodka. I don't even bother getting a glass down, i open up the bottle and start to drink as I walk over to the couch, sitting down and grabbing the remote to watch some tube.

Turning on the t.v. I browse through the channels only to find that nothing is on, "figures." I say to myself turning off the t.v. I get up and walk over to the sliding door to let the dog out to let her do her business.

Taking another long drink off the bottle in my hand I watch her run around happy as can be with no care in the world, and no clue what the fuck went on the last few days. If only I could be like that, totally oblivious to the world around me, being happy, and not having to deal with this tragedy that happened to me. "Come on, lets go to bed." I yell out the door to the dog, she is hesitant to come in, "NOW!!!" I yell, not caring about who hears me. She obeys and I shut the door and lock it. I walk to the front door and lock that as well as shutting the shades in the office.

I walk up the stairs after I turned off all the lights, the dog follows me up and, heads off to my parent's room, jumping on the bed and curling up on the comforter. I don't normally go into my parent's room, but I needed something to comfort me after the long day that I had. Pulling back the sheets and getting in the king size bed, this is my dad's side of the bed, closest to the door. The sheets haven't been washed, and I could faintly smell my dad on the pillow. Tears well up in my eyes, "I love you dad, love you mom. Goodnight Matthew and Avery." I say out loud knowing nobody would answer me. I drift off to a fitful sleep.

in the void known as my dreams

I am walking down a long hallway, just aimlessly wandering about. There is a figure in the distance, a person? "Mom?" I yell out, "MOM!!" The figure doesn't turn around or even know that I am yelling, lights start to flash around me, blinding me with bright white light. I start to feel sick, like I am about to throw up or pass out.

I am light headed, and I feel weightless, kind of like a falling feeling. I hear footsteps but I have no clue where they are coming from, then there is this voice. "BE GONE!! LEAVE THIS MAN ALONE!!!" The voice was booming like something was amplifying it, there was a little bit of reverberation mixed in as well, but I have no clue what caused that.

I slowly come out of my sickly state, I look up at the thing who saved me, it was shrouded in darkness, all I could make out was wavy hair, dark black hair. "Who are you?" I ask with a weak voice.

"I am the guardian of dreams, The Princess of the night." The voice said calmly

"Are you human, or just apart of my subconscious?" I reply in the same weak voice as before

"We are human just like you, now get up and follow me." The voice said, noticing that I was on the ground, slowly I get up onto shaky legs.

"I have saved you from that nightmare, what troubles you?" The person said, my vision focusing, there was a woman standing in front of me with a dark blue dress with what seems like black wrist braces on, not like the ones you wear when you sprain your wist, but like the ones for archery.

"Thank you...." I trail off on the last part because I don't know this woman's name.

"Luna." She replies, "What bothers you so to have these nightmares?"

"I had to bury my family today, I am the only one left. I guess that I feel alone and lost." I say

"Let me show you something." Luna says, the hallway changes into my mom's van and I can see everyone in it.

"I wish that Milo could have been there for your game Matthew." My mom said as she looked out the windshield at the road.

"I wish that he was here too, but I know that he can't take a personal day from work just to watch my play soccer. I just wish that my game wasn't on a Thursday." My brother replied

Mom looks back to my brother and gives him a smile. That is when it happened, one of the tires blew out and they swerved onto the median, then onto the other side of the highway, right into an eighteen wheeler barreling down the highway.

"NO!!!" I yell out in anger, then I start to cry, "WHY WOULD YOU SHOW ME THAT!!!!" I yell at Luna.

"To show you that their last thoughts were thinking about you."

"Still, that doesn't make me feel any better, that makes it worse!!! Do you get sick pleasure out of people's pain and suffering?" I say to her as my blood begins to boil.

"NO I DON'T, I WAS TRYING TO GIVE YOU CLOSURE FOR YOUR LOSS." Luna says in her thundering voice.

"Just leave me be, I think you have just broke me." I say to her with a depressed voice, "take me back."

"Why? It isn't even sunrise yet." Luna said with worry in her voice

"I don't want to be here in this nightmare, I wish to end it all." I tell her, my words hitting her like a hammer.

"I will let you awaken." Luna said as she then snapped her finger

awake and depressed

I roll over and look at my phone, 4:44 am. I roll over in my parent's bed, the dog is on the pillow where my mom's side.

"Fuck me." I say quietly, I slowly start to pull back the sheets and get up, careful not to wake the sleeping dog that is next to me.

Quietly I sneak down the stairs, stumbling to find the light switch for the bar lights over the island, finally turning them on I see a person sitting on the couch. I motion at my hip realizing that I don't have my knife "that's right I am in my boxers." I mumble

"Hello Milo." The person says, "don't be afraid." That voice sounds familiar.

"Luna?" I say, confusion coming over me

"Yes, we are sorry for making you watch those memories." She said, sorrow is heavy in her voice. "Hath I known how you would react to that, I would have never shown you."

I don't have any words, letting out a sigh as I look on the counter for my pack of cigarettes. I take one out with shaky hand putting it in my lips. "You should have known better than to show me those memories Luna." I said, my speech a bit muffled by the cigarette between my lips, I light the end and inhale the smoke, "I think you should leave, I want to be alone." I tell her

"No, we don't know what you are going to do to thyself, we don't want thy blood on our hands." Luna said her voice wavering a bit.

"Just go, I don't want you to see me like this." I say as I walk over to the front door unlocking it then opening it.

"Very well then we shall take leave then." Luna said, she gets up and walks toward the door "my condolences on your family Milo Blackwood."

I shut the door behind me and lock it quickly.

Luna walks out onto the driveway, looking back at the house a tear running down her cheek. "I only wanted to help you Milo." she said quietly. Turning around and walking down the street, everything is quiet except for a few chirps of crickets. Openly crying now, Luna readies a teleportation spell.

BANG, BANG. Two gunshots go off, Luna can't hold it in any longer as she sobs loudly then dissipates into the night.