A Flushed Dream Short Story

I have to say, keeping a dream journal has been the toughest and most frustrating assignment that I have ever experienced. From what dreams I did manage to remember I would say that dreams, my dreams, are normally on the verge of a nightmare. I had the most impossible time remembering my dreams over these past ten weeks, which is clear in my very few journal entries. Trying to remember my dreams led me to an internet “goose chase”, to say the least. Most of the tips that I read were: keep a pad of paper by my bed, allow myself to remember my dream, lay in bed shortly after waking and to not wake with an alarm. As a mother of three I have no choice but to wake by an alarm. Regardless, something that I read really made me want to remember my dreams; on article stated that those that remember their dreams are more in control of and in tune with their waking world.

I was bored. The car ride was long. I thought the trip to my grandpa's boat lake Michigan would be short, but I was wrong. We hit every red light and I was losing my patience. We finally get there, the weather is bad, it’s raining, I had a sniffle, and we catch nothing. “Patience” grandpa said. A few weeks later we go out again, still nothing, but at least it wasn’t raining that day. I’d never fished before so when my hook caught pieces of seaweed I thought it was a fish. My grandpa reminded me that you must be patient. Then I reminded him that he “guaranteed” me that I would catch a fish by the end of the summer. I told him that we would catch fish if we went out into the lake instead of just fishing off of the back of this boat on the

I heard the click of the lock and my mom pushed the door open. We were greeted with an excited Coco. Her tail would wag furiously from left to right, making a thumping noise against the furniture and shakes her entire body in the process. My shoulders relax, and I did not realize how good it feels to be home. My brother pushes past me. The stench coming from his dirty and ripped up football jersey made my nose wrinkle. He rushes ahead to take a shower before dinner. That’s when a familiar smell hits me. A growling noise came from deep inside my stomach, wanting to be fed after a long tiring Thursday at school.

I was walking to my house after a long day of school. All day I was waiting for this moment; To see my dog. I walked inside. I saw my dad, which was strange because he was never home. I look around. There was an empty dog bed, covered in brownish-red fur. My sister’s head was in her hands, she was shaking uncontrollably. I turn towards my dad, his eyes filled with pity and sorrow. I set my backpack down and search for my companion. Being the insensitive and ignorant child I was, I ask, “ Where’s Duke?”. My dad glanced at me making direct contact. The words I was about to absorb , were almost deadpan. He replied monotonously, “ He’s gone.”. The only word that can explain how I was feeling was numb. I hadn’t realized the stumble backwards into the wall, or the tears shed, not even the comfort I was trying to be given. Though I thought that this was going

It was a breezy, warm, peaceful day. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted an array of pink, orange and yellow. the clouds stretched long across the sky, and the pale glow of the moon was beginning to show. While my little bro Aj and I were biking around the neighborhood, our mom yelled out “CHASITY! AJ! Come inside now!” “Dinner time hah Aj?” I asked. “Hopefully, I’m hungry!” he replied while biking full speed towards home. When we got there, turns out dinner was still cooking, so me and Aj just sat on the couch in the living room with our parents. “Aj, Chasity, your dad and I have something to tell you.” mom said. Then dad replied with a stern look “Your mother and I, have decided to move to California…” “We are going to start packing soon… And we’re leaving around August 18.” I had a mini heart attack, “WHAT?! YOU NEVER TOLD US! I had plans with my friends already for the upcoming school year...” I thought to myself sadly. Shocked by the news, I just said “Ok.” and walked to the hallway to pet my fluffy dog Rexx for comfort. While petting him, I felt a lump under his fur on his hind leg. I thought nothing of it, and kept on petting him.

“We don’t have anytime time to waste today guys, get moving!” my mom announced. My brother was coming today and she wanted the house to be spotless. We had just started fall break and I was in the fourth grade. I was playing games and relaxing like any 10 year old would do. My dad was lounging on the couch watching some show, and my siblings were running around. By then I had only 5 siblings, 2 sisters and 3 brothers. We had known for a while that Johnny, age 9 at the time, was coming to live with us, what we didn’t know was that he would bring with him a fish. I was happier than a child opening presents on Christmas. The fish was a beautiful white male betta with long flowing fins. He lived in a small 1 gallon tank with blue pebbles, pointy

8th grade: I learned taking things for granted was a bad idea. On December 17, 2011, my mom was celebrating an early Christmas party with her friends in San Mateo, California. Around 1:30 in the morning, she headed to the bathroom and that’s when her life changed. She lost feeling in her body and her face looked drowsy. She luckily ran out the bathroom yelling for help, then passed out seconds later. The ambulance came in a matter of minutes. I woke up that morning, the house was silent as a library. I said “Good morning Beary” to my hamster, Chewy. There was a sense of sobbing in the kitchen, it was my Lola. “What’s wrong?” as I asked. She responds “Your mom is in the hospital and she had a stroke”. I broke down in tears like the Niagara Waterfalls. My lolo told us that my mom would have her surgery at Stanford Hospital since Mills Peninsula couldn’t take the procedure.

One of the most prevalent memories from my childhood would arguably be the time my favorite cat, Zhu, died. Unlike the other cats I had at the time, this cat actually enjoyed my presence, snuggling with me when I slept, and not scratching my face off every time I came to pet him. But being the naïve five year old I was at the time, I had no concept of death; I obviously knew it existed, but since I’ve never experienced or heard about a death within the family before, I felt all my loved ones and I were invincible. Well this was until Zhu died. When my parents first told me about the news, I was too much in shock to do anything or react. But once it finally sunk into me that something that was so close to me was gone forever, I cried nights on end. This incident helped me relate a lot to Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, in the sense that one of the most important themes she learns is that experiencing new things matures one’s mind.

It was a normal day, a Wednesday I recall. I was in second grade and I had just gotten back from school. As usual I walked in to see my cat, Lily, eating her lunch. It was either that or sleeping, I couldn’t blame her I wish I could sleep and or eat all day.Since there wasn’t any action in the living room, I bolted to my room faster than a race car speeding around a track, thriving for first place. But as I entered I immediately got an ominous feeling. Next thing I know I hear myself scream “Oh no,” as if I had just found a dead person. Well actually I kind of did, but instead of a human being it was my pet fish, Mr.Gill. He was a purple and blue betta fish that, besides my cat, was my favorite pet probably because it didn’t take a lot to take care of him. That sounds kind of harsh but think about it all you have to do is feed it and clean it’s fishbowl out.

“Hey mom! I’m home from basketball practice!” I yelled as I walked through the double doors of my mansion. Something smelling delightful and the warmth of our home welcomed me. “Is dad home yet?” “Not yet honey,” she said as she walked around the corner from the kitchen. My father was the owner of a company that made engines for vehicles and always seemed to have to stay late at work. “But he’ll be home soon so let’s go sit down and eat,” she said with a fake convincing smile. As we walked to the dining table the scent of fresh king crab with a

I thought what an adorable dog, as it waddled up to me I helped free it from his metal entanglement. Who would have thought that this dog won my mom over for only two weeks, afterwards we had to find him a new home. At long last I imagined myself finally owning a pet, only to feel the lonely heartbreaking feeling again. Until one day a girl gave me a fuzzy little stripped orange kitten resembling puss n’ boots, I felt discouraged to bring him home after the hound but non the less I

Her mom emerged from the outside to the warm inside. They both laid down on the shaggy carpet this time not in denial, but in relief. That stared at the dusty ceiling fan for a while, when Susan’s mom asked “Can you babysit tomorrow?” Susan replied in a sarcastic tone “I will if you pay me.” They both tilted their heads at each other, and Susan’s mom rolled her eyes. “Not a

I put my headphones in and I stare at the twisted and intertwining branches that write a million stories with their complexity. As I analyze their tales my eyes close and my dreams come alive. I see her, her soft pale skin and dark hazel eyes her tall frame and loving arms her face is blurred as the older I get, the less she is with me, but I can still see my mom there to comfort me and release me from my nightmares. Her touch is the light in my sea of darkness. I try to go out and touch her, hug her and tell her to stay but as I reach to her, she dissipates and I am left alone on my bench in the middle of the night, the only noise is my music, drowning my fear. My music isn’t enough, however, as I begin my death march from the warm safe park bench, to my lonely house. As I place my hand on the door I feel a sense of relief, the simplicity of my torment makes the torture less painful. I cross the door frame and I see my dog Ray sitting and looking at me with his sad eyes. Ray can’t talk but i can understand him, and he sees me and cares about me, I just wish he didn’t have to deal with the constant pain I live through. His large eyes and tired soul fill my heart and make me forget that Dad is still in the house.

I was passing all the fish and none looked that cool except for one. It was a black moon goldfish. “Mom,Mom I think I found the one I want” I yelled. “Finally” she said back. Keep in mind that I am a slow shopper so we were already in the store for 30 minutes. We found the guy that works in the fish section and we showed him the fish we want. “Oh ya these guys are pretty cool,we just got them in” he said. My Mom asked if there was anything special about the fish and the guy said Yes.

I jolted awake in fear. I had a dream. A weird dream. A vivid dream. It was full of people shouting and bright flashes of light. It was confusing yet clear, like some part of me understood it. I didn’t know it would be important then but now I know. How? Well, it happened like this…