The Dream

Writing Prompt: She was the ghost haunting his dreams, with a sad song and murderous eyes.

This prompt just sounded so fascinating and so perfect for a horror story that I couldn't resist passing it up and giving it a go. I actually didn't intend for it to become quite as dark as it did, but I'm actually rather pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully it's not too creepy or disturbing for anyone.

Every night, for two long weeks, he had dreamed the same dream. He found himself standing on a gravel path in the middle of a sea of grass. The waist height grass was a strange blue-grey color and it stretched in every direction as far as he could see. The sky above him was a forbidding grey, but not a cloud was in sight. And then there was a silence, a silence so profound that he could hear every beat of his heart, could almost imagine he was hearing the blood pump through his veins. Not a breath of wind disturbed the grass, there were no birds, nothing. The air was heavy, every breath a struggle. He sensed rather than knew that he was the only living creature in that strange, grey world.

He would walk for what seemed like hours along the path, searching for he knew not what. He never strayed into the grass, there was a malevolent energy that seemed to come from it and he had no desire to encounter it, even in his dreams. No matter how far he walked though, the scenery around him never changed. So when he at last grew weary of wandering, he would sit down in the middle of the path and search for something, anything that was different. There never was. Every blade of grass was identical to all the others, every pebble beneath his feet identical to the one next to it. He found it all equal parts fascinating and disconcerting.

And then she came. An ethereal creature the likes of which he had never seen; her skin lily white, her cheeks and lips a soft coral pink, her hair the pale gold of a new sunrise, her eyes the clear blue of a summer sky. She wore a gossamer dress of purest white that seemed to float about her as she walked lightly through the grass. She was the most beautiful, fey thing he had ever seen, yet he sensed that she was or could be dangerous. If she ever chose to harm him, she could do so, dream or no dream. And that realization frightened him.

Broken

Writing Prompt: Write about the loneliness that took you by surprise.

I saw this prompt and for some reason it really stuck with me. I haven't written anything in a long time, so I don't quite know why it struck me, but it did. As I started writing though, it took a different direction from what I was expecting so the end product doesn't really follow the prompt. It is generally based on a real event in my life but as my memory is imperfect, there is also an element of fiction. Hopefully it's not too horrible since it has been so long.

She sat by the window, staring absentmindedly into the rain. All around her was sound: music, laughter, idle chatter, the clatter of dishes, the clink of cutlery, the metallic clang of pots and pans. But in her little corner, there was silence; she was alone. There the sound seemed muffled, as though heard from a great distance. She heard it, but it didn't fully register. All around her was the sound of life and happiness and friendship, all sounds that she didn't want to hear because they reminded her of how alone she was.

Her head snapped around as she heard a familiar voice among the clamour of so many that were totally unfamiliar. There he was, just walking in with his roommate and a couple other friends. As if drawn by her gaze, he suddenly looked in her direction. Their eyes met for a brief moment and he seemed to pause, but then he turned and continued on with his friends, getting their food and choosing a booth on the opposite side of the room.

She fought back the tears that threatened to escape and turned to look back out the window. The rain was coming down harder now, mirroring the storm she felt inside. A few weeks ago she had been part of that group, laughing and joking and talking. Even then she'd felt lonely, like she didn't really belong, but at least she could fake it and at least she wasn't totally alone. Not like now. Alone in a crowded room. She scanned the room and realized that she really was the only person sitting alone. That realization was even more depressing.