Moments Part I: A Momentary Lapse in Reality

In what appeared to be a split second of time two shadowy figures with undistinguishable faces ran up behind him. She desperately wanted to call out, to warn him, but she had no voice. All she could do was watch helplessly as the events unfolded. In horrification she watched as the figures pulled out knives and stabbed him repeatedly. His screams echoed all around her breaking the deafening silence, as if they were coming from hundreds of people rather than one. He fell to the ground in agony and she knew he was slipping away. His thoughts were still popping up in her head and she knew he was terrified in those last few heartbeats as he bled profusely. And then in an instant, his eyelids slowly fluttered... he was dead.

Something shocked her out of her sleep. She jerked upright in her bed sweating and out of breath. Her blankets were entangled around her as if she had been tossing and turning wildly. Her heartbeat was pounding furiously in her ears. It took a couple minutes before her breathing returned to normal and she was completely aware that she had been dreaming. Her alarm clock was blaring and she assumed that's what had woken her. With a shaky hand she reached across her night table to shut it off and in the process knocked over a picture frame. She placed it upright again and for one brief moment stared at the smiling faces of her and four of her friends at the beach. Not a care or worry in the world. Wearily she untangled herself and climbed out of her bed. In a haze she picked out a pair of jeans and a long sleeved red v- neck shirt to wear to school. As she showered the images of what she had seen would not leave her mind. She shivered even though the water hitting her body was practically scalding her. Refocusing on the present she adjusted the water temperature to a comfortable level. But her mind quickly returned to her dream. The scene continued to replay itself in her head as she dressed and absentmindedly clipped back part of her long, dark silky hair. As she gathered her books together she reminded herself in frustration that it would never end. This "thing" that was part of who she was

As Jillian drove her routine route to school she reflected on certain aspects of her life so far. She glared at the houses flashing by as they always did, there was that weird shaped blue one, the old looking white one and so on as she always spotted on the way. This was her town, the town she had spent practically every day of her life in. A small suburban town in New Jersey, a nice place to bring up children and provide a decent life, but as a confused teen a place that was beginning to suffocate her. She was a 17-year-old junior in high school. Her school was like any other, a place where rumors and gossip spread like wildfire, insecurity ran rampant and cliques and phony people were as common as breathing. Classes were an afterthought, sometimes interesting, but for the most part not seen as related to life's daily lessons. To the majority of students, the point was to make friends, enjoy your time with them and just trudge on through to the next stage of life, which had to be more exciting and more freeing. Teachers and guidance counselors were drilling the question of their future beyond high school into their heads religiously and it should have been a time of innocent fun and countless opportunities. All the adults in her life consistently advised her to stay young while she could. She wished that were possible for her. She contemplated how like typical teenagers her friends and classmates took the normal life for granted finding the simplicity boring and wishing for more drama to occur. She had done it herself at times. But she was increasingly becoming aware that they all would someday regret those wishes. A single moment could change a person's life and once it did there was no going back. She had a feeling that she had just experienced one of those moments. Sometimes her friends teased her, wondering if she was 17 or 40 because at times her serious nature made her seem older.