Prologue
Do you dream after you fall asleep? Do you repeatedly see yourself in a specific place and time with a certain person? Do you imagine the different endings of those dreams if they were real? Do you ever replay a scene over and over until you know exactly what is going to happen next? Tell me, do you?
I do.
I dream of a far away home by the seaside. It is dusk and I am walking on a deserted beach. The cold waves tumble over one another to me, tease my feet, and then recede as rapidly as they come. The salty night breeze from the sea caress my cheeks while whispering sweet promises in my ears. My hair and dress dance wildly but gently around me to a beat only they can feel. My mind is blank but my heart is troubled. I am aware that I am dreaming and should wake up, but I do not. In fact, I do not want to wake up, and that is what troubled my heart.
From the sea I hear a cry. It sound like an infant’s cry, but after straining my ears against the whistling wind and crashing waves, I can hear a voice. It is deep and sultry, enough to make my knees weak. Then, my heart swell with unknown emotions that make me want to cry out as well.
Here, my heart seem to be saying. I’m here.
The voice respond by getting closer and louder until it has wrap itself around me. But, the words do not get any clearer. They are a jumble of incoherent words that sound like chants in my ears; all undecipherable except for one word.
Arissa. My name.
Koj yog leej twg? Who are you?
My mind scramble for an answer, a name, or a face. And, like the past few dreams, it is there but just beyond my reach. I see his silhouette as he emerge from the sea but not his features. Everything remain a blur.
Kuv nyob qhov twg? Where am I?
He beckon me but I cannot move until his third beckon. Then, as if afraid he will abandon me, I quickly start for him and the sea. Before I could reach him, he submerge back under the rolling waves and disappear. Gone with him are his voice and all that existed just moments ago. Everything is calm and silent except for my racing heart. They continue to beat and crash in rhythm as I sink to my knees. The water quickly rise to my chest as a tear escape down my cheek and become one with the sea. An incoming wave wash over me and I am finally under.
© N. Hli 2014 All rights reserved.
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