The Dream(Short Story)

A cloud of mist surrounds me. The fog is thick and almost not breathable. I can feel the air in my lungs struggling to push through. My breaths became heavy and uneven.

Someone appears before me and I almost stumble backwards. It was a young boy. My brother. 

The fog all of a sudden disappeared and my surroundings were lots of grass and flowers of all sorts of colours. A park. A memory. My brother holds up a piece of paper in his hand. 

“Look, I got it today at school. I was the star student in the class. This is my certificate.”

This was the day my brother…..I’m suddenly in my house and my parents and my older sister and my older brother are crying. All of them are leaning over something in the centre of them. I push past them. My brother. The one who not long ago showed me his certificate. Who was not long ago alive. 

How could….?

A cold hand touches my shoulder. I turn around and my older sister speaks to me in a distorted voice. “You shouldn’t be here.”

People that weren’t here before kept appearing on the spot closing in on me. Repeating the same words over and over. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Someone grabs my throat and squeezes tight. All the air gets sucked out of my lungs. I’m suddenly not aware of anything as my vision starts to go dark. The last thing I feel is something or someone pulling at my leg.

I wake up breathing heavily. My pillow, blanket and bedsheet are soaked in my sweat. Did I really just have that dream?

I tap the screen on my phone and check the time. 09:45. 

My brother slams open the bedroom door. “Oh good, you're awake.” Tears stained his cheeks. “Come quickly. Layla is dead.” My sister.