It's Been A While

I am sorry that it took so long for me to post episode 2.  Over the last month my schedule has been very crazy and I never got around to posting the second chunk of the story.  But here it is!  I hope you enjoy the second installment in my running narrative and thank you for stopping by!

Episode 2: "Sorrowful Dreams"

The cool draft coming from the less-than-adequately sealed window woke me from my deep sleep.  Chilled and shivering I pulled the covers over my shoulders and strained my blurry eyes to focus on the alarm clock.  2:30 in the morning.  Slowly I sat up in bed and gently put more body weight on my feet as I heard the popping of my bones with each additional pound placed on them. 

“Stupid blanket,” I thought to myself.  Normally there is a blanket placed in front of the window to add a little bit of insulation from the outside conditions.  The size of the blanket needed to effectively shield us from the elements lent it to fall down on occasion.  Trying not to send too many bed springs into a screech, I pushed against the bed and stood up.  I walked over to the window and reset the blanket as well as I could.  Hopefully the next time it falls it waits until I’m more awake.

I turned to make my way back to the bed.  That’s when the image of my empty bad surprised me.  Where had Carolyn gone at such an early hour?  Puzzled and slightly concerned I donned my old sweater that my father had given me and exited the room through a slightly opened door.  Another odd sight.  Ever since Carolyn and I had been married she always slept with the door closed and kept them closed even if she were not the one sleeping.  I walked down the hall and down the stairs leading to our living room.  A quick scan of the room showed me that she was not there either.  As I walked past the side table sitting at the base of the stairs I reached under and removed my large folding knife from its hidden location, taped to the bottom, out of sight of anyone visiting their home.

Any locking knife and knives with blades longer than three inches were strictly prohibited.  At the same time, news of people disappearing from their homes never to be seen again was more prevalent than ever.  The current regime was not shy about their raids on groups who openly oppose the government.  It seemed like every day there was a report of an apartment building housing anti-government people being raided and countless arrests being made.  But on the more clandestine side there were people going missing straight from their homes, no raid, no news story, just people disappearing.  Of course the most cynical of us recognized the trend of those missing as being people who showed negative emotions toward the government, but never took part in any of the more radical activities.  Never the less I had been more cautious when dealing with matters around the home, and the odd disappearance of Carolyn definitely warranted me taking the extra level of security with me.

Fixing the blade into my firm grip I turned the corner into the kitchen area.  Still no sign.  As I crept in the dining room I noticed a stream of light streaming through the sliding glass door.  Moving slowly toward the door I began to make out the form of my wife sitting on our back porch with the light now.  She was reading a book under the dim glow of the aging porch light.  It was definitely odd that she was reading so early and in the cold fall air, but she didn’t appear to be in any danger. 

With a sigh of relief I folded the knife and stowed it away in my sweater pocket.  I opened the glass door startling her in the process.  “Babe you scared me! What are you doing up so early?  Did I wake you?” she asked in a loud whispering tone.

“No,” I replied.  “The blanket fell off the windowsill again, the draft is strong tonight.”  “What are you doing out here?  You kinda gave me a scare when I woke up and couldn’t find you.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to worry you.  I had the strangest dream.  More like scariest dream.  Woke me up and really weirded me out.  Couldn’t go back to sleep after it.  Decided to come out here, read a little, and let the cool air clear my head.”  With a pause accompanied with a truly depressing look on her face she closed her book and continued.  “I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost you.  In such a lost world you really are my rock.  With everything going on you have to think that it’s only a matter of time before something really bad happens to us, and if something did I only hope it happens to me ‘cause I wouldn’t be able to go on without you.”

With concern on my voice I tried to comfort her, “I’m not going anywhere.  I’m gonna be right here ‘til we both drop dead at the ripe age of 150.”  She laughed. 

“I’m sorry to bring so much doom and gloom.  You’re right,” she said standing up and placing her book on the chair.

“Let’s go to bed.  We’ve both got work in the morning.” 

As we both crawled into bed, I only wish there were a way I could have prepared myself to deal with the true source of her sorrow, and the pain that would come from it.