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In my dream, I was lying on a piano that was floating in the middle of the ocean. It was nighttime in my dream, and I could hear a song being sung from somewhere in the distance. It reminded me of the song that Scarlett had sung the night she had drowned, but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.
I tried to stand up to look over my shoulder to see if I saw Scarlett—or anyone, for that matter—but the piano wobbled with the unbalanced weight of my body. Too afraid to touch the water, I sat down cross-legged and my body moved with the piano as it was gently rocked over the calm waves.
“Felicia,” a melodic voice called out, and I glanced around. I didn’t see anyone, and the voice was quickly replaced by the sound of a loud ringing. The ringing sounded so familiar and, even in my dream, I was able to recall that I had heard the same sound when I was at the lighthouse with Tyler. Where was it coming from?
I heard the loud roar of a wave as it raced towards me, and within seconds, I was knocked off the piano and forced under the water. Holding my breath, I tried to swim against the force, but the water pushed against me. I had no choice other than to allow myself to be pushed along in the direction that the wave was moving.
Opening my eyes under the water, I glanced up and saw the moon shining brightly through the foaming water that enveloped me.
The wave tossed me, and I felt my knees being rubbed against the gritty grains of sand underneath me. As I glanced around, I realized that wherever I was, it looked nothing like Ocean Grove. In fact, the sounds of birds squawking and the scent of tropical flowers that filled my nostrils gave me the impression that I had been carried to some sort of tropical island. The sand was a pretty reddish color, a drastic difference from the white beaches of Georgia.
The song that I heard while I was laying on the piano hadn’t stopped playing. If anything, it was louder now that I was on this beach.
Standing up, I found that I was wearing a long, flowing emerald green dress. Even though I had just been in the water, the clingy material of the dress was completely dry. It was as though I hadn’t been in the water at all.
Following the sound of the music, I began walking into what appeared to be a tropical jungle. A melody came from my lips and I began singing the words, even though I had no idea what they meant . . . and I wasn’t sure that I had heard them before, either.
A girl with long blonde hair emerged from the forest and strolled over to me. “Felicia! You must sing! You have no other choice now,” she hissed at me.
I couldn’t see the girl’s face, which was hidden in the shadows; all I could feel was her hand gripping my shoulder tightly and shaking it.
I screamed, and everything turned black.
*
“Felicia? Felicia?” a familiar voice asked.
I cracked one eye open and found myself staring back into Tyler’s grey eyes. He was kneeling over me on the ground. I fully expected to feel my soft sheets against my back, but I felt something cool and grainy instead. Sand. “Where are we?” I asked.
“We’re at the lighthouse,” Tyler replied quietly. When I stared back at him questioningly, he went on. “I went back to my house after I walked you home, but about an hour later . . . I remembered that I left the lighthouse door unlocked. I would have just left it, but kids are always trying to get inside when no one’s around.”
He ran a finger through my hair. “I guess it’s good that I came back or I wouldn’t have found you. Do you remember how you got here?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. Sitting up, I realized that I didn’t have a shirt on . . . and that Tyler had found me laying here in nothing more than a pink bra. I looked over at him helplessly. He seemed to understand why I felt uncomfortable, and he smiled at me before handing me the camisole that I had gone to sleep in. When I raised my eyebrows at him questioningly, he explained, “When I found you, you didn’t have a shirt on.”
As I pulled the shirt over my head, I said, “This has to look really bad to you.”
“No, I think you’re beautiful,” Tyler replied matter-of-factly.
I blushed. That was the first time a guy had ever called me beautiful. “Thank you, but that’s not what I meant,” I said with an awkward laugh. “I meant it has to look really bad for you to find me here like this.” It was embarrassing enough for me . . . It had to make him feel at least the slightest bit awkward.
“No, it doesn’t look bad,” Tyler replied, his eyes still locked on mine.
“Oh, please. You go to a party with me . . . I get completely wasted, and then you find me lying outside on the beach without my clothes on.” I gulped, feeling my cheeks turn red in embarrassment. “You probably think I’m just a party girl . . . or a slut or something.”
Tyler let out a loud laugh and reached for my hand. “I don’t think you’re any of that. I promise.”
“But how do you know? You barely know me yet,” I protested, pulling my hand away from him.
I had been so worried about what Tyler thought about me that I completely overlooked the seriousness of the situation. How had I even gotten here? I could clearly remember falling asleep in my bedroom. People didn’t just wake up without their shirt on at the beach. It was too much for me to take in at the moment.
How I had gotten here wasn’t the only thing I was confused about either. I should still be drunk, since it had only been an hour since we’d left the party. But I didn’t feel drunk . . . or even hungover. I’d definitely had more to drink than I normally did, but . . . I felt fine. Why had the alcohol worn off so quickly?
And the dream . . . It had felt so real. It felt more like a memory than a dream. Did it actually happen?
I glanced down at my outfit. I had on shorts and the camisole that I had just put back on. If the dream had really happened, I would be wearing the emerald green dress that I had worn in it. I felt dumb for even considering that I had been sitting on a piano in the middle of the ocean. But . . . if it didn’t happen, how had I gotten here? The dream was the only thing I could remember; I had no recollection whatsoever of walking from Gram’s house to the lighthouse.
“You must have just sleepwalked,” Tyler said, interrupting my thoughts. “It’s not a crime, Felicia. I’m pretty sure that seizure boy can go out with sleepwalker girl. You don’t have to be so embarrassed about it. If anyone understands being different, it’s me.”
“Don’t call yourself that . . .” I said gently, shaking my head. “I’ve never sleepwalked before, that I can remember.” Sighing, I tried to think of another possible explanation, but I couldn’t come up with anything. I was sure that no one had dragged me from my own bedroom at home, which was several blocks away, to the lighthouse. It wouldn’t have been possible. I was such a light sleeper that even the slightest movement would have woken me up. Although I should have woken myself up by sleepwalking, I was left with no other options to consider.
Finally, I said, “I guess you’re right. I must have sleepwalked.”
Tyler stood up and grabbed my hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you home again. Let’s hope you stay put this time,” he laughed.
I let him help me up and forced myself to laugh back. The alarm-like ringing sound had filled my ears again. Glancing over the cliff that the lighthouse rested on and into the water, my heart stopped. I was positive that I saw something bobbing in the water below us.
“Everything okay?” Tyler asked when I just stood there in place.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I muttered and followed him, trying to ignore the song that drifted from somewhere behind us, which reminded me so much of Scarlett’s melody.