Another dream

That night Emma had another wierd dream. She dreamt that she was a bird flying through the air between tall mountain peaks. The sun warming her back and the air playing through her feather felt wonderful. She felt elated and free.

Suddenly, a deafening roar ripped through the air.

Instinctively, she knew that she was in danger. She twisted her long neck around to locate the source, and caught sight of her long tailfeathers coloured like the vivid orange and pink of dawn. The golden dragon was behind her, chasing her across the skies.

She flapped her massive silver-white wings to gain speed, and the roar of the wind rushing past grew louder in her ears. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she felt fuelled by an equal measure of fear and anger.

Another roar. The dragon was getting closer, but she didn't dare to turn around anymore.

She didn't know why or how she needed to escape the clutches of the dragon, just that it was paramount that it didn't catch her and coil itself around her like last time.

Hoping to go even faster, she flapped her wings again only to discover that they were only normal arms. She was back in her human body!

She started falling. The ground was rushing up to meet her. She tried to scream, but the pressure of the air rushing past her made it difficult to draw breath.

The dragon roared behind her again, and she wasn't sure if it or the ground rushing towards her terrified her more.

The ground was so close. She was about to hit it. She was as about to die, smashed like a bug. She could see every detail of the terrain beneath her, lush green grass between sharp-looking, jagged rocks.

Emma jolted back to reality.

Fully awake, but still terrified, she sat up her chest heaving, drawing in ragged breaths. Her eyes darted around the dark room for a few panicked seconds.

She was just starting to calm down when she seemed to notice a black shape with pair of green eyes staring at her from the darkness. Yelling in surprise and terror, she frantically reached for the light switch. A click, and the room was flooded in warm yellow light.

There was nothing there.

With a sign of relief, Emma realised it was just her brain playing a trick on her. The faint light from outside must have just reflected on something, making it appear like a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness.

She laughed at her own silliness, and lay back down, rubbing her sweat covered forehead.

It was just another dream. Nothing to panic about.

Turning the lights off again, she tried calming herself. At first, she thought that she would not manage to fall asleep again before dawn. However, she must have been more tired than she thought, because she soon started dozing off.

Just as she drifted on the border to sleep, it seemed like something large and furry snuggled up next to her in the bed. She didn't get scared, because she must already be dreaming. And the shape felt warm and comforting, like a cuddly toy. She ran her fingers through the incredibly soft, black fur.

Letting out a contented sigh, Emma drifted off to sleep.