Dreams of Light (The Count)

“Come back to me......”

A voice called out to me. It was soft. Sweet. Familiar. I could hear it ringing gently in my ear as it sent warmth through my body.

“Stay with me,” it called again.

I struggled to move. My body felt heavy. Like something lay on top of me. Chaining me. Weighing me down.

I felt worn down. Exhausted. Frail, even. My very being felt hollow. It was like I had been scraped clean from the inside. A large gaping hole could be felt upon my chest as I lie there on my knees with my eyes closed shut.

A deep chilling breeze licked my long frame. I sat motionless as the gale danced onto me; filling the hollowed pit in my diaphragm. The breeze was..... relaxing. Tranquil. Hypnotizing. It was cold, yet warm. Embracing, yet.......

“Free,” I muttered, softly.

My voice cracked and raspy. It didn’t sound like me. No. Not at all. The voice was very unfamiliar, yet recognizable.

I continued to sit still knelling down on both knees. The gentle chilling breeze continuing to embrace me, I could feel the surface underneath me begin to shift.

A vibration in the form of a wave kissed over my thighs. It welcomed me with surprising warmth and affection unknown to me. Yet, a strange sense of remembrance and nostalgia drenched over me as I sat in satin darkness.... completely ecstatic in what seemed to be a wonderful dream.

A warm light slowly ascends upon my enclosed vision. It was small at first. Then, the light swelled growing larger and brighter by the second. I shifted, slightly. My body creaked and groaned as I shifted in the light. I became nervous. Beads of sweat raced down my being.

I was in uncharted territory. I had never experienced anything like this.

“At least, I don’t think so,” I thought to myself.

I can’t remember. I shifted again, and this time a chain could be heard echoing in the background. It wasn’t a normal echo, however. The sound was almost dream like. Like I was astro-projecting. I could feel the chains almost vibrate in the dark; creating a harmonious hum in the distance.

Where...?” I began.

I was confused. Panic ensued. I began to open my eyes, slowly. I could hear cracks forming in my skin as I struggled to opened them. The light in front of me was blindingly white; a brightness that should have been lethal.

My eyes fully open, I look onward in the distances. I could feel my body withering away. Dust to dust in this gentle breeze. I continue to gaze onward, when finally my eyes adjusted.

What I saw... It was.... it was beautiful. A sight that should only be experienced once a lifetime. The anxiety that I had, disappeared.

Nearly all sounds were void. I couldn’t hear anything, but what was in front of me in the foreground. A warm fuzzy sensation of elation doused over me, filling the pocket in my chest. It felt good, yet it sapped me of my already nonexistent energy.

I continued to stare at it. I was too enamored to move. What I looked upon was a large flowing beam of light. The light flowed downward like a “waterfall” splashing onto the surface below and flowing around me.

The waterfall didn’t seem to have a beginning, nor did it sound like one. A loud beautiful chime danced on my ear drums as I continued to gaze in awe.

“Come to me...” called the voice.

I shifted forward, slightly. I was entranced. However, something was holding me back. I quietly lifted my arm, slightly. My arm was heavy and weak. I didn’t have the strength too. I rest my arm back on the surface below me. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel a shackle clasped tight around my wrist.

I could hear the chains hum behind me. Curiously, I followed the chain with my eyes. Tracing the chain the behind me, I lost sight of it as it was suck into an erratic dark abyss. I continued to look into it. I was intrigued.

“Don’t go...” moaned the voice.

It was too late. I watched as the chain shifted from the abyss; lightly tugging on me with delicacy. Then...... the light from the waterfall disappeared and I was completely swallowed by darkness.