The dream

ELECTRA

It was too dark. I could hear loud music from outside the room where I am, but nothing else. Some rays of neon light are flashing at some point from gaps between the metal walls.

One of those flashes of bright yellow light falls on something and a pair of dark eyes, like black holes, appear. They look so dark, determined and full of power.

I try to open my eyes but my body doesn't respond. Panic overflows me, chest panting. I try to control my shaky breaths, keeping my efforts to open my eyes and get away from this horrifying dream. Finally, they flip open and I jolt to a sitting position, nearly breathless. I could feel rivers of sweat running down my body. I don't know why, but this pair of eyes made me tremble with fear.

My heart is racing fast enough to hear it without much effort. What a strange dream. I try to remember what happened before this pair of eyes gets in front of me but without success. Definitely a dream but somehow it felt so real…

I stretch to the side trying to find either the light switch or the clock. After some searching on my nightstand's surface, I manage to find the clock. It is 5.30 a.m. Too early for work.

I get up and walk towards the bathroom... only to find out that I was not in the bathroom but instead I went to the kitchen. I still had to get used to the room structure. Only two days here since I moved in and every time, I wanted to go to the bathroom and I ended up in the kitchen.

It was not a very big house, but it was different from the structure of my previous apartment. The first room was the living room, with one sofa and a couple of armchairs. I had not the privilege of much free time so, it was not decorated as I wanted it to be.

Then, there was a small corridor. On the left side there was the bathroom and on the right side, the kitchen. The corridor ended in another room which was the bedroom. There was also an attic but I did not have time to explore that part of the house yet.

For the moment I had to remember which side is the bathroom and which was the kitchen since in my previous apartment they were on exactly the opposite sides. One step at a time.

After almost half an hour I was already dressed, but it was still 6 a.m. I had an hour until I go out to the office. Maybe it was the perfect chance to prepare some breakfast. I tried to make some coffee, but when I looked at the colour of it on my mug, immediately my mind went back to that pair of eyes in my dream.

They were very imposing although there was not something special about them... and yet there was. His sight was overflown with power. I couldn't imagine what the rest of his face would look like, so I let my imagination run free.

Definitely imaginary a little voice in my head popped out to comment. My consciousness, covering everything with sarcasm and irony.

Being lost in my thoughts, I turn towards the clock, only to realise that it was 7.30 a.m.! How time flies! I grab my bag and go out of the house, running like a runner in the Olympic games.

I managed to get to work on time, but I was never on time for my boss. As I enter the office, I find Mrs Margaret Lee, my boss, sitting at her desk - directly opposite the entrance - with her hands on her desk and her fingers touching each other.

Her face was full of wrinkles, even the colour of her lipstick was travelling through her wrinkles to the outer layer of her lips. Of course, the lipstick was paired perfectly with the colour of her nails. Red like blood to remind us of the blood-sucking vampire she is.

Usually, when I was looking at her, she seemed like a vulture that had just finished her food of some poor creature and blood was all over her lips and claws. I tried many times not to laugh, and believe me, it was rather hard not to.

Before I could drop my bag into the basket behind my desk, her voice, like a magpie screaming my doom, broke the silence in the room.

"Ms Thompson, a word in my office please."

I could not refuse such an order, so I grab my not-so-prepared self for a preachment and walk towards her office.

I sit down on one of the chairs in front of her desk. I could feel her eyes upon me like a hawk looking at its prey. Her face was a festival of wrinkles.

Under all these lines I could see anger in her face. Her mouth became a thin red line. She remained silent for half a minute – I counted it - making me feel more stressed about what was about to follow.

"I would like to discuss your evaluation report..." she says with a tone of satisfaction in her voice. I knew something was not well. She never liked me from the first day I set foot in this office.

"Mrs Lee, before we continue please let me explain that-"

"You will have to wait until I finish what I have to say," she cuts me off with a slight movement of her hand. "I have to say that we had never such an employee as yourself Ms Thompson." Her wrinkles seem to multiply when she opens her mouth again.

"I was stunned by your performance, to be honest." I could sense the poison dripping in her tone, highly toxic. She seemed to be preparing herself for some time to make this speech.

"During the last 2 months you managed to sell..." she made a big pause, "none of the properties assigned to your list." I could swear that I saw a smirk underneath all these wrinkles. "And if you want to get into the uncomfortable position to compare your performance with John's, I think there's not such a need to do that. He almost sold anything I have assigned to him, even the most difficult properties and the best part is that he makes it look so easy. So, tell me Ms Thompson, is anything in your job description that you find difficulty with or cannot comprehend?"

My hands turn into fists under the level of the desk. I would not give her such satisfaction to see me angry, although I wanted to strangle her at this instant!

"Mrs Lee, maybe you should consider the fact that you have never given John a property which is not easily saleable. On the other hand, I cannot agree with the kind of properties you have assigned to me. If you think that is easy to find a buyer for properties that are in remote hills without even proper roads to have access to or completely destroyed properties - that the buyer would not even bother to buy and spend even more to renovate - which no one would do, honestly, I will not be so confident to say that these kind of properties are easy as you suggest."

I could feel my cheeks burning. I was definitely getting angrier every moment I had to look at her face. Maybe Mrs Lee was more of an evil witch rather than an estate agent. And I had a few suspicions about her kind of relationship with John. Such kindness to him was quite peculiar.

"What a sharp tongue you have Ms Thompson…" she comments studying me the way she looks.

"Maybe if you reconsider my property list-"

"There's no way I'm doing that Mrs Thompson." Her tone turned stern, whiplashing me on the face.

That woman didn't know that other people have the right to speak! So fucking rude!

"Then I will do my best to sell these pieces of crap you have assigned me for properties", I reply with as much kindness in my voice as I could.

"A bit of respect would be nice Mrs Thompson." Her face didn't change even in the slightest. "I want the next person that will enter your office to get out holding a title deed. Otherwise, I will have to consider your competence for our office."

She IS an evil witch! But instead of a dark gown and cape with horns on her head, she is wearing pencil skirts and high heels.

Without a word, I stand up and go to my office. I sit on the chair and looked at the picture on my desktop. A big mansion was there, with all these wonderful statues and a huge garden.

I wish I could live in a place like that one day and not have to put up with evil witches dressed up as estate agents. I must admit I had very high expectations.

I take the list of properties Mrs Lee had given me a week ago. It was supposed to be updated but nothing had changed.

All the remote properties that actually had no road to go there and the plots in the most inaccessible places of the county. Of course, John had all the nearby places and the most luxurious properties that most of the buyers would die for, and being sold in a blink of an eye.

Suddenly, I hear the door open. Someone of John's clients, I thought. I didn't bother to look up to see who's entered. I was pretty much sure. However, I hear footsteps coming toward my office. I look up slowly and see a man, dressed in a dark blue tailcoat, a blue top hat and a blue tie standing in front of my office.

Are you fucking kidding me???

I froze looking at him, my jaw barely managed to hold it in place and not let it drop open. Something in my mind burnt, like a false circuit. Who the hell was this guy?

"Allow me to introduce myself," said the strange man. "My name is Lord Stephen Woods" he adds giving me a deep bow.