The Last Dream Catcher

Prologue

Three knocks.

Alice knew they weren’t expecting a guest in the middle of the night. As if it wasn’t strange enough, she found herself staring vacantly on their front door not sure of what she was about to do next. Clearly, she was confused and afraid. Against her will, she watched her trembling hand as she slowly opened the door to welcome whoever the intruder was.

However, there was nobody out there on the porch. The sudden slap of cold air against her face made her shiver.

She looked around their neighborhood but as she expected, it has always been dark and empty. When she tried turning the lights on to get a better glimpse of her surrounding, the bulb didn’t seem to work. It turned out to be just another hopeless quest for her.

Just as she was about to go back inside their house, she recognized a reek of burning wires. She instantly held her breath and covered her nose with her hand. She had no idea where this noxious smell was coming from but it was accompanied by a strong wind and earthly howls, sending chills down her spine. So before things could get any more dreadful, she rushed inside and closed the door behind.

Her heart’s pounding so hard with all the adrenaline rush. But when she looked around their house, she couldn’t help but notice the difference.

It was so like their house, and yet not their house at all.

With few changes on the details, like the incorrect arrangement of her mother’s paintings on the wall and the black lilies on the vases, she knew then that something was wrong.

Alice wanted to confirm what was bothering her but she couldn’t move an inch from where she was standing as if she was paralyzed. She tried calling her grandmother and mother but she couldn’t make a sound even out of desperation.

Suddenly, the realization hit her. She lacked control of her own body. She could feel something but could not make a single action. Even if she wanted to scream or cry in terror, she was unable to do so.  

Out of nowhere, she heard glasses clinking from the kitchen and saw a ray of hope. Thinking that was her mother, she tried harder to call her out until she felt an unbearable pain in her chest. She ended up even more helpless. It seemed impossible to do anything of her own free will but it didn’t stop her. Despite her trembling body and aching chest, she continued calling for help. All she wanted was to go home and be with her family.

She had no idea why she was still awake and why everything felt odd. With her desire to control her body, the discomfort in her chest felt more like it was burning. Questions were pouring in, but her mind was all over the place.

Not long enough, she started having this feeling that she was not alone - there was someone else in their house.

Unable to turn her head, she could see a black shadow forming into a human shape through her peripheral vision. The unpleasant odor from the porch became overpowering and there were even cryptic whispers she could not understand.

Even if she wanted to run away, she just couldn’t do it. The shadow hastily materialized in front of her immobilizing her even more. She gasped for air but had nothing. All she could see now was darkness holding her captive and taking control of her entire being. She tried to break free, but the more she struggled, the more agonizing the pain was.

With this unknown creature near her, she felt a horrible weight on her chest which immediately turned into a searing pain. It was too much for a ten year old child to bear.

Now all she could think of was her mother. And for one last time, before her vision turns pitch-black, she tried to scream her heart out.

“Mom!”

The shadow vanished into thin air on impulse. She was nearly hyperventilating with the adrenaline still coursing through her body but, deep in her heart she was already rejoicing for her success. The darkness disappeared when she was already near her limit.

“Alice?”

But maybe it was too early to be happy.

She heard her mother’s voice calling her name several times. Worried, she was about to call her again to let her know that she was okay, but she heard a high-pitch shriek coming from the kitchen instead.

Her heart sank. The possibility of placing her mother in a dangerous situation tormented her. She wanted to save her, or at least do something, but it was then when she already woke up.

Alice could now see the ceiling of her room. She finally realized that it was just a nightmare again. For three consecutive nights, she was having this kind of dream wherein someone kept knocking on their front door. However, it was only tonight that she opened the door.

Unlike in her usual dreams, the heaviness in her chest remained as if she was still dreaming. She still couldn’t speak nor move. Perhaps she was still asleep, she thought. But at least, she knew she was back at home.

She tried to wake herself up but she knew there was no way it was happening any sooner.

The black shadow appeared once again and stood beside her – scaring the hell out of her. It became painful for her to breathe. Quick as a lightning, it suddenly came close to her face, with its green eyes the only thing visible to her. While she had no idea of how this pure evil communicates, this time, she heard its satanic message.

“Thank you Alice…” Then it disappeared.

The world turned into a blur and Alice started crying as if her brain was being shredded from the inside. With her eyes wide open, it took almost half an hour before she regained the ability to control her own body. Everything that happened frightened her so much that all she could do was curl into herself, her arms hugging her knees.

Fortunately, her grandmother came into her room for the third time that week to check on her. There she saw her little girl in her worst state.

“Alice, what happened?!” Her grandmother looked around her room as if expecting to see someone before she turned to Alice. She looked exhausted from sleeping when she helped her sit down. “Oh dear, was it a bad dream again?” Alice nodded wearily.

Her grandmother hugged her close and stroke her hair. As vivid as she could, it took a while before Alice told her exactly what happened in her dreams. Her grandmother silently listened until the end – she always does.

“It was only a bad dream dear. Let me tell you the story of Alice in Wonderland again,” Her grandmother suggested even though she knew it wouldn’t help her granddaughter this time.

Still, Alice listened to her grandmother and somehow got comforted by the same story. Her mother said that it was the origin of her name and it fits perfectly with their surname Beaulieu which actually means “lovely place”.

“I no longer want to have dreams Granny,” Alice said when the story came to its ending. “I’m sure Alice in the story was also scared of dreaming. If she was given the option, she’d rather not dream at all.”

“But dear, everyone dreams,” Her grandmother let out a faint laugh and held her hand. “But we can make your bad dreams go away if you want to.”

Alice recovered a little hope with what she heard. Remembering what she went through, she knew what she really wanted. “Really Granny? What should we do?”

Her grandmother showed her an old dusty box and opened it. It revealed a beautiful handmade willow hoop woven with a loose web of yarn. Hanging down from its bottom are white beads and golden-like feathers.

“This is a dream catcher,” Her grandmother said. Alice took it out from the box and closely inspected it. She wanted to see what was unique in it and there she saw letters engraved on the hoop.

“Oziah?”

“Yes dear. This dream catcher has a name. It’s the Oziah. It actually came from our ancestors and for many years, it was being passed down from one generation to another,” Her grandmother paused for a while and pointed at the parts of the dream catcher.

“The shape of the dream catcher is circle because it symbolizes the circle of life. It gives you protection so when you’re asleep, the web catches the bad dreams at night and they get burned when the day comes. As for the good dreams, they travel to you using the feathers and beads.”

Alice couldn’t help but admire the beauty of Oziah, although she’s yet to believe that it really works.

“Now we have to hang this above your bed so that it can protect you from bad dreams.”

“Do you think it will work Granny?”

“Yes dear. You’ll see,” Her grandmother smiled meaningfully. She hung the dream catcher in her window just above the headboard of her bed.

“Did it also protect mom?”

The question lingered in the silence of her room before she heard a response from her grandmother.

“Yes it did. And now it’s your turn to be protected.”

Alice knew something was not right when she saw a tear fell down her grandmother’s cheek. But she couldn’t figure it out. After kissing her forehead, she was left all alone again.  

Thinking about the nightmare she just had, it seemed incredibly real for her. It was twice as hard for her to have dreams because unlike others, she can vividly remember all her dreams as if they happened in the waking life. Because of this, she started keeping records of her dreams in a notebook.

She looked at the dream catcher near her window when something else caught her attention.

There was a man standing across the street.

She opened the window to see him clearly but all of a sudden, he was nowhere in sight. Probably another peculiar thing. This time, she knew she was being delusional.

True enough, she knew in her heart that she was still afraid to go back to sleep. But then she went to bed again and decided to pray instead. She asked for protection and good dreams. And if the dream catcher really works, may the Oziah protect her always.

After one last glance at the Oziah, she closed her eyes once again.