Phoenix sat there, just another person in the subway, going home after a hard day. She struggled to keep her eyelids open, she sure didn’t want to miss her stop at midnight. She looked around to the old sleeping man, who smelled of vomit, at the far left corner, then the trio of young men eagerly talking about something that sounded like drugs, and the old lady that strangely enough was always on the same train as Phoenix when she returned from work, staring at her with eerie black eyes. Phoenix pinched her arm to keep herself awake. "I ought to find a new job", she thought, "one that doesn't end at midnight."But if she was realistic, she knew that she couldn't quit her job. How will she survive? Phoenix swallowed hard.
She felt her eyelids heavy. She pinched herself again. She thought maybe chatting with someone on her phone would help her stay up. Cling. She jumped at the sound from her phone.It was Sam. She smiled and started to eagerly message him. "Next stop, Saratoga Avenue." She jumped at the sound of the announcers voice and frantically gathered her things before getting off. It wasn’t a long walk to her apartment, but she was out of breath from running through empty streets when she got to the building door. Phoenix rushed upstairs and locked her door in the blink of an eye. She lived in the most dangerous part of New York, as getting inside was her first priority. She mostly refrained from watching the news, just so she could keep herself from panicking. But now and then she would eavesdrop on a conversation about a murder, a robbery, a rape, just houses down from hers. She sighed profoundly, sinking behind her door, safe.
As soon as her heartbeat was back to normal, she dragged herself to the kitchen. She munched on some leftovers from the day before's takeaway dinner. She slid her clothes off and relaxed under the bath water she has prepared bathwater. She was finally able to think. Think about her work, about the place she lived, about her miserable life. Phoenix gazed at the full moon through the bathroom window, and for the first time ever she felt like it was staring back at her. She shuddered and hugged herself, but the chill down her spine remained. A harsh breeze burst through the window, jerking one of the curtains off the wall. It took a second for her brain to understand what was happening, and in that second she swore she could hear chuckling in the wind. In one movement, she fixed the curtains and closed the window." A storm?" She thought, "in October? That’s unusual..." After closing all the windows she threw herself on the bed, exhausted.
Phoenix sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Her heart pounded quicker than usual, and the air felt heavy in her lungs. The heavy storm outside roared violently, the wind howling furiously. She closed her eyelids, slowly drifting away....
And she was transported.
The same burning house, the same lady, the same song, the same feeling of belonging. Everything was all good... till he appeared. The dark shadow, that’s what she names him. Like a blur, he ruined everything once again. Phoenix tried to help the lady, hoping that this time she might actually save her.... but she fell. And there was nothing she could do about it... and in the darkness that surrounded her, two eyes appeared...... but this time there was something different. But before shecould tie the loose endstogether she was conquered by the panic that came with not breathing.
Phoenix sprang up and breathed frantically, hugging her chest savoring every bit of air in her lungs as if it’s the last one she would breath. She looked out the window. The storm had stopped, but some gray clouds lingered in the sky. Suddenly, a clearing showed her full moon. Like a small ember the connection burst into flames in her brain. Those eyes.... the moon...
They were the same.
Phoenix blinked twice, but there was no mistake. The pupil of the eyes in her dream were the same as the moon. And now more than before she really felt like the moon was staring at her. Outside the closed windows she hear the chuckling again, somewhat muted, but louder than before, the same chuckle as the dark shadow."You're crazy, Phoenix. It's just a coincidence. There's school tomorrow, go to sleep!" And that’s just what she did.
"Phoenix!"
The sharp voice of Mr. Andrews and the school bellsnapped her back into reality."It is the 3rd time I've caught you daydreaming today, Phoenix!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Andrews. I was just thinking about today's homework." She gathered all her books and tried to spring out of the class. A flat lie, that might just have worked but...
"There was no homework today, Phoenix!"… Mr. Andrews exclaimed just as Phoenix was about to grab the doorknob. She rolled her eyes and walked up to Mr. Andrews, who sat against his desk. Mr. Andrews wasn't just another teacher. He was actually the closest thing to a father she ever had. He was also the reason she got to go to college; he had talked the principal into giving her a full scholarship. She owned him to much....
"Is there something troubling you, Phoenix?" He said, giving her that look. Ever since she was a child, she could never lie to that look. She liked her dry lips. "Where do I start?"
As well as she could, Phoenix tried explaining everything. She thought Mr. Andrews would think it was all a silly joke and ask for the real reason she was daydreaming. But to Phoenix's surprise, Mr. Andrews was sucked into every word she said, nodding here, grunting there. There was an awkward silence as soon as Phoenix was done. All she could hear was her heart pounding so hard, it could almost jump out of her throat. He sat there, pensive for a while.
"Phoenix," he finally murmured. "There's something I need to tell you. But I can't do it now. When does your shift end?"
"Today is my free day, Mr Andrews," she answered, a little confused.
"Very well then. I'm inviting you to dinner tonight, with my family."
Phoenix was a little thrown back by this, but she could never reject his invitation. They both agreed that he would pick her up at the closest train station to his house at five o'clock, and she was dismissed.
Phoenix wandered down the hallway, not caring much about the people around her throwing papers over her head, or the girls that whispered to each other as they stared at her. She just couldn't stop thinking about what would Mr. Andrews want to tell her that's so mysterious?
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