In His Dreams

"And then?"

"I could see his hand up close. I tried peeling away but I couldn't."

"Was this hand covered in blood too?"

"It was. And the visible part of sleeve too." he shuddered a little and licked his lips. I urged him to go on, " What happened next?"

"The view started zooming out. It was holding a knife -"he continued.

"What was holding a knife?" I interrupted.

"The hand." he replied.

"Go on." I insisted.

"It moved forward..the hand I mean. The hand moved forward. I heard the sound before I saw it. The knife plunging inside something. And then there was more blood. Two different hands clutched the knife but they got covered in blood as well. And then the entire picture started moving and I could see what had transpired." he said. He was visibly shaken by now and I could sense that it was more about what would happen next in the picture than what already had.

"Would you like to take a break now?" I volunteered. He shook his head first in the affirmative, then in the negative and sat silently.

"Okay. Would you like to drink water before continuing?" I asked to which he replied yes.

His hands were shaking while holding the glass and he could barely sip. Arturo had come to me two weeks ago and I had immediately assigned regular sessions to him. His shaking had gotten better now but he could still not function normally in day to day life.

Arturo rested back in his seat and pursed his lips before continuing. "My aunt, on my mother's side, passed away yesterday."

I sucked my breath in. As a therapist I had come across plenty of imagery from my patients which was moving and tough to not give a reaction to but this was something else. Even with patients related to murder it was a singular incident. 

It took me a minute to gather myself. My eyes were wide as I struggled to find my voice.

"I am sorry for your loss Arturo. In the dream-"

"Yes," he cut me off. "Yes the woman killed in the dream was my aunt." he stopped for a few seconds and continued.

"I could see what had happened. And I kept seeing it. I couldn't run away. I could move my feet but wherever I went it was the same scene. She lay on the floor, her hands clutching the knife that had been stuck inside her. Her mouth was wide open. I looked back to find the stabber and he was standing right there, though only his silhouette was visible to me. I could do nothing and I looked back at her, her open mouth. Even though it was a dream it took a lot to look at her eyes. And when I did" tears streamed down his face and he shook hard. He made a piercing sound before continuing, "And when I did, her eyes were looking at me. With her open mouth, blood gushing out of her stomach, she kept looking at me. But I could not move and I could not speak or peel my gaze away. All I could do was look. Till she died. I knew it when she died. The exact moment. Her look went cold right infront of my eyes." he stopped to catch his breath and continued, "At the very moment she died, after having suffered with a knife inside her, my legs and senses became voluntary again but instead of being able to go to her, as soon as I looked away, the ceiling fan came into view. I blinked and sat like that for the rest of the night. Early next morning my mother called and told me, every little detail was exactly the same." he ended.

We sat there silently. He had stopped sleeping well and it was my job to help him with it but when he did sleep, someone died and with every passing session it looked less and less like a coincident. I wondered if this case was even under my purview now and was seriously considering having him shifted to a better equipped specialist. I was about to speak after a few minutes when he broke the silence himself.

"There's more." he said. With dread spreading inside me, I nodded my head.

"I always know who dies next.." he said. I nodded in the affirmative. In every dream Arturo had, in the beginning came a person who was killed in the next dream. His aunt had appeared in the previous one and had patted his head before leaving. Arturo had made it a point to reveal this name in the end and so I had waited. "Who did you see this time?" I asked.

"You."

I wonder if it was shock or terror or surprise which made me mute but I couldn't speak for a few minutes. I could hear my heart inside my chest, beating fast and sweat beaded my forehead. I gathered myself for his sake and asked, "And what did I do?"

He looked up at peered into my eyes for a minute before shifting his gaze down and replying, "nothing, you were just sleeping peacefully."

My mouth was dry. I knew what I had to do but I was scared so I waited for the correct moment. I also knew the moment would come in the session itself. Not long after it did. His punch landed on my face before I could even see it and without letting me take a breather he continued pounding me. It took me a lot of efforts to break away and as soon as I did, he took his knife out.

The sounds of gunshots ringed in the air. The gun hurt my hand and three bullets lodged deep inside his brain. There were splashes of his blood everywhere. I fell down on my knees. I was shivering. Soon I heard footsteps approaching me. I never recalled who lifted me and took me to the car waiting outside. I was wrapped in a shawl and taken back home. The proceedings, condemning Arturo for various murders and charges took months. All his dreams saw someone else doing the murder but as to who that person was or if he was even real, remains a mystery to everyone except me.