Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
It’s what I can afford living single in New York City. Not the ideal situation as I grew up in foster care and have always been painfully shy. I wish I could at least say I’ve made friends with these women, but I have not.
I could disappear tomorrow, and no one here would care. They probably wouldn’t even bother to report me missing. To be honest, I’m too tired to care either way.
I’ll be happy not to find anyone passed out in my room. Angel has a habit of bringing randoms home who end up in my bedroom for some reason. I’m not in the mood for that.
My feet feel like lead—my soles are on fire. I can do little more than drag them as I make my way to my room. My lids feel like sandpaper. I’m struggling to complete a thought at this point.
“You look like shit,” Tangy says as I drag by her on the couch.
I barely lift a hand to wave at her as I pass by. I feel like shit, so there’s no need to respond to her words. Eight hours on my feet as a medical assistant and then a five-hour shift cranking out coffee will have anyone dead on their feet and unable to string together a sentence.
Add to that the fact that for the last two months, I haven’t been sleeping through the night because I’ve been having these weird dreams that feel so real it’s no wonder I’m a walking zombie. Those dreams are so haunting. They feel more like memories that are resurfacing after being suppressed for years.
“I hope you have your earplugs,” Tangy calls after me.
Right as she says the words, music begins to play from Leona’s bedroom. I’m too tired to even groan as I hear music blasting from behind her door. It’s well after the hours we agreed upon for noise and entertainment.
One more semester and I can leave this all behind—working two jobs, having to live with roommates, studying until my eyes feel like they’re going to bleed. I’ll be able to say goodbye to it all in four and a half more months. My roommates have no respect for me.
I’ve asked politely plenty of times for them to respect my space, my time, and my things, but they never do. I don’t have the energy to knock and ask for Leona to turn that crap down. Knowing her, she’ll turn it up and make sure it plays until tomorrow morning.
I hate it here.
All I want is a good, full night’s sleep. No dreams, no weird memories, nothing but sleep. The kind of sleep when your body and mind get a full rest.
I make it to my room and sigh in relief to find my bed empty. I shrug my backpack off my shoulders and toss it in my desk chair. Kicking off my sneakers, I then strip from my clothes with the little energy I have left. Stumbling to my bed, I fall face-first into it.
I’m out before I can register that I’ve landed on my bed safely. However, I know as soon as sleep takes over, I’m falling into one of those dreams again. I want to fight to keep my eyes open, to keep the dreamworld out, but it’s no use.
Immediately, I notice this time is a bit different. The surroundings have an ancient feel to them. I feel like I’m in a time so far from my own as I stand in a field.
Looking down at my clothes, I find myself in gladiator sandals and a shirt made of leather strips. Leather also molds to my chest.
“You don’t need superpowers to have heart, Annaniah,” someone with a deep rumbling voice says from behind me.
I startle but relax quickly. His voice makes me feel like I know him. There’s this deep sense of trust I feel with him. Almost like he’s my big brother.
I know he’s speaking to me, and I’m this Annaniah in the dream. Glancing down, I find a chakram in each hand. Zena, the warrior princess, comes to mind. However, in this dream, it feels as if I know them well.
“Annaniah, I know you feel as if your sisters are all stronger than you. The fact that you asked me for more training says you have what it takes to get better, stronger, faster. I only need you to believe in yourself.”
I go to turn to see the face of the man speaking to me, but the dream shifts as soon as I do. I’m confused because I know I knew him. I remember the day he said those words to me, but it seems like a time so long ago—how can that be possible?
As the dream changes, I’m now sitting at a bonfire as I have so many times before in these dreams. I feel small, not so much in size, but as if I’m young. A little girl.