• Rain pounded on the windows, the pattering sound broken occasionally by thunder. Lightning cracked the sky like a whip. Shadows fled to the corners of the room, casting ghastly shadows in the closet. With a gasp Karma opened her eyes. it was just a dream, she told herself, it wasn’t real… just a dream. Karma scanned the room, nothing out of the ordinary; just her plain old bedroom. She got up and pulled on a pair of jeans. Careful not to wake her parents, Karma tiptoed down the hall. She reached the stairs without incident. Carefully she set one foot on the step. A loud creak made her jump. She strained to hear if anyone heard, but nothing stirred. Reassured by the loud snores next door, she quickly descended to the bottom.
    She reached the front door and paused; her pocket vibrated. She took out her cell phone. “where r u?” the screen glared at her. Karma quickly typed in, “I’m on my way.” She sent the text message and sighed. Her eyes darted over to her phone’s clock. oh crap! I’m late! she took one fleeting glance at the silver mirror on the wall, and put her cell phone away. Closing the door behind her, she got out her car keys and ran to her car. Her long brown hair hung down clinging to her face. With one hand she wiped her hair to the side. She shut the door of her metallic-blue Toyota matrix, and turned on the heater. Her car pulled out of the driveway silently.
    Her silver-blue car glided down the street like a flash of moonlight; making a barely audible purr. Autumn leaves fell around her in a spiral gust of wind. Karma loved the silence of autumn at twilight. The limbs of the ancient oaks and maples were laced with deep velvet moss. Green dragonflies and fireflies glowed in the dark recesses of the trees; the place where treetops met the night sky. How odd… she thought, fireflies in late autumn? And dragonflies? The sight perplexed her. She caught sight of her friend’s large Victorian home. Her car gracefully pulled into the driveway, and she turned off the engine. She started down the long walkway. The iron lampposts that lined the sides lit the way to her friend’s invitingly warm looking doorway. Two imposing white Greco-roman style pillars held up the upstairs veranda. The whole home was full of grandeur. Roman styled marble statues decorated her many gardens. Karma passed a fountain with a curly haired cherub spouting water onto opalescent carvings of roses. This fountain always caught Karma’s attention. She found the sides of the fountain had Greek letters engraved in a mysterious jumble of elegant symbols.
    Finally she reached the front door. She took a minute to catch her breath, then pushed the gold and white doorbell. A whole minute went by, and finally the stained glass door opened. “Hello Karma.” said the silhouette in the doorway.
    “Oh hi Helen. Sorry I’m late; I fell asleep.” Karma admitted sheepishly.
    “That’s ok. Well, don’t just stand there; come in,“ said Helen, “I just made some tea.” Helen shook out her blonde curls and skipped out of the doorway. On the way in, Helen glanced at her floor-length mirror admiringly. Karma rolled her stormy-gray eyes; she was well aware of Helen’s excessive vanity. Helen skipped down the hall to the kitchen, her blonde hair flowing behind her. Karma sat down in her favorite chair; an ivory colored suede chair with elaborately carved armrests. Helen pranced into the room carrying a silver teakettle. She poured them each a glass of black tea and sat down. Helen sat with her back perfectly straight, and added her sugar to the tea.
    “How many?” she asked while gesturing at the porcelain sugar bowl.
    “oh, just two.” replied Karma. She plopped two sugar cubes into her teacup. Helen sat back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. “So how was your trip to Paris?” Karma asked.
    “oh, it was fine.” Helen said with a shrug, “ Just normal business.” She always has business but never talks much about it. Helen flipped her hair to the side. Her green eyes glowed with an unusual ferocity. “well dear, what about you?”
    “Oh, not much. I just got grounded again, so I had to sneak out.” Karma rolled her eyes, “ the ‘rentals don’t understand why I’m failing math; but Mrs. Grundy is like so evil!” Mrs. Grundy was a putrid old lady who absolutely despised kids. She was rigid and very rarely gave out A’s. Or B’s. Just the thought of math made Karma’s stomach curdle. With a shudder, Karma recalled her dream. Red-rimmed eyes glowered at her from infinite darkness. The fiendish face had a distinct look to it; a very distinct and familiar face. A thick red liquid dripped from her mouth; fangs bared. With a start she realized just what that liquid was; blood.
    “Karma!” Helen shouted. “Are you okay?” she looked at Karma with a worried look. “You passed out and started screaming something about blood.”
    “I’m fine, just a little light-headed.” Karma’s face looked pale and drained. Her gray eyes were dulled and the look she sent Helen was one of pain. She realized that she was standing up, and then sat down. “What happened?” confusion laced the fuzzy edges of her mind.
    “I don’t know, you just jumped up screaming “Blood!” and then you went limp and just stood there,” Helen said, “It was real creepy…maybe you should get some sleep. I’ll drive you home.” Helen herded Karma towards her driveway, and entered her garage. She walked towards her sleek black sports car and helped Karma in. She hopped into the drivers seat and gunned the car out of the driveway. Her car sped zero to one-eighty in two seconds flat. They pulled up to her house in less than five minutes. Karma got out. “Thanks for the ride.” she said with a sidelong glance.
    Karma walked up her driveway. The dark shadowy house looked imposing. Imaginary specters lingering at the corners of her vision. The only trees in sight were naught but twigs and branches with the occasional leaf here and there. A harsh gust of wind slapped her face. Well, she thought, at least it stopped raining… Karma eased open the door and snuck in. She closed the door and turned around. With no less than a sigh, she ascended the stairs and went to sleep.
    Cold sunlight filtered on her face. With a groan Karma turned over and turned off her alarm clock. She scooted to the edge of her bed. Glancing at her window she got up and looked out. Crimson leaves glowed upon a backdrop of grey storm clouds. She sighed and turned away.