• I woke with a start. I’ve had that dream again. The one where I’m swimming laps in the backyard pool, then it turns
    stormy and dark. Out of the shadows steps the black figure with those glowing red eyes that seem to drill holes into my
    skull. I’ve been having this same dream for three weeks now...ever since my sixteenth birthday. I don’t know why I
    started having it. All I can tell for sure is that it means something important.

    First of all, my name is Laura Sterling. I just turned sixteen and I’m a student at Copan High School (for those of
    you who don’t know where that is, it’s in Copan , Oklahoma ). I just moved here from Kentucky . Oklahoma seems to
    be a little more country than I’m used to. Don’t get me wrong, I love the country, but even I have a limit as to how much
    southern accent I can take. My siblings love it here. They each have more friends than I could tell you. My older
    brother, Seth, is a senior and he’s already on the honor roll, being voted for Prom King, and has a girlfriend that is
    beautiful. He’s always a goody two-shoes. It annoys me to no end. Then there is my sister, Gloria. She seems sweet
    and innocent at first, but we all know that appearances can be deceiving. My mom is normal as far as I can tell. She is
    hardworking, nice, but very stubborn. My dad…well…he left over nine years ago. I was only seven. I was a hard time
    for all of us.

    Well, enough about me. I’ll tell you about my birthday. But first I must tell you why I hate my birthday so much. In
    the past there has always been something that goes wrong on that day. My ninth birthday was the day my dad left. And
    I suppose that what happened this year wasn’t much better. This year I moved to a new school. So now you see that
    my birthday is never the best day of the year.

    I was swimming in the pool like everyday since I moved here. My family and I were having fun and messing
    around. I splashed Gloria and she squealed like a little girl (that’s not saying much considering she is only 12). Seth had
    just dunked our mom and swam away as quickly as possible. That’s when it started getting dark. At about 7:00 at night
    it was still very warm out. But we had school tomorrow so when got out of the pool. Mom made dinner we all ate and
    then it was time for bed. I took a shower, brushed my teeth and hair, then I got into bed and drifted off to sleep. That
    was the first night I had the dream. It was just a vivid as it was tonight..

    Today I have to go to school. And the worst part is that it’s Thursday. Every Thursday I have to go to swim
    practice. I am so not in the mood to hear my couch screaming at me to “push myself as far as I can go”. Don’t get me
    wrong, I adore swimming; I’ve been doing it since I was five. But sometimes I need a break.

    As I get out of bed I step in front of the mirror. Oh GOD. I look horrible. I pick up the brush and run it through my
    hair. I walk to my closet and pick out my clothes am going to wear today, a gray tank top and my favorite pair of jeans.
    I slip my shoes on, grab my bag and head out the door and down the stairs. As I walk up to the school I notice Seth
    over by the door, he is looking a little worried as I approach him.

    “Hey, Seth. What’s up?” I ask as I stop in front of him.

    “Oh! Hey you made it! Good. I was worried I’d have to go home and wake you up. But maybe you should have
    stayed home,” he replied still with the worried look on his face.

    “Why?” It seems that was the wrong question.

    “Bad news. Mom just got a call from a hospital in Cali . She wants us to go home so that we can all be there to hear
    it together.” He began to drag me to his car. We got in and drove back the block and a half to the house. As we got out
    Gloria walked up and looked at me questioningly. I just shrug at her and walk in the house.

    Inside Mom tells us to have a seat. I sit on the couch and look up at my mom. She seems distraught and on the
    verge of tears.

    “Mom what’s wrong? What happened?” asks Gloria as she sits beside me and Seth. Mom shakes her head and
    gains her composure enough to sigh and breathe deeply.

    “I just got a call from a hospital in California . It’s about your father, children.”

    “Why should we care about what happened to him? Did he get drunk again? Did he get into another accident?”
    Seth mumbles. The thing with Seth is that he never really forgave our dad for walking out on us. He just never got how
    you could just walk out on your children and wife when you supposedly “love” them. Truthfully I never got it either.

    “I don’t expect you to forgive him. I know he hurt you guys…..he hurt me too. But this is serious. Your
    father………..he…….,” she cut off in a rain of tears. I run over to her and she lays her head on my shoulder. As her
    tears soak into my shirt, I try to calm her down. Finally the tears lessen and she wipes them away with a sniffle. Breathing
    deeply she continues.

    “Your father…….he died.”

    “When? And how?” That’s all I ask. That’s all I want to know.

    “He died because of heart problems. And I’m sorry Laura…..but he died on your birthday.” She says this with a
    frown.

    That’s when I realized it……the reason I’ve been having this dream………why it’s been reoccurring ever since
    my birthday over three weeks ago………….it’s because…….. twisted