04-08-19 Not Elma

04-08-19     PUSH ARROW TO BEGIN AUDIO

Streams of light flowed thru the window as Jim awoke from a long night of strange dreams. The light was a welcome sight that seemed to anchor him back to reality. The dreams were so foreign and disorientating that Jim felt he lost contact and direction with normality. As Jim laid in the morning light, he could still feel the after effect of his uncomfortable sleep.

Slowly he started to recall the details of his dream. He remembered driving in his car to a friend’s house and struggling to find the house thru the dark streets and winding roads. For some reason he parked behind the house and entered thru the open back door. Once in, he could hear loud music and followed the sound to the living room. He was not prepared for what he saw. Three bodies were laying around the room. One on the couch and two on the floor. There was blood everywhere and the people were definitely dead. Jim turned off the music. And reached for his phone to call the police when he heard a noise from the bedrooms. Jim thought the killer was still in the house and he slipped into a closet and shut the door. The closet had a slated door so some light entered the closet. When Jim looked around, he recognized the closet as his childhood closet in his old bedroom. What house was he in? He became very confused. Then he heard the sound. It sounded like a weeping child. It could be his younger sister, Elma. Jim carefully opened the door and grabbed Elma and pulled her in the closet to safety. He held his hand over her mouth to quiet her. For some reason Elma feel asleep and laid quietly on the closet floor. Jim needed to contact police, but he could still hear movement in the house. He needed the police to catch the killer in the act. He slowly opened the closet door and immediately he was attacked. There were more than one killer and they hit Jim and held him down. Then everything went dark and the dream was over.

Jim laid in bed horrified by the dream. Was he dead? But the window light looked so real. Then he felt his hands throbbing and when he looked down, he saw both hands were bandaged. He thought ‘oh my god I have been hurt, but I am alive’. And his hands could barely move. Something was holding them. He looked and saw metal handcuffs around his wrists and locked to the bed railing. Jim could see he was in a hospital bed and tried to sit up.

Two men were standing at the end of the bed. One man spoke, ‘Jim, I am Officer Simmons and we have questions about last night. I am sorry but we have to secure you to the bed until we are certain what really occurred. First, do you recognize this knife?’ He showed Jim a picture of a knife with blood strains all over it. Jim studied the picture, ‘it maybe one of my dad’s, he’s a collector.’

Then images began to flood through his mind. The people in his dream on the couch and floor were his parents and grandmother. Jim cried, ‘Oh my god those were my parents and grandma dead on the floor.’ Jim looked up and asked ‘Elma, is Elma okay’? Simmons solemnly answered, ‘no she is dead as well.’ Jim struggled with his memory and looked down at his handcuffs. ‘I can’t recall what happened. I thought I saved Elma in the closet’. Simmons responds ‘no, we know it was you who killed Elma, that’s how your hands were cut.’ Jim sobbed ‘I killed Elma, no that’s not possible. I love Elma.’

Simmons insisted, ‘did you and Elma plan this together. We know she called you just before you drove to the house. Was that your signal to come and kill your parents?’ ‘No, no, no. That not true.’ protested Jim as he searched his mine and started to recall Elma’s phone call. ‘Elma called to say Dad was having a migraine headache and I needed to bring his medicine from the pharmacy.’

Simmons looked at the other officer ‘that’s why the bag of medicine.’ The medicine seemed to clear up most of the Simmons questions and he unlocked the handcuffs. Jim was in complete confusion.

Simmons said, ‘your parents were dead for many hours before you arrived. When you saw the bodies, you hid in the closet, but Elma found you. She tried to finish you as she did the others but you fought back. That’s how you were cut so badly. You had to hold Elma tight as she tried to stab you and she died of chest pressure. You had called the police from the closet and they arrived as you were leaving the closet.’

Jim laid in bed sobbing as the memories returned and the thought of his entire family being dead became reality. This reality was much worse than his horrible nightmare. Peace***