Cobweb Dreams

She still couldn't shake the previous night's dream. It clung to her like a cobweb, sticking to her skin no matter how hard she tried to get it off. She tried to go about her day and concentrate on work. Smiling was beginning to make her face feel brittle. How much longer could she pretend everything was fine before she shattered into a million jagged pieces?

The day finally came to an end. She let out the breath she hadn't been aware of holding as she walked to her car. The heat of the day reached out for her as she opened the car door. Waving her hand in front of her face to help dissipate the waves of heat washing over her, she slid into the seat. She quickly started the car and turned the air conditioner on full blast.

She pointed the car in the direction of the local library. She had run out of books to read again. People were constantly amazed at how many books she could devour in one week. She didn't understand what the big deal was. For a long time she thought everyone could read a book or more a day. Far off lands, tropical islands, and times past were in the pages. No travel or aggravation required for a vacation.

Still on auto pilot, she breezed from the cool interior of the library into the heat of the day once more. Why was this feeling persisting? She had dreams all the time. There was something different about this one. A ripple of unease slid down her spine, and a feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach.

As she pulled into the grocery store parking lot, she groaned. It figures on the hottest day of the year there wasn't one space to be found anywhere close to the store. She sighed heavily as she began what seemed like a day long hike to grab a few items. Had she done something to tick off the Fates? It can't be coincidence that on the hottest day of the year she had to go to the library and the store.

Hearing her name, she stopped under the overhang of the store and looked around. A woman was jogging across the parking lot waving at her. She recognized her best friend Tiffany. Her lips curved into a smile as she waved back.

"Hey Shay!" Tiffany said as she came to a stop in front of her.

"Hey yourself Tiff. How's our little angel doing?" she asked, her smile growing wider.

"She's doing great. Being a handful as usual." Tiffany said as she chuckled.

"Sorry I can't talk longer, but I'm running behind today. I need to get home and feed the beast before he decides I need to be taught a lesson about feeding him on time again."

Tiffany giggled as she remembered the last time Shay's Maine coon taught her friend a lesson. Seamus doesn't like to be kept waiting for his food, so he shredded a pair of Shay's favorite shoes.

"I'll see you later then. I don't want to be responsible for the destruction of your favorite pillow or anything."

Shay walked into the store waving at her friend as she steered her shopping cart toward the cat food aisle. Seamus was her baby after all, and his needs came first even on the grocery list.

As she loaded groceries into the trunk of the car, she grew pensive as the dream intruded on her thoughts. Looking around, she put one foot on the bottom of the shopping cart and shoved off with the other. It made her feel like a kid again as she rode the cart across the parking lot.

As she waited on a break in traffic, she thought about which flavor of food Seamus would lilke best. She wasn't above a little sucking up to keep him happy. She pulled out onto the highway to head home when she felt something slam into her car. The world went black, as her car careened across four lanes of traffic narrowly missing a concrete telephone pole.

As the world began to come into focus she could hear someone screaming. It took her a minute to realize it was her. Light seeped behind her lids as Shay thought to herself, "So this is what the dream meant."