Death is but a Dream

"A warm, pine-scented breeze skims my wings, gently lifting me high into the cloudless blue above the lush, green countryside below.

"With overwhelming pangs of hunger, thousands of us swarm together, casting an eerie shadow on the valley; we turn day into night, searching...searching for the perfect spot to land and devour every bit of vegetation.

"Suddenly, a vehicle on the winding road below swerves and slams into a guardrail, sailing end-over-end down a steep, rocky cliff. Smashing against the rocks below, the vehicle explodes into a giant mushroom cloud, choking the life out of us, vaporizing my brothers, sisters, mother, father, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends--my entire locust family destroyed! I survive, but I am now alone...all alone.

"With singed wings, and filled with melancholy, I bounce in the breeze aimlessly, wishing to hear the storm of a thousand wings beside me, wanting to feel the adrenaline rush it gave me, hoping to rid my mind of the tragedy. I then hear somber organ music belonging to an open-casket funeral far below.

"My curiosity trumps all other emotions and I can not resist the temptation to fly closer. As I descend the stratospheric staircase, I see a young woman in a mahogany casket. The casket lined with lace worthy of a cocoon. With slight hesitation, I land on her nose. She is so lifeless and still. Chestnut hair adorning her white gown, fluttering in the breeze. She looks familiar. She...she..OH MY GOD! IT'S ME! Then I wake up in a cold sweat, clutching my pillow!"

Sophia looked away, then looked back at Madam Muldolvia--a fortune teller and tarot card reader. "In my dream I'm a locust seeing my own death and funeral. What does it mean? Is it a premonition? Am I going to be killed in an auto accident?"

Madam Muldolvia hesitated...took a deep breath, then turned over the tarot card...It was the card of death. "I'm so very sorry." she said with a Slavic accent and a look of dread. "Your dream is symbolic. The locusts, the auto accident, the funeral all point to death...and now the cards concur."

Fortune telling is nonsense, Sophia nervously thought, scolding herself as she negotiated the winding canyon road on her way home. Why did I ever let my roommate, Lorie, talk me into seeing a fortune teller? She is so superstitious. She... Oh SH*T! The breaks aren't working! I CAN'T STOP!

Sophia's cream-puff convertible slammed into a guard rail and hurled over the cliff just like she dreamed it would. It crashed and erupted into a fiery blaze. No one could have survived such a crash--but Sophia did. Her convertible's top was down and she was thrown clear as soon as her car hit the guard rail.

She was a little banged up and bruised, but she had no broken bones, and she was very much alive. She whipped out her cell phone and called her roommate to come pick her up.

Well, she thought, the accident in my dream was just a coincidence. If there was any truth to it, I would be dead right now. Ha! So much for dreams and fortune telling! Feeling arrogant and smug, she felt a rush of adrenaline course through her veins. She felt invincible, like she could do anything and nothing could stop her. The gods be damned!

Within an hour she held her hand over her eyes as she was blinded by a pair of headlights coming up the road. It was Lorie, her roommate. Lorie parked across the street.

As Sophia crossed the street she heard a weird buzzing overhead. She looked up, but before she could see what the strange sound was, her heal broke and she slipped on a banana peel.

Her arms gyrated wildly as she flew backwards. The back of her skull cracked on the unforgiving pavement. After a couple of spasms, she became still.

* * *

There was somber organ music playing at her funeral. A thousand tears were shed. There was running mascara and consoling. Her brothers, sisters, mother, father, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends--her entire family was there. All grudges, feuds, and hard feelings that kept them apart were set aside, hopefully forgiven. In any case, at long last, Sophia and her family were reunited.

Out of nowhere, a lone grasshopper lighted on Sophia's nose...remained for a few seconds...then flew away...never to be seen again.

Special thanks to co-author Milena Zepeda.