11:20 PM
Camellia walked outside the garage to the house anxiously. When she got inside, she saw her parents and Nadine sitting in the living room watching an old movie.
The living room contained a seventy-five-inch television on the wall, two couches, and four lazy-boy chairs. The entire house was painted in white, and the dominant colors of the interior were brown and burgundy.
"Hey" — Nadine took a big bite from an apple she was holding, and her eyes were on the television — "sit, this movie is great."
Camellia greeted everyone and sat next to Nadine's chair. She looked at the television and then at Nadine, who seemed completely focused on both watching the movie and eating the big red apple.
Nadine eyed her once she sat, she looked unfazed and distracted. Layla asked her if she had dinner. Camellia answered her, then looked at Nadine, looked determined what to do next.
"Nadine let's go upstairs," she said, standing up.
"I'm watching the movie," Nadine said without moving a muscle. She felt Camellia's gaze burning her up. "What? it's my favorite movie," she said and pointed at the screen innocently. Camellia didn't blink and kept staring blankly at her. "Fine." Nadine took a deep breath and stood up.
Camellia was the first to walk, followed by Nadine. As they reached the stairs, Camellia looked back at her. "Are you free tomorrow?" she said and looked at the stairs again.
Free? Nadine nearly laughed at the word. Lately, freedom felt like a concept she read about, not something she lived. Every night, the same nightmare gripped her—the sensation of fingers, cold and invisible, tightening around her throat, dragging her down into something older than sleep. It wasn't just a dream anymore. She had started waking up with red lines across her neck. Light, faint—but real.
"Of course not," Nadine answered automatically.
"Free yourself, I need you to come with me to Aswan," Camellia said and turned on the lights in her room. Nadine didn't hear what she said. Camellia closed the door after Nadine walked inside.
Nadine threw the rest of the apple in the trash and sat on the bed. She looked at Camellia, who was nervous. "Okay, what's wrong with you since this morning?"
"We have to go to Aswan," Camellia said, still standing next to the door.
"What?" Nadine took the pillow behind her back and hugged it.
"We have to go to—"
"I heard the first time," Nadine said deadpan.
"—free yourself tomorrow," Camellia said, leaving her bag on a table next to the door.
Nadine smirked and rested her back. "I knew it. You do drugs. Tell me, what kind is it that gave you this incredible idea?"
"Nadine, I swear to god we have to go! Something is happening! I need to know if it's true!" Camellia shouted and looked right into Nadine's eyes without blinking.
"You sound like it's the end of the world," Nadine sneered.
Camellia's face went yellow, and she breathed loudly. "It might... just come with me."
"What's wrong? What is happening to you?" Nadine said, after sensing how serious Camellia was.
"I can't tell you right now, but we must go. I need to know the truth!" Camellia scratched her head nervously. "I don't fully understand what is going on, but please come with me with no questions."
"But ..."
"Please, just trust me on this," Camellia said and looked away.
Camellia's phone rang making her jump. It was Liam. "Hey, you called me a lot—"
"Is your father, okay?" Camellia said and looked at Nadine.
"—what?" Liam was shocked by Camellia's worried voice.
"Is he okay?!" she asked again, louder this time.
"Why are you asking?" Liam said after a couple of seconds. Camellia didn't reply, her heavy breathing was enough as an answer for him. "He is now, how did you know?" a background sound of him walking to another place. "He had a seizure in his sleep yesterday."
"At what time?" she shouted suddenly.
"Maybe around... Noon, What's wrong?!" Liam said, shocked by her reaction.
Camellia froze, her eyes wide, and her breathing stopped. "I have to go... bye," she said and slammed the phone on the table next to her.
Camellia shoots her eyes open when Nadine punches her right shoulder. "Are you okay? You kept quiet for a minute."
"I'm fine but you guys... are fucked up!" Camellia said with one hand pointed at Nadine and the other hand holding the balcony metal railing tightly.
"What are you talking about?" Nadine asked.
"I remembered nothing at first but... it makes sense somehow," Camellia said and looked at her feet, trying to find words to describe what she was thinking. "We have to end it now before it affects Mark."
"Mark? Liam's father?" Nadine said, frowning.
"It will come to you and Liam," Camellia said without lifting her eyes from the ground.
"What are you talking about?"
"It will happen to you now as it did before! We need to stop it."
"Stop what?!"
"It might be nothing! Just a story! A myth! Right?" Camellia said and finally looked at her. "It will change everything... it will destroy everything." Camellia breathed deeply and took a step closer to Nadine, then said, "Is there anything odd that happened to you lately?"
Camellia's words evoked the same fear in Nadine. She felt the need to tell her what happened to her yesterday; to tell her what she saw. She knew it would sound crazy and out of this world, yet what she learned was indeed out of this world.
She opened her mouth to tell Camellia everything, but words got stuck in her lungs. It nearly felt like choking her again; her soul knew exactly what happened, but her mind couldn't proceed with the words. "... is it normal to have the same nightmare?" she thought of one thing only; her repeated nightmare.
Camellia looked at her carefully. "Why? Do you have repeated nightmare?"
"It's properly nothing," Nadine said and waved her hands. Camellia's stare was intense, waiting for her to continue. "I remember little, but it felt real somehow... someone was choking me and calling me a murderer, but it was in a weird language. I don't know how I understood him. But I did... and there was another man behind him. It looked like he was trying to stop him but couldn't."
That nightmare always dreaded Nadine, yet it wasn't what she wanted to tell her. She tried again to open her mouth, yet the choking feeling came along, forcing her to stop.
Camellia opened her eyes wide and felt like the whole place around her was drifting. "Did you see the man's face? Or the other one behind him?"
Nadine's mind swirled easily to the nightmare, remembering every little detail. "It wasn't clear... It was a little dark and there was a bunch of candles lighting the place but the one who was choking me was wearing a necklace that looked familiar... he had a tattoo... a glowing black one on his left forearm with a weird symbol."
"Oh, shit," Camellia whispered to herself. "What type of necklace?"
"Similar to the one you had earlier... But that's not the weird part—"
"What is?"
"—lately every time I wake up from this nightmare... I wake up out of breath and with hand marks around my neck, I know I sound crazy, but I don't know if I choke myself or what."
"How often did you have this dream?"
"Well..." Nadine looked at the floor, trying to recall her memory. "I think it has been like this for the past eight years."
"Oh, my god! Every night for eight years!" Camellia gasped, even though she didn't look surprised.
"Not every night; it's like seven times in total."
Camellia started walking back-and-forth, mumbling cursing words. "We can't wait till tomorrow." Her voice was raucous. "I knew it! It's true, it happened. We must go to the airport now. We must fix it before it's too late!"
"Now!" Nadine said shockingly, and before she could say anything else, Camellia grabbed her hand and dragged her outside.