"The Dark Stranger" © VeGirl 2014

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During nights I often dream about the same dark stranger as before. By now the dreams have changed in a disturbing way; I watch myself from afar as I am lie sleeping in bed. In the earlier dreams the dark stranger has been watching me from afar, but recently he's walking closer to me. One night I even dream that he reach closer takes a strand of my light brown hair and place it softly behind my ear. It is such an affectionate thing to do, that I awake gasping and look around ant that's when the alarm on my phone beeps.

That last dream certainly has me brooding over what is happening to me. What did that psychic girl mean when she said I needed to be careful? How could she know a dark stranger would move into my mind and torment me every night; or is the torment to wake up and not have him here anymore? I'm not sure, but I start to lean against the latter.

* * *

My life is starting to get affected by these dreams and the disturbing thoughts that are invading my mind. With such an impinged sleep, my mood is quickly deteriorating into depths I can barely remember from my puberty. I don't know who to talk to about it with; Eddie would definitely be having a celebration if she knew, running around dizzy with ecstasy of joy.

I know I can't tell her, and eventually I have pondered every single idea and know that my only option is to go and see the Esmeralda girl again. She would surely know what's going on, with the psychic ability I have to get her credit for. However wrong she was about me, she was spot on when it came to Eddie.

The spanner in the wheel is that once the decision is made, I find myself surrounded by people almost around the clock. At work, the hours are suddenly irksome long and Peter seems to have lost contact with his friends' altogether and wants to spend every moment with me. When he suggests that he could come with me on my run, I definitely draw the line. "I need to run alone, Peter. I have so much people around me and I need to get some peace and quiet," I finally snap.

He immediately looks hurt. "I don't want to impose."

"You don't! I mean... I have to be alone," I sigh.

He just raise his hands in surrender and leave me standing in the bedroom with my tracksuit lying on the bed in front of me. I grind my teeth and growl out loud.

When I hear the door slam shut, I finally realize that this is the loophole I have been searching for.

I have no trouble getting down to the fair, but where was the lousy hut located? My pride stops me from asking Eddie to tag along and I wander around all the people there, embarrassingly enough still with my eyes focusing on every black haired guy I can find. It feels like here are more people than last time and I'm getting annoyed as I have to dodge and step out of the way so I don't walk straight into them. The air is pungent with the scent of popcorn and hot dogs. Finally I pass the roller coaster and find the sign; 'See Your Future Here! Esmeralda'.

Without knocking I barge in through the door, only to find the seat by the table with the crystal ball taken. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I blurt out and haste out through the door again. How could I have forgotten about knocking?

The late summer breeze blows softly as noise from the fair just add to my irritation. I wait out there for ten minutes, scowling myself and pacing back and forth, almost bumping into people until the customer walk out from the hut, glaring at me. The psychic hold the door and beaded curtain to the side for me to enter.

Surprised I now notice that this isn't the same Esmeralda that Eddie and I met last time. "Where is the other Esmeralda," I ask impatiently.

"The other Esmeralda?" she asks confused.

"Yes, I was here about a month ago and here was a younger woman; red hair and green eyes, telling me about my future," I blurt out.

"I'm sorry, I'm the one; the real deal," she states, smiling patiently and I can't help but to think that this isn't a sincere smile. "If you sit down, I'll give you a reading."

"No, you don't understand; I want to speak with the other Esmeralda."

This woman is in her middle fifties or even older, it's hard to tell through the tacky makeup. She looks at me with a confused expression. "I don't know what you mean, I'm the only one."

"No, here was a younger girl, and she told me to..."

"I'm sorry if you have been fooled, but I can give you a proper reading if you just sit down."

"No, I just want to talk to her," I snap annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. Do you want a reading or not?"

I don't know why, but I slump down in her chair and she takes my hand. She's starting to look in my palm, telling me I have a strong lifeline or some crap, but it splits up in two as if I'm about to have a life change.

Yeah, tell me something I don't know! I think. I'm on the verge of losing my mind here.

"I see an unusual long lifeline here." She trails her finger along one of the lines on my palm. "And the love-line just gets stronger and stronger." She continues talking about the lines in the hand in a completely different way than the other Esmeralda did. I think of the increased annoyance I feel towards my fiancée and press my lips together.

This Esmeralda-woman drops my hand and gazes into the big orb of crystal on the table. "I see a big white house and a wedding party," she smiles cheeky up at me. "And in the future children playing on the yard..."

I have to focus not to let the annoyed sigh be too audible. Of course, she had seen my engagement ring, and just played along with the wedding of the year-picture of an outdoor wedding party.

A need to nail that stupid old woman runs through me. "What about the dark stranger I need to stay away from?" leaps out of my mouth before I can stop myself.

"Dark stranger?"

"Yes, your colleague told me to watch out of some dark stranger," I explain.

"I don't know who you're referring to, but I apologize and give you this reading for free if you like."

I don't! I want to say, I want to see the other Esmeralda again!

I just get up from that squeaky old chair and walk right out of there, feeling like an idiot. I'm wandering around scowling myself and muttering how stupid I must be to walk into that scam. Stumbling forward I continue, bumping into people left and right, totally unfocused and finally leaving the fair into the silence of the streets.

Of course it wouldn't be the Esmeralda I wanted to see, of course it had to be some silly old crone that didn't knew a premonition if it hit her on the head. I scowl myself for being so stupid believing in this in the first place. Sitting there listening while two different people were doing this hand reading, I realize that Eddie is right, there actually are both good and bad practicing even in this line of work. That is something I can never tell her though, and I can never tell Eddie that I've gone back, looking for answers.

Dammit!

I really need my best friend to help me deal with this here. The thought of somebody potentially dangerous lurking about makes me really uneasy and I don't know what to do. Do I just wait around until this prick beats the crap out of me or rape me, or in the worst case scenario; kills me?

What have I done to deserve this?

* * *

My work is definitely affected after that visit to the fair and Eddie is beginning to glare at me at work. At first she is trying the subtle way, but soon she is glaring openly at me. "What is wrong with you, Sam?"

I do my best to deflect. "What do you mean?" I sweep a light brown stray hair out of my face and reattach the ponytail in the nape of my neck.

"You're edgy and testy."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes... you are." Eddie is watching me intently and I just fling my hands up and turn my back on her. "Is something wrong, you're acting all pms'y." She furrows her eye-brows.

"It's nothing; I don't know what you mean."

Then suddenly she looks like she figured it out and a huge smile forms on her face. "Oh I get it sweetie; you're pregnant," she squeals and gives me a firm hug. She's squealing, jumping up and down, and clapping her hands together, while I look at her bemused.

Really; could that be it?

I start to think about when my last period was and can't remember. A panic is spreading throughout my body and I fight not to give into that panic. I can't let my friend see, so I give her a weak smile and walk away. As I decorate the last cakes and cupcakes for the day I contemplate my life and the most recent events. All these agitated feelings could point to a pregnancy even without morning sickness I figure, and wonder when the feelings of bliss will occur.

I take a detour to the drugstore on my way home to buy a pregnancy test. When I earlier had thought about this moment, I had imagined myself much happier, almost giddy, but now all I can feel is a sense of emptiness or do I actually feel trapped? There is a low churning in my stomach as I pick the pregnancy test and a package of aspirin before I walk up to the cash register. Before I get there, I see one of the girls in our gang, it is Peter's friend Noel's girlfriend, and I usually like spending time with her, but today I scurry past that isle and dodge into the next.

That evening I end up snapping at Peter for no reason and that night I dream vivid dreams of something holding me down. I thrash and turn to get free but I am stuck.

* * *

My eyes are blood red around the usual light brown irises as I look at my reflection in the mirror the next morning. Dark circles surround my eyes and I have a hollow look as if I had a real bender the night before. I'm glad to have this morning off as I anxiously wait with the plastic thing on the sink, waiting for it to alter my life in the most drastic way. I walk out of the bathroom, agitated and edgy, to pace back and forth in our house.

Finally my phone signals that the three or five or seven minutes acquired have passed and with a knot in my stomach I pick up the white plastic device and compare the result to the pictures on the box, to find out that I'm not pregnant.

I draw a sigh of relief and that is the final proof that this was not supposed to happen.

When I get home late that night from work, Peter meet me in the doorway to the bedroom, with the plastic device I had used the day before. "Sam, what is this?"

I really don't want to talk about that. "Just what it looks like; a pregnancy test," I say tired.

"And why is it in our garbage?"

"Why do you think," I snap at him. "Because I had to check if I was pregnant!" I feel a bit guilty for snapping like that, but really; leave it!

He is taken aback from my sudden anger. "Why haven't you told me?" he asks.

"Because I am not pregnant, there is nothing to say," I sigh, sit down on my side of the bed and slide those slim jeans off.

Peter sits down next to me. "I'm sorry, but I wish you had told me."

Wait a minute; is he sorry because I wasn't pregnant or because I didn't tell him?

"Yeah it wasn't meant to be," I say tired and leave him sitting there on the side of the bed. I get ready for bed, with the tooth-brushing and everything before I crawl under the covers with a relaxed sigh.

Peter snuggle closer to me, but I turn my back on him and wrap the cover around me to get some sleep. "Good night," I say and he gets the hint. Reluctantly he scoots back to his side of the bed and I hear him draw a deep breath in silent protest.

When I wake up the next day, the house is swirling with a lovely scent of coffee and when I get downstairs Peter has breakfast ready.

"Good morning, darling."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "Good morning. What is this; you never make breakfast for me. You're never home when I get up..." or perhaps it was the other way around; I got out of the house before he woke up.

"I decided to take a few hours off to take care of my fiancée today." He is using his sweet voice and that makes me even more suspicious. He is actually not a morning person and I am eyeing him carefully as I sit down.

That is when it hit me on the head; it has to do with the pregnancy test! How can I tell him that I'm not upset about it, that I am actually glad it hasn't happen?

When I get to work I have to confide in Eddie. "Peter found the pregnancy test in the trash bag." I sigh

"Oh... that doesn't sound good." She makes a face.

I widen my eyes in a similar way. "No it's not. Now he's walking on eggshells so I won't snap or something." I sigh again.

"Are you sure you're-" She breaks the sentence off in the middle and I'm expecting her to ask if I'm sure I'm not sad. "Are you sure he is the guy for you?"

I look surprised at her. "Of course I am! Don't start that again," I sigh. How can she say that? Of course he's the guy for me; I said yes to the proposal didn't I? I don't know why we haven't decided on a date just yet, it seems like things pop in to make us change the date every time. Perhaps I should cut him some slack...

She holds her hands up defensively. "Just saying..."

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Thank you for reading,

Love, VeGirl

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