Within a Dream - a Short Story (3 page)

Something rang in my head. There was
something I had to do. What was it …?

This was a dream.

My brow creased. Could it be? If this was
really just a dream, I wouldn’t be able to remember how I got to
the shop this morning.

But I knew I had –

I stopped. I had no idea how I had gotten
here. No memory at all. All I knew was that suddenly I was standing
here, looking around.

Maria asked, “Are you all right?”

I ignored her and walked out the front door
to the street. Grafton Common was sitting opposite, as it always
did.

I turned to look at the sign above the
door.

Fripperies from Maria and Suz.

A standard way to test for dreams was to
read something and then read it again. For some reason, in dreams
it was impossible to read the words twice. Something always
interfered with it.

I deliberately turned in a circle and then
looked back up at the entrance sign again.

SuzMar’s Specials.

I looked down at the mug in my hand.

It was a Red Sox mug.

I drew in a deep breath, struggling to
focus. This was a dream. This world I was in, with a gift shop on
Grafton Common, was a dream. And it was critical that I pay
attention here because … because …

There was a noise from across the
common.

I looked over to where the Grafton Inn sat.
The historic building dated to 1805 and had seen its share of
excitement over the years. I could even see the bar through one
bank of windows. At it was sitting Barbara, her blonde hair up in
an elaborate braid, wearing an ebony Chinese dress.

And up walked …

* * *

Maria shook me awake, and for a moment I had
no idea where I was. Why was I in a car? Was this a garage?

Maria’s voice was low and urgent. “What did
you see in your dream?”

The vision flooded back on me, and suddenly
I knew with absolute certainty.

“
Barbara is somehow involved with the
Chinese smugglers. She got her hooks into Hank at a bar and has
been using him as a source to follow our operation.”

Maria paled. “Does Hank know he’s being
used?”

I clenched my hands. I prayed to every God I
knew that he was somehow innocent in all of this “One way or
another, we’re going to find out. And we’re going to get those
girls to safety.”

She gave me a smile. “You know, Leonardo da
Vinci once asked, ‘Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in
dreams than the imagination when awake?’ It looks like your mind
works in the same way. You must have seen something in your real
life that you didn’t want to think about. But your mind put it in
your dreams to ensure you paid attention.”

I nodded. “And saving those girls is all I
care about right now. So if Hank is involved – and this Barbara
person – then I will do everything I can to find out how.”

Maria looked to me. “What’s our first
step?”

I smiled and settled back against the car
seat. “Let’s find out.”

I closed my eyes.

* * *

Book 2 in this series will be coming
shortly! Thank you so much for reading!

I would love to hear feedback on this new
series. I’ve wanted to write a dreams-vs-reality sequence for quite
a while and I know it can be tricky to follow the changes.

Please let me know if you have any questions
or comments on how I did this. I am open to any ideas for polishing
the story!

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If you enjoyed this story, please leave a
review on Amazon, Goodreads, and any other review site you enjoy.
Together we can make a difference!

To Ruth, who inspires me daily.

To Kristine, Dianna, Michele, Sandi,
Suzanne, and Tom, who offered great feedback on the
dream-vs-reality challenge.

To George and Bob, who encourage me in all
my dreams.

And, most of all, to my loyal fans who
continue to encourage me in the cause. Whether you’re on GoodReads,
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or my blog, together we help make the
world a better place!

Half of the proceeds of this book’s sales
benefit battered women’s shelters.

Please send along as much feedback and
suggestions as you can. The more we can polish these worlds and
characters, the more we can help the cause.

Ophelia Sikes can be found at:

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