Midnight Dream

The moonlight filters through the dense canopy so that the ground is dappled with patches of darkness and light. I am alone without a phone, a torch, or a clue where I am. The cacophony of cicadas is haunting; it follows me everywhere I go, taunting me with the detached and unforgiving nature of the forest. I barely remember how I got here. I don’t know why I left the others, or why I wandered off without so much as a torch. So many of the details are foggy that I wonder, for a moment, if somebody slipped something into my drink. But the more I walk the clearer I become, so perhaps it’s something else. I hear thunder crack in the distance and feel the charge of electricity in the air. A static tension fills my body, urging me forward, telling me that if I stop, I’ll die. I move as though I am being pulled toward something by an invisible force, though toward what I do not know. The rain starts falling all at once and soaks me to the bone. I push through a wall of underbrush and try to block out the pain of the thorned branches tearing my clothes and skin to shreds. I fall through to a clearing on the other side and a flash of lighting ignites the sky. 

Light fills the forest and I see streams of colour wafting across the grass and filling the sky like a heavy fog. At the centre of it all is an enormous tree unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It glows and pulsates with colour and light, the coloured fog gushing out like water from a dam after months of heavy rain. The fog surrounds me, and I breathe in the sweet scent. I head toward the tree; my feet are moving before I can even register what I’m seeing. I realise this is what’s been pulling me. The feeling of being exactly where I need to be is intoxicating, and I breathe it in deeply. My body gets heavier and heavier until my legs can no longer support me and I have to crawl on my hands and knees. I can feel my body failing, crumbling with exhaustion. I’m so close. I fall to my stomach and drag myself across the grass until finally I can touch it. I have just enough left in me to roll over the bed of roots and lay my head against the trunk.

I wake up in bed at home and stretch in the comfort of it. Everything is soft and warm. I glance over at the alarm clock and panic that it’s past nine already. I jump out of bed and as soon as the cold hits me I remember the blizzard going on outside. As much as I’m tempted to get back under the covers, Julia isn’t here, which means she’s probably already started on breakfast. The smell of bacon hits me as soon as I open the bedroom door. I head downstairs and into the kitchen to find the benchtop already covered with the beginnings of a huge breakfast, and Julia at the stove. 

“Morning babe.” I say and pull her in for a hug.

“Good morning my love.” She smiles up at me before turning back to keep an eye on the food.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? I could've helped with all this.”

“You looked like you needed the rest, darling. You were tossing and turning all night.”

“Yeah, I had the weirdest dream actually.” I lean against the bench just thinking about how exhausting it was. “I was lost in the forest and completely freaking out. And then, all of a sudden, I was in this clearing looking at this huge tree that was made of colour. I can’t really explain it, but there was colour spewing out from it and filling the air, and I was so tired I just needed to rest, but I knew I couldn’t until I was against the tree. I crawled and dragged myself across this field like my life depended on it, and then when I finally got there, I woke up.”

“How strange. No wonder you needed rest, sounds like you were practically running a marathon in your head.”

“Yeah, I just can’t get over how real it all felt, you know. Anyway, I’m up now. Let me go get the boys and we can all help with breaky.”

When I open the door to their shared room, all is quiet, and I take a moment to relish the silence. I go in and kiss them both on the head.

“Good morning boys.” I say in the most enthusiastic tone I can muster. 

They stretch out and wish me good morning back, but neither of them is willing to leave the warmth of their bed. 

“That’s enough guys, Mum’s started on an awesome breakfast for us and she needs some help.” 

They groan and sit up - one step closer to getting out from under the covers. 

“Come on, if you don’t help, you won’t get to eat any of it.” 

I leave them to finish getting up and head back out to the kitchen where Julia’s still cooking away.

“They’ll be out soon. What do you need me to do?”

“Thanks Hun. Could you chop up the tomatoes and mushrooms for me?”

We work in silence until the boys finally make their way out and Markus decides we need some music to liven things up. He puts on something by a band I’ve never heard of before, but the steady beat is exactly what we were missing.

“Flynn, could you please set the table? And Markus, I need your help with the eggs.”

We get into our groove, and everything's done within a few minutes. Once it’s all set up on the table, we dig in. 

“So, boys, since we’re all going to be stuck inside what do you want to do with the day?”

Flynn and Markus shout “movie” at the same time.

I chuckle. “Let me guess, you wanna watch Black Dust Rising.”

Markus rolls his eyes. “You know we’ve been waiting for it, Dad. We’ve only told you about a million times.”

 “Ok Mr. Attitude,” I laugh, “it sounds like you guys have made up your minds. I think I might have a better idea though.”

The boys look at each other, speaking their language where nothing needs to be said out loud. I don’t always pick up on what they’re thinking, but at least this time I can see the worry in their eyes.

“Oh, relax guys, we’ll still watch the movie. I was just going to suggest we build a blanket fort to watch it in.”

Markus couldn’t care less, but at least Flynn lights up at the suggestion. 

“Let them have their fun, Markus.” Julia chimes. “Besides, I need your help with a special project while they’re working on the fort.”

“What project?” He asks suspiciously.

“I want it to be a surprise. I’ll tell you when it’s just us.”

“Hey!” Flynn cuts in. “Why can’t I help with the special project?”

“Dad needs your help with the fort, he can’t do it all on his own. Plus, it’ll be so much better as a surprise.”

“Fine.” He sulks.

“Come on buddy” I say to Flynn. “Let’s get a wriggle on, I want this fort to be epic.”

By the time we’re finished, the fort has taken over the entire living room and used just about every blanket in the house. I turn around to give Flynn a high-five and yell out to Julia.

“We’re ready in here.”

“Almost done out here as well. You guys go get settled and we’ll be there in a minute.”

Inside is a huge nest of pillows on top of the mattress I brought down from my room. The fort is tall enough that I can just about stand up without hunching over, and long enough to get the tv in without having to sit right up close to it. We even strung up fairy lights so we can still see when the rest of the lights are off. I get the movie ready and Julia and Markus come in carrying trays of snacks. Stacked on the trays are all our favourite treats. There’s caramel popcorn for Julia, crunchy M&Ms for me, and hot brownies with ice cream for the boys. And that’s not to mention the chips and fruit thrown in for good measure. 

Flynn gasps. “You made brownies!”  

I feel a twinge of guilt at his excitement; it’s been quite a while since either Julia or I have had the time to bake. We all settle in and Markus hits play on the movie, making sure to turn the volume all the way up. The bass of the intro vibrates through the mattress. 

“See guys,” I say, “even better than the movies.”

“Yes dad, but be quiet; it’s starting.” Says Markus, always ready to put me back in my place. 

The opening scene is just 10 minutes of the protagonist miraculously dodging bullets and explosions, and the boys are loving it. Thankfully, it quietens down a little after that as it follows our man on a mission into the wilderness. The screen darkens until all we can see are random flashes of light. And then we see the moon as if the camera has been dropped and rolled under a bush.

“That’s weird.” I say.

“He’s alive. I think he said something.” Someone off-screen shouts.

“We’re gonna have to cut him out.” Someone else says.

I hear a chainsaw start up and then all I can hear is screaming. I feel a searing hot pain rush through my abdomen, like someone’s pulled a knife right out of a fire and pushed it into me. My mind is shot with confusion until I realise that I’m the one who’s screaming. It’s me who’s rolled under a bush. 

“Stop cutting!” Someone shouts. “They’ve grown through him.”

The chainsaw stops and I feel an immediate sense of relief. I realise that these people are talking about me. I try to move my arms and my legs, but it’s like I’ve been pinned down by a truck. My eyes dart in every direction but thick branches block my view. There’s a tiny gap where I can see the moonlight and torches flashing.

“Hey!” I yell. “Somebody help me. I can’t get up.”

A woman’s face appears through the gap, blocking out the moon.

“We’re doing everything we can to help. Can you tell me your name?” Her voice is steady and low.

I hesitate, unsure for a moment. “It’s Sam.”

“What’s your last name Sam?”

“I - I think it’s Crowley.”

She pulls out of view. “It’s him, guys. We found him.” She comes back to where I can see her. “We’ve been out looking for you Sam. You went missing about a week ago while you were camping with your friends. Do you remember that?”

“What are you talking about? I was just with my family. What’s going on?” My already-rapid breathing quickens and I feel myself getting dizzy. 

“Sam, I need you to stay calm for me. Can you do that” 

“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on. I need to see my wife.” I can tell I’m hyperventilating, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it now. I have no control of my body.

“Sam, the friends who reported you missing said you didn’t have a partner. Otherwise, we’d have them on the phone for you right now. Is there anyone else you would like us to call for you?”

My mind is racing. This can’t be right. “This doesn’t make any sense. I was just with her. With the kids.”

“Hey, ok Sam, it’s alright. It’s just a mix up. We’ll find your wife for you. Right now, though, we’re going to do some deep breathing ok. I need you to breathe in with me nice and deep. Ok now hold that breath for a few seconds, and we can breathe out. Good. Let’s do it again.”

I breathe with her like this until the pumping in my chest and the throbbing in my ears slows down. 

“Thank you.” I say quietly. 

“Ok, now that we’ve got you nice and calm, I need to talk to you about your condition.”

“Am I dying? It feels like I’m dying.”

“Well, no, Sam, not exactly.” She says softly. 

“What do you mean?”

“We were very surprised to find you here. This isn’t exactly something we’ve seen before.”

“Please just tell me what’s happening.” I beg.

“Well, I don’t really know how this has happened, let alone in only a week, but you’re stuck in a tree. I don’t mean like a cat stuck in a tree, more like the tree has trapped you.” She pauses to let her words sink in. “There’s a huge part of the root system that seems to have actually grown through your body. The fact that you haven’t died of thirst tells us that these roots are likely feeding you water rather than absorbing it from you. However, from what we can see of your body, we think it might be using you as a kind of living fertilizer - absorbing your nutrients” 

I don’t know what to say, this sounds like something that shouldn’t exist. Nothing is making sense.

“I know this is a lot to take in right now, Sam, but I promise we’re doing everything we can. We tried a few different garden snippers to cut the roots around you, but they’re just too strong. We tried the saw as well, but we think it was sending vibrations through the roots and essentially shredding your internal organs. That’s why it was so painful and why you woke up. Quite frankly, we don’t really know how we’re going to…” 

She continues to talk, but I’ve stopped listening. The tree of colour fills my mind until there’s no room for anything else. I can still feel it pulling me in. 

“I thought it was a dream” I mutter.

“What’s that, Sam?”

“I had a dream that I got lost in the forest. I had to get to the tree to sleep.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a dream after all.”

“No, it has to be. Otherwise, my wife, my boys-” I choke off the words before I can give them life.

“Well, dream or no dream, you’re here now and we need to figure out how we can get you out.”

Tears roll down my cheeks and I sob. “I want to go back.” I cry through heaving breaths. 

“I know, Sam, that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

“No. I don’t want you to get me out, I want to go back. I had a family; I had a life. I had everything until you started trying to cut me out.”

The woman is silent, and I don’t think she understands. How could she?

“Sam, you’re in a very delicate state right now. I don’t think you know what you’re saying.”

“I know what I’m saying. I want you all to leave. Please just let me go back to sleep.”

Her face disappears from view and I can hear her talking quietly to the others. They might be whispering, but I can tell they’re arguing. When I see her face again it’s sullen.

“Are you sure you want us to leave?”

“Yes.”

“You have the right to refuse care, so we’ll leave if that’s what you want, but I can’t promise your friends aren’t gonna come and try to get you out. They care about you a lot.”

“I’ve made up my mind. Please just leave.”

Her face disappears again, and I hear them packing up their stuff. The noise and lights recede until I can see a sliver of the moon and stars in all their glory, and hear the cicadas sing once more. I close my eyes and beg the tree to take me back to my family. Exhaustion overtakes me.