Member-only story
Aisha
A Short Story
Them, 2016
“Wake up,” she whispers to him, in the predawn hour of 5 AM.
“I’m up. I’m up. What’s going on,” he replies groggily, trying to choose her over somnolence.
“I had a nightmare.”
“What happened?”
“You wanted us to meet on a boat cruise that boarded at 2:30 in the morning. It’s scary at that hour. I was out in the streets, trying to find parking in all of these shady areas. I didn’t want to be there.”
He pulls her closer, “We both know there’s nothing I can do about the stupid actions Dream Me seems to take.”
She playfully tells him, “Well now you have to stay awake to show you’re in solidarity with me.”
“Oh really?” he asks, “Then should I have woken you up when I was feeling fidgety through the night?”
She turns towards him and throws her body over his. This is how they sleep for the remainder of the early morning.
A few hours later, she wakes up before him and decides to cut him some slack. He deserves to sleep in. She quietly exits the bedroom and begins her day.
As she stands over the coffee-maker, she remembers the worst part of the dream. When she awoke, she thought he wasn’t in bed beside her. She reached out and…
