If you’re reading this article you’re probably thinking what is Vivid? Well I’m trying something completely new. I’m writing a book and every week you’re going to be able to read another chapter. How cool is that? I hope you enjoy reading Vivid as much I love creating it. Here goes nothing!
Chapter One: Nightmare
Breathing deeply, holding on to what I have left. I am, all that is left. The darkness pulls me in with open arms like a loving mother, as I run for my life. Nowhere to go but forward because where I came from isn't a home at all, it's just a town. A town where I do not belong.
Blurry faces and dark clothes, everyone has them. The harder I look the less I am able to see. I am alone. Vivid colors and ambient sounds. Nothing I can make out is real. The freezing rain falls on to my cold lifeless skin like a teardrop from a God I wish I knew.
A wall in front of me like the cage of a frightened animal. A wall that seems to get clearer as I approach. The sight of it makes me nauseous. All of my running blinded has made me ill. The blur and darkness of people I once knew have now vanished just like the thoughts of my past.
The sky is brighter on the other side no longer pale and grey. Clouds and birds for miles, colors I haven't seen in what feels like a lifetime. An old wooden and weathered door with a symbol I don't quite recognize is now at my feet after stumbling through the darkness. As I reach my cold numb hand out I breathe deeply and try to fight back tears. I inch my hand closer and closer, beep beep beep beep!
"Haleigh get down here now!!!"
My eyes open to a world I can see with vibrant colors and the radio blasting, some old country song I wish I didn't know. I rip off my blanket and rush down the stairs to meet my mother in the kitchen making pancakes and eggs. The aroma captivates my senses as I sit at the kitchen island to a plate and a tall glass of my favorite orange juice.
This world is so different from where I am when I'm asleep. I feel almost as lost here as I do in that cold wet alley in the middle of the night. That couldn't have been the first time I've been there, it's almost as if I belong on those streets. Yet it feels so alone and heartless. A pancake and eggs are thrown onto my plate with such force it almost falls off the kitchen island.
"Michele," I say.
My mother and I don't truly see eye to eye since my father passed away. She screams over the radio, "I told you not to call me that anymore, don't you remember anything, Haleigh." I shrug and take a bite while she rolls her eyes and continues cooking.
I rush to finish eating, shoveling food into my mouth like I hadn't eaten in a lifetime. I walk to the sink now that I've finished, rinse my plate and head back to my room.
Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming to screen near you next week!
