I strummed my Fender acoustic guitar, listening to its beautiful sound. Once again, I felt the emotions of gratefulness slip into my thoughts. Someone must really like me up there, I thought. They took away my voice, but my hearing was still with me.
But the gratefulness slipped away as I thought of the dreams I've had ever since I could remember. My hearing was still there, my sight still intact... but I had horrible, vivid dreams that were so real, I could feel the pain. If I fall off a cliff, I keep falling, and I don't wake up. When I hit the ground, I scream, but no one can hear me. My dreams haunt my very essence, my unconscious and conscious mind have blended together to become one, and I can never escape.
My name is Darlene, Arla for short. I'm fifteen years old, and from the moment I was born, I was mute. For all the years I've been alive, I couldn't block out the constant bullying, I couldn't tell them to stop, and I couldn't tell anyone about it. I was stuck in a nightmare all day, and all night.
I could write, yes. I could learn, yes. I could understand, yes.
But I could not tell the world my opinion. No one would want to hear it.
Even if I told them they were going to slip on some ice on the school trip and fall into the water, they wouldn't believe me.
I was mute. But in everyone else's language, I was dumb.
Isn't it ironic though, that when I looked in the paper this morning, there was a headline that said, Girl Died of Hypothermia After Falling in Ice on School Trip.
I told you. I'm trapped in a nightmare all night, and they never go away.
Never.
But one night, I had a nightmare that would change my life forever.

* * * * * * * *

I sat on a widow's walk overlooking the ocean, listening to the morning noises and watching the sunrise. Birds chirped happily, enjoying the first rays of sunshine when humans wouldn't bother them.
But there was something odd about this sunrise.
If you paid attention, you would see that the sun wasn't round. It was in the shape of a man. He was wearing a deep orange robe, and his skin was light yellow. His hair was a flaming red ascending into the heavens, melting into other colors that made the sunrise.
But his eyes, oh his eyes.
His eyes were ebony black, outlined in gray. They darted around, his red lips turned back into an evil grin.
My ocean blue eyes grew wide with terror. Fear gripped my heart, and sent it shooting up to my throat. All I could hear was that constant thump-thump of my heart pumping blood. The rest of the world had become silent.
With unbearable slowness, the man in the sun reached an arm down and flamed the trees below him. In an instant houses were on fire, fields of grass were up in flames. Town was up in smoke.
I screamed, but nothing came out. No one could escape; no one knew what was happening. If only I could talk, I could have saved the town.
But now, the silence was broken, and the terrified screams of people filled the morning. I could hear children scream as they were lit on fire. The smell of burning flesh and skin was heavy in the air.
I saw a woman run out of her house, completely incased in flames, her bones visible in her face, unable to cry out anymore because of the lack of muscles in her jaw. I started to cry uncontrollably, my whole body encased in terror. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks. And now my house was in flames, and I screamed as the second floor started creaking. I had to get out.
I ran for the front door, and was suddenly met by instant flames. I turned around and fire was in the hallway. I was circled by red, orange and yellow. I fell to my knees, and the fire rushed toward me.
The last thing I saw before my head and body was encased in flames was the evil man I had seen in the sun, rushing forward to finish the one hope off...