Is This A Dream Or A Nightmare?

My fantasy is born of a recurring dream.

I stand at the edge of a cliff—farther than the edge as my toes grasp at nothing.

My brother stands to my left, grinning in that infectious manner of his.

My best friend stands to my right, giggling and pointing out at the sun.

I stare out at that burning ball of red, chopped in half by the horizon’s line. I feel joy in the purest sense of it that there is. So pure and bursting that not even the smallest child with his first taste of candy can compare.

My brother takes my hand in his and holds it tight. “Come on, before it disappears!” My friend grabs my other hand and squeezes it. She takes a step forward and falls off the cliff. Linked by our hands, I’m pulled down after her and my brother after me. But still, we smile, joy soaring to its climax as we laugh and scream. It was almost… musical.

I feel it then, something grabbing me from behind. It stopped my fall. Their hands slipped from mine and they continued to fall. Their laughter never ceased, only grew quieter and quieter until my ears could no longer hear them. They never stopped falling, they only got smaller and smaller until I could no longer see them. Our symphony of music faded into the shadows and everything went still.

I raise my head and stare out at the burning sun.