Written by: DeAnna Erdmann
Waking up felt like being in a car when only one window gets rolled down. A strange vibration was bashing my senses around. My ears felt like they needed to pop, and I could hardly open my eyes from the hard banging. When I was finally able to open them, I could see that I was still in my room, so it was confusing as to why I was experiencing an indoor window attack.
I got out of bed and walked down the hall to the living room. The dogs did not even acknowledge me. All three remained asleep on the couch. That is weird, I thought to myself as I went into the kitchen and lifted the top of the Keurig. Oliver, one of the dogs lifted his head sharply and growled slightly. “Hush now, everyone’s asleep.” I told him. One of his ears twitched at the sound of my voice. He got up from the couch and walked over to where I was standing in the kitchen. He sniffed around awkwardly until he came to my foot and then he wagged his tail. He looked up, but his eyes never focused on me. Poor guy, I thought, he must be going blind. I started my cup of coffee and walked into the bathroom. I picked up my hairbrush and turned to the over sink mirror and froze in my tracks. The brush was hovering in the air, but I was nowhere to be seen. I turned my head and looked at my hand and then I turned back to the mirror and looked where my hand should be… nothing.
What in the world was going on!?
I went into my daughter’s room and shook her shoulder.
“Lorilye, I need to ask you a question.” I whispered.
She rolled onto her back and lazily rubbed her eyes. As she opened them she looked around her room in confusion.
“Mom, why did you leave my room if you needed to ask me something?” she yelled.
“Shhhh,” I scolded. “Your sisters are asleep.”
Lorilye jumped and threw herself backwards in the bed, pressing her back into the wall. “Who said that?” she demanded.
“Sweetheart, it’s mom, I’m right here by your bed.” I said as I reached out my hand
and touched hers. She looked down in disbelief as my fingers tickled the backside of her palm.
“No way!” she quietly exclaimed. “You’re invisible!”
Normally the random ideas of a barely 12-year-old would not phase me, but somehow this made perfect sense. I sat on the side of Lorilye’s bed and rested my head in my hands. She giggled as her bed moved for no reason. The crazy wind flopping was making it hard to think rationally. I’m invisible. My kid and dogs can hear me, but no one can see me. I rubbed my eyes, relishing the relaxation the pressure brought. How did this happen? How do I fix it? I rubbed and rubbed until I felt like I was waking up refreshed.
When I opened my eyes, I realized I was lying in bed. I rolled over confused and found my husband lying next to me. I hopped up and ran to the bathroom. I found myself in the mirror…. Those were my tired eyes and my short brown hair and all the lines and creases I had fought so hard to grow on my face.
I sighed in relief… that was a weird dream.