Chapter Two
It had been a restless night. What began as a slow ease into slumber soon turned tumultuous and strange. The constant tossing and turning, the awkwardly bent limbs that became dumb and prickly, and the sporadic gasping for air had gotten far out of hand.
“Damn it.” He sat up in his chair. Angry. Weary. Tired. Even his eyelashes felt exhausted. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Finally get a day off, even though it’s forced and through no choice of my own, and can’t even manage any damn sleep.
He’d wanted to use this day to recoup, but his body and mind would not release him from exhaustion. Rising from the chair in a huff, he made his way to the bathroom near his home office, relieved himself, then splashed water onto his face. He looked into the toothpaste splattered mirror for a long while, still in a bit of a daze. He debated on returning to the comfortable chair and trying to rest once again, but decided against it, just in case it was the cause of the problem. So, he went to his bedroom.
The faint odor of leather from his new black jacket, sneakers, and boots greeted him. Boy, did he love it. Removing his shirt and tossing it on a black chair with a burnt orange blanket draped across it, he snuggled up under the dark gray sheets and thick black blanket that smelled of Gain fabric softener. The alarm clock said 9:42PM.
Axel’s body felt as if it were floating. Half-conscious, he could feel himself dropping lower and lower into the upside-down clouds of inertia, and had no true control. Keenly aware he was sleeping, but also unable to wake himself, his extremities went from cool to hot, so he flung the blanket off his body. His muscles strained as he heeded an all-too-familiar voice.
His ears burned from the memory, singed with words of a time gone by.
“Axel. We’ve got some talkin’ to do.” He pulled at the edge of his pillow, brought it over his face to drown out the ruckus of his thoughts as his heart galloped. “Boy, I know you hear me. Listen to me…”
He fell deeper into the dream, a captive of his own subconscious. In a cloud of mist, a Black woman with a thick, kinky mane of dark brown tightly wound curls, pulled back with a light blue satin headband, regarded him. She sat up high on a golden and ivory chair so enormous, she looked like a doll in it. Her carob skin was smooth, wrinkle-free like a baby’s, even though she had to be at least sixty years of age. Just how he remembered her…
Ms. Florence…
Wearing a pink smock dress, her legs reminded him of tree trunks as they hung over the chair, and her wrists were adorned with gold, silver and colorful bangles that clinked together every time she moved. Her bejeweled fingers sported all the colors of the rainbow. Large gold and diamond hoops hung from her lobes, and her broad mouth was painted bright red. When her lips parted, she showcased sparkling white teeth, most of them with gaps. He could smell her perfume—sweet and old fashioned, but pleasant, with a hint of spice.
His heart fluttered as she pointed at him with her long red fingernail. Talons that curled under, just as he recalled from so long ago.
“Axel, I’m talkin’ to you. Do you hear me, boy?”
“Yes…”
“Good. Nap time is over.”
But I haven’t slept for more than ten minutes…
“You’re a workaholic so no sleep to you shouldn’t mean a hill of beans! This is important. Do you know why I’m here?”
“Because you’re a hallucination, and I’m still apparently loopy and drugged up from that quack psychedelic medicine…”
“You can stop saying all of that foolishness. I see nothing has changed… still got that smart mouth of yours.”
“But I’m not talking. These are just my thoughts. I’m dreaming. My lips aren’t moving.”
“Keep on, ya hear?! Be quiet! No, it’s got nothing to do with any medicine, the one you refuse to take because you’re too proud to admit you’re hurting in the worst way. And not just physically. I am here, Axel, because you’ve left me no choice. This is a prime time to speak to you. Things have gotten completely out of hand, and I want to help you before it’s too late.”
“I’m fine. Help me with what?”
“Fine? Axel, if you havin’ to shoot and kill two men within a month’s time is fine, then I’d hate to see what ‘not so fine’ is for you.” Scowling, she began to fan herself with a large cluster of sparkling white feathers. “You and I spoke about many things over the years, and though I’m proud of your professional success, you have turned your back on other things, important things, and acted as if you don’t care at all.”