Moving Forward

Samantha was suddenly awakened by the sound of a slammed door. Who could that be? She wondered. She couldn’t remember if the girls had agreed to spend the weekend at her house. Without opening her eyes, she reached for the alarm clock that was blazing by her bed, switched it off and went back to sleep.

She only fully woke up thirty minutes later with a severe headache. It was the kind that could only be tackled by tablets and rest. She would return to bed for however long she needed. Lazily opening her eyes, she normally enjoyed waking up to the sunlight flowing into her bedroom from the window on the right side of the room. She became attentive when she noticed that it was still pitch black. She quickly reached for the alarm clock and to her surprise it was 3am. What could have caused me to set the alarm to 3am? Puzzled, she put the clock back and returned to sleep.

No sooner had she put her head down, than she scrambled up again. She stared at the alarm clock and was startled; I have never seen this before! Who put this here? It would have to be the good humoured Monica playing pranks on her. She then put her head on the pillow pretending to be asleep and expecting the girls to burst into her room laughing at her. This time they had succeeded in teasing her. Sliding back into bed, she realised she was completely naked. What am I doing naked in bed? I never sleep naked, never! For the first time, Samantha sat up to take stock of what was really going on. She switched on the bedside lamp and to her surprise she was lying in a king-size bed. The bed had a black leather headboard with black bed sheets that had white silk embroidery that matched the duvet and the pillow cases. She looked around carefully and concluded that she was neither at her own nor at the house of any of her closest friends. She had never been to a hotel with such dark decor; everything seemed bizarre. Samantha felt a panic catapult through her.

Everything in the room was black including the walls, wardrobe, door, floor rags around the bed, window frames... virtually everything was black. I am either dead or I’m in so much trouble! She glanced around nervously. Curious to find out what was going on, she pulled the upper sheet that was under her duvet and wrapped it around her body. Heading for the door that had an emergency exit sign above it, she noticed a white wedding dress lying on a chair to the right before the door. Whose wedding dress is this? Was I in the bed of a ... The thought was beyond her wildest nightmares.

She picked up the dress and stared at it for a little while. It was an absolutely beautiful, strapless, A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline and corset closure. It had a ravishing Rhapsody Taffeta skirt-like bottom half with a flattering A-line silhouette accented with floral embellishments placed artfully at the bodice, side hip, and finishing the corset back. Samantha couldn’t resist trying it on. She didn’t dress herself properly but reckoned from looking in the mirror that whoever had worn it must have looked smashing; the dress flattered her. She walked close to the window pretending to be a bride and blew a kiss at her imaginary groom. Looking out through the windows, she didn’t recognise anything. If I am still in London, I must be in the back end of the back end. I need to get out of this strange place and back to my own domain! The street was empty and the house was too quiet, it frightened her. She reached for the window lever but it was fixed and she couldn’t move it. She hoped there was someone else in the house so she decided to find out from anyone in the house where she was.

As she let go of the window lever, her eyes scanned the room and she recognised her underwear on the chair from where she had picked the wedding dress. They were definitely hers because she had only recently bought them. She grabbed her knickers and wore them hastily; looking around nervously wondering if anyone would walk in soon and explain to her what was going on. Picking up the bra, she contemplated what to do. I would have to undress and start afresh with this dress? I don’t think so! I need answers and I need them now. She dropped the bra back on the chair as she reflected, “So…if the underwear is mine does that mean the dress is mine too?” She wanted to scream but refused to utter anymore words allowing them to linger in her mind instead. I got married? Impossible!

Dramatically, flinging her left hand in front of herself; she saw the two rings on her wedding finger. One was a huge colourful engagement ring; the sort of thing that no one would miss spotting. It was metallic with three stones; each of a different shape and colour. The largest was a lilac-purple in a diamond shape, with a large metal band around it; with a diamond on each of the linear edges around it. The second largest was green and the smallest was gold. Whoever bought this ring must have it bad! The wedding band fitted into the V formed by the diamond shaped band of the lilac-purple stone. When did all this happen? The lack of memory of her engagement and marriage took her into fear mode. What has happened to me? This is not me! This is not true! She pinched her arm and it hurt, “Oh, it’s not a dream,” She said mournfully, “I am awake and it really is all happening to me; right here, right now!’