For weeks, the same visions returned each time I closed my eyes. I know it sounds unbelievable, but I promise it happened. It began with a simple dream where I went to the market to buy a loaf of bread. On the walk home, a man with a dark coat watched me from across the street. Without warning, he opened his mouth and a swarm of bees flew out at me. I had this dream four nights straight.
Then the dream changed. I was being chased through a long, dark corridor by a tall figure made of shadow. It carried a large hammer and swung it at the door I was hiding behind. The wood splintered in my face. This one came back five times.
After that, I dreamed I was in a library. A large fox wearing a vest was stacking books into a towering pile, preparing to topple them onto me. I crouched behind a heavy desk, holding my breath. This scene repeated for six nights.
I bought a small, smooth stone and placed it on my nightstand, hoping it would help. In my final recurring dream, faces from old paintings on my grandmother’s wall peeled away and floated around the room, singing a tune I couldn’t understand. This happened seven times before it finally stopped.