”I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don’t try to deny what you feel
Will you give in to me?
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
Will you give in to me?"

**

There is this huge field covered with flowers.
Colored, colored flowers.
Birds chirping.
Bees buzzing.
A gentle wind moving the leaves on the trees.
I’m sitting on an enormous root, under an old, huge oak, and Shane is right beside me.
She is resting on her elbow and smilng at me.
And I smile at her.
She has some strands covering her eyes.
Green green eyes matching the green green grass.
He’s wearing a black shirt and black jeans and keeps a small daisy in her fingers.
Her skin is smooth and pale, his hair black, black like a crow.
She’s staring at me.
And everything is perfect.
“Do you want this daisy?”, she asks.
I nod.
“Yes”.
“It’s rare”, she says.
I frown.
“Why?”.
“It’s the only daisy left on this lawn”, she says.
I take a look around and she’s right.
There are roses, there are lilies, there are red poppies, there are callas, there are camellias and orchids, but no daisies.
I lend my hand, trying to take it from her, but I can’t reach it.
“Why don’t you take my daisy?”, Shane asks.
I tilt my head in confusion.
“Why don’t you take my daisy?”, she asks again, “It needs you”.
I try to speak but no words come out from my mouth.
“It needs your touch, it needs your love, Carmen… why don’t you take it?”.
I can’t catch my breath.
“Shane”, I try to call her, but there is just silence.
The chirping of the birds, the buzzing of the bees, the blowing wind become unbearable, louder, louder.
Shane’s eyes are sad.
“Where are you?”, she mutters, as if she can’t see me anymore.
I’m right here, I would like to say, but I can’t. I can’t speak.
“Nothing makes sense if you don’t take this daisy”, she sobs.
Then she extracts a gun from behind her back as I try to scream, as I try to stop her.
She puts the barrel into her mouth.
And she pulls the trigger.

”It seems you’re having some trouble
In dealing with these changes!
Living with all these changes!
Ah! Now the world is a scary place
Now that you’ve woken up the demon… in me”

**

I wake up with a start as my fingers try to grab air.
They grab nothing.
The sweat is rolling down my neck and my head is exploding.
I see double.
“Carmen… are you okay?”, Tasha grazes my shoulder from the back seat as I try hard to catch my breath.
I swallow.
It was just a dream.
Just a dream.
Just a fucking nightmare.
“I…I am fine… I’m just…”, I say with a hoarse voice.
“What?”.
I shake my head trying to dismiss the sound of the gunshot from my mind.
“Nothing… Nothing”.
Bette stops the car and turns off the engine.
For a second, she stares at nothing outside the windshield.
Then, she turns towards me and sighs.
“We’ve arrived”.
With trembling hands and a tremendous sickness in my stomach, I unfasten my seatbelt.