Second Skin

Today was no difference than any other day. She woke up in the morning at five thirty and stripped herself off her sweaty pajamas. She walked into the shower and lathered her hair with her favorite coconut shampoo, followed by the lavender scented body wash.

It was her nightmares which made her sweat every night. She couldn't even recall when they started. When she was sixteen, maybe? Or was it when she was fifteen? It didn't mattered. For as long as she could remember, they were with her since high school, through college and she was now a thirty year old. In her dream, she was tormented by a group of ugly creatures. They chased after her the whole night and she would evenutally tumble into a muddy creek. Why they chased her and why she felt compelled to run away? She wouldn't know. All she felt in her dream was, these ugly creatures were to chase her away off the planet, as if she had no right to exist. But she didn't know where to run to, so eventually, she would tumbled in the same muddy creek. She didn't feel right there, but at least in the muddy creek, she feel enveloped, she felt camouflaged. For a few minutes, she could catch her breath but soon, she would feel out of breath. That's when she usually stirred from the horrific nightmare and woke up.

She walked out of the shower stall and covered herself with a soft pink bath robe. She wrapped her hair with the matching towel. She walked to her vanity and pulled out the stool. She sat down with a sigh and lowered her head. She released her hair from the towel and let the hair draped over her head. She then began rubbing dry her hair. Then her hand touched almost every object on her vanity until she found her hair brush.

She wouldn't look at the mirror. She yanked the brush through her tangles and throughout the whole time, she wouldn't open her eyes. When she was done with her hair, she sat up, eyes still closed and her hands opened the drawer. Her hands skillfully opened a box. Her fingers gingerly touched every tube of different sizes in the box until she found the smallest one. She casted her eyes downward until she could peeked at the tube in her hand. Yup, it was the right one. She carefully squirted out a few drops of the elixir and dapped the tiny drops all over her face.

Instantly she felt fresh, very fresh, as if every drop of her blood was singing. She looked into the mirror for the very first time since she woke up. A satisfied smile spread over her face.

It was purple. Her face glowed in a purple hue. It was a good sign. Today was not going to be the same after all.