Allen entered his home and dropped his luggage where he stood. He walked to his sofa and sat softly on it before reaching for the remote control to turn on the television and locate ESPN's Sports Center. Allen had been given the week off and decided to start it off with a new beginning. 24 Hour Fitness was just a few blocks away and Allen made a promise to himself that he would be in better shape for the summer. He made a plan to dedicate the early mornings to the gym and the early afternoons to playing basketball at a local gym.
Though his new
schedule was set, he decided to take a much-needed break from the
business world. He knew that the following Monday would be filled with
the nuisance of work and the biggest of them all would be the
continuance of Mitchell's case. The only bright spot Allen could see was
the opportunity of seeing Gwen again. Allen abandoned all thoughts of
the week he would be back at work and focused on the week off that was
at hand. He managed to remove himself from the sofa long enough to
take a shower and change into his customary nightwear and grab a bag
of chips from the cabinet.
Allen once again settled into a comfortable
spot on the sofa and relaxed. He could feel fatigue settling in as the time
change became more evident. The night was still as a welcomed breeze
blew in through Allen's cracked sliding glass door. In the distant,
through the momentary silence of Allen's neighbor's music, passing cars
could be heard driving by at high speeds.
Teenage girls could be heard
talking and laughing loud in the parking lot outside of Allen's town
home, while teenage boys played basketball under the lights. Even with
all the commotion, Allen drifted into a light sleep. He took soft breaths
as his lifeless body finally gave into the night. As Allen slept, he began to
dream.
He dreamt that he was walking and in the distant he could see a
brilliant pink light with a waterfall of letters flowing into it. Allen could
see the moon glowing above a dark cloud and the sun shinning beneath
it. As he walked he noticed several holes in his path. He walked
cautiously hoping not to fall. He noticed several letters floating in the
distant. T-I-F-A-H- was the first group of letters.
Then he noticed E-M,
N-I, L-I-E-B-E-V-E. Allen couldn't make the words out so he gave up on
them. As Allen turned away from the words, the dream ended. Allen
shifted his position and though shaken by the dream, he continued to
sleep. Now close to eleven o'clock, Allen awakened and rose from the
sofa. He sat for a moment to gather his thoughts, then decided to get a
glass of water and head for his king size bed.
Allen turned on the Sony stereo that sat on the entertainment system beneath his TV and tuned it
to 102.3 FM. He set the volume low so that he wouldn't be awakened
through the night. Allen bent to his knees at the side of his bed and
began to pray. Following his prayer, he climbed into bed and again fell
into his quiet place.