Chloe took another couple of minutes to gather her wits before reversing out of her parking spot. The remainder of the day was uneventful and she soon dismissed the incident as something akin to a hallucination brought on by the oppressive heat and humidity. But as she lay in her bed that night, bedroom windows wide opened to the much needed breeze that had picked up, she wondered how it was that her hallucination had been so very real. It was unnerving what she witnessed but the reality was that she had not witnessed anything. After replaying the scenario several times in her head, she finally found sleep.
The next morning she was awoke with damp sweaty hair. The air was thick and her sheets were clammy. Another awful day. It wasn’t even 7 am and the day was shaping up to be a horrendous one. At least she had the day off. She was scheduled to work Saturday and in an effort to keep overtime hours down, her boss had given her the day off. She was determined to find a window unit air conditioner that day. She had visited multiple stores the last two weekends but they were sold out everywhere. Maybe today she would have luck. It was a Wednesday after all. Not everyone could be out shopping. She took a quick shower, and changed into shorts, a tank, and a pair of flipflops. Bad driving shoes, but they were all she had for the weather. It was too hot for sneakers and socks. She drove left out of her side street and headed for Wal-Mart. Certainly they would have new arrivals and they were opened early. Maybe she would beat all the other weather whithered folk.
She had all but forgotten about the hallucination from the previous day until she approached a bus stop. She slowed as she gazed over, compelled by some instinct not of her will. As she looked back, she flinched as she watched her windshield splinter into dozens of jagged cracks. Another body slammed across the glass and more metal, perhaps from a bike, went flying. Chloe didn’t close her eyes but her foot did move towards the brake. Just as quickly as she saw the horrible impact, all evidence of it was gone. Like it had never happened. She heard her breath come in shallow gulps and knew she was on the verge of a panic attack. She looked to her right. No on coming traffic so she pulled over. She managed to keep calm enough to put the car into park. What was going on? Was she losing her mind? Should she call her doctor? But that scared her almost as much as the hallucinations. A doctor might diagnose her as truly crazy. Maybe she had experienced a heat stroke. But that didn’t make sense. Aside from the hallucinations, she felt fine. Well, except for the heat. It was pretty close to unbearable. She slowed her rapid breathing to normal before she pulled back into the traffic that was starting to pick up.
The rest of the day was all about air conditioning. She bought one, a small one for her bedroom, but it was good enough especially for the money. It was light enough that she could install it herself. She closed the shades in her bedroom and pulled the door closed. She went to the living room thinking she would better appreciate the cool bedroom if it was like a surprise to her. She turned on her laptop and searched the internet for any topic that closely related to her hallucinations.
Schizophrenia? Almost every sponsored link had the word in it. She scrolled down. Sleep deprivation. That was more of a possibility than schizophrenia – she hoped. The search continued. Too much caffeine. Bipolar disorder. And on and on it went. Nothing struck her as her situation. It was hours of reading and researching and dismissing before she came across a reference to hallucinations and psychic experiences.
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