Beyond Blood

She was wandering in a long white nightgown that stuck close to her body from the heat. The sun had just risen and the air was completely still. Wandering through an enormous open air Buddhist temple, she saw dim passageways leading to side altars. She could smell incense burning and overripe Jasmine blossoms. She seemed to be going somewhere specific. No one stirred, although she heard the cry of tropical birds. Where was she? Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong, she had no idea. Then she saw her destination. Hurrying towards a small temple at the end of a pathway, she could see a glow from the lights inside. She began to run, run as fast as she could, picking up the nightgown and flying down the path. She stopped at the entrance and peered inside. The room was a small shrine. On the flat altar lay the body of a woman, her belly swollen with child. She was dead, lifeless eyes staring accusingly. Behind the body, a large statue of a warrior kept vigil. Carrie woke with a start, sweating and gasping for air, looking wildly around her bedroom. The clock told her she would be late for work again. She sat up and hugged herself, shivering, still seeing the woman’s eyes. The last time she dreamed of death, her fiancé had not come home. A good cop gunned down in a street fight. Thank God she had no idea who the woman was.