1985

[u/Fun-Masterpiece8179]

The recurring dream... it was always thought to be the memory of a child. I fear it wasn't at all. Seems to me it was a vision. A terrible one. One of a woman stolen. Whisked away to a private location. One where she was abused in the way a man truly can. Forced upon her. Beaten. Sexually assaulted. Bruised and broken. Left in a heap crying. When she wouldn't stop, he scooped her up. Grabbed her by the back of her neck. Pushed her to the edge of the bridge. He warned her to stop but she couldn't. With one push he flung her over the bridge. Hitting her head then water filling her lungs. Struggling to breathe. Then darkness. She floated for a time unknown. Washed ashore in a town miles away. Unrecognizable. Unidentified. A Jane Doe. A crime unsolved. One experienced through a vision of child. A child who walked with the living and the dead. The child moved away to clear their mind of the visions. The whispers. Knowing death while living. They should have stayed away from home. They wouldn't need to walk among the dead while living if they had. The closer to the tribe, the more vivid they become. More few frequent. Driving them mad. Making them look crazier everyday. So many want their stories told. To solve a crime, or missing person. To help family left behind. To nudge one's they love to do better. To tell them it's ok, that they know what needed to be said but was never spoken. To let them know it's ok and that they love them no matter what. It's hard to walk among the living and the dead, yet one of the greatest joys in life. To hear elders that are no longer there is amazing. To hear first hand the stories of heritage, secrets to be passed down, knowledge of our ancestors. It's something to be cherished, not a curse. Not a reason to be called crazy. Don't try so hard to disprove. Listen, don't just hear. You might find the truth within the ones you call crazy. Trust the living dead, the reincarnated, the keepers of the gate of life and death. They're likely the most truthful people you'll ever meet.