To help others

The chilled night soothes the light sheen of sweat that has gathered on my skin.

I stare off into the night, a glass of water in my hands. Dreams have been disrupting my sleep, turning them into nightmares. Silk, my white blonde retriever, snores on my bed, the blankets tangled in their legs.

Brushing back strands of my dull red hair, I close my eyes, finally feeling my body relax.

Existing with this power is exhausting at times; the dreams have progressed almost to every night. I can help everyone, just not myself. It's a burden that I wield, and I hold on to it proudly. I hold onto the rail to keep my balance as a slight dizziness takes hold. Remembering the nightmares and trying to figure out what they mean is pointless; it's a jumble of colors, people I've never seen before, or worse, old memories and people I've failed rather than helped swirling in my mind in a constant never ending torment. I take another swig of the water, chugging the rest down, the dizziness fading.

After a while, my fingers begin to go numb; a sure sign I've been outside too long. Taking the glass with me, I go back inside. I place the glass on my nightstand, scooting Silk over as I get under the covers. Hugging Silk to my side, I grimly lay in bed, knowing that tomorrow is going to bring a whole set of new problems for me. I kiss the top of Silk's head as I force myself to sleep, not really caring if this time I dream or not,

My alarm awakes me at 8:30 in the morning. I'm surprised that this time I was able to get some rest with almost no dreams to awaken me every hour.

I groan inwardly; I'm not a morning person. Shutting it off, I lay back down, my eyes fluttering shut. Five seconds later, I feel the blankets being tugged off of me. Confused, I crack open an eye.

Silk's eyes are on my face, her mouth yanking on the blankets. Annoyed, I tug it back, throwing the blanket over my head. She's not having it; she rips the blanket from my hands and takes off. I know the real reason she wants me awake is because she's hungry and when it comes to food, Silk is impatient to have her belly filled.

I sigh as I sit up; still tired from yesterday's client, I stretch out my arms, yawning a bit. Slipping on my slippers, and grabbing my comfy robe, I get ready for the day ahead.

An hour later, I'm showered, dressed, and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, walking into the kitchen, and have making toast. Silk is busy lapping up water, her fluffy tail wagging. Once the bread pops up from the toaster, I grab the bread, burning my fingers a bit, taking a bite from it while it's hot and crunchy.

I pat her head, making sure her bowl is full of food, filling up her water bowl once more. These sessions can take a lengthy amount of time so I make sure that Silk has more than enough food and water while I'm not here to give it to her.

"I'll be back Silk. Protect the house while I'm gone, will ya?" I say, Silk wagging her tail some more, tongue sticking out.

Reaching for my keys, I wave good-bye to Silk, heading out. I lock the front door, whistling a small tune.

My next client goes by the name Asher Dawson. A famous actress of the prime age of thirty-two, she appears to be at the point of a mental breakdown. She's one of the very few celebrities I've encountered in my career of helping people. The best part of this is that she contacted me, not her agents, not her manager, meaning she genuinely wants help for her own being, not because of her Hollywood status.

I step inside of my four door red car, placing my key in the ignition. I check twice to make sure I got the security card that will let me enter into the gates of her home in my cup holder.

I type in her address in my GPS, starting the car and following the directions. She lives about an hour away from me, in the gated side of town, which is no surprise to me. My hands nervously drum the steering wheel, soft music playing on my radio.

I'm setting off my own anxiety overthinking this. She's not the first person I've helped and most certainly won't be my last. I can't fail her not after-

I slam on the brakes as the white gates come up into sight. The elderly security guard squints his disapproval at me, showing me his badge.

I fumble to grab mine from the cup holder, grabbing the smooth plastic card, and showing it to him. He nods, eyes wary as he opens the gates, mouthing the words damn kids.

I give him a small wave, blushing a bit at what he said, and continue on.

The houses are huge, ranging from 3 story to 6. Each one looks either like a small castle or a futuristic buildings. I drive slowly, eyes locked on the numbers of each house that I pass by. About thirty minutes pass, before I turn into her neighborhood, each house screaming of wealth, and high status.

Once her house comes up, I slip on my fingerless gloves, taking in a shaky breath. I mumble my mantra, shaking off the nerves and anxiety from my body.

Shutting off my car, and parking it in front of her house, I shield my eyes from the sun, taking in the sight of her house. Locking the car behind me, I jog to her front door, cracking my knuckles in an odd attempt to calm myself.

My mark senses my distress, glowing faintly. Taking another dep breath in, I ring the doorbell, wondering what problems I'd have to see today.

Seconds ticked by, and I tried to remember every detail of the case, as the front door swung opened.

An housemaid smiled up at me, graying hair pulled back in a neat bun. She smiled at me, taking a step back so I could enter into the household.

A cool blast of A/C air hit me, and I shivered a bit, goosebumps covering my arms. The faint smell of lavender mixed with a fancy perfume I couldn't name hit my nose, and I took another gulp of air, not really use to the setting of the place. It was much different than my own home, that was for sure.

It was time to get to work.