Shift Change

 It was the last day of my work shift. I was fully ready to leave this little town for a few weeks. Arvin and I had even loaded all our stuff into the car, so we could head out straight from the mall without going back to the apartment. All we needed was to wait for the guys who were supposed to replace us. They were supposed to call around noon to say they were in the last town on the way here, since there’s no signal further along the road. Around twenty minutes to twelve, the long-awaited call came. I was having lunch in the security room at the time, while Arvin was out in the mall. The work phone stopped ringing, and I realized Arvin had answered on the other phone he kept with him. Two minutes later, he came into our office and headed straight for me. I thought he was about to share some good news, but his face looked worried. He handed me the work phone and said our supervisor wanted to talk to me. I took the receiver, knowing this couldn’t be good. The boss told me there was a problem. The people who were supposed to replace us weren’t coming—they’d flat-out refused to go to this godforsaken place. So our boss asked us to stay for another two weeks. Arvin immediately said no; he had some plans for the weekend. I, on the other hand, realized that even if management found replacements, they’d be new people who wouldn’t know what to do here. I knew the contract for this site was ending soon, and they needed to sign a new one. With the frequent staff changes lately and this situation, if inexperienced people showed up, the contract might not get renewed. That wouldn’t be great, as I might have to look for a new job afterward. Also, lately, I’ve been trying to be as light and fluid as possible, accepting unexpected twists of fate without unnecessary worry. These thoughts flashed through my mind in a few moments, and I agreed to stay for another two weeks.

The guy replacing Arvin set out late in the day, so he was due to arrive around four in the morning. I got in touch with him, asked him to bring some things and groceries prepared for me in Winnipeg. I also told him to call or text when he reached the last town on the way, before losing signal. Arvin asked me to wake him a couple of hours before his replacement arrived, saying he’d wait for him on the staircase by the entrance to see when he got here.
I went to bed. I couldn’t fall asleep. Even though I’d set an alarm for around the time my temporary partner was supposed to text, I was somehow still afraid of missing his message. Closer to midnight, I finally dozed off. I had an interesting dream. I was walking along a highway far from the city, surrounded by a coniferous forest. On the roadside, where dark asphalt gradually turned into sandy ground, I saw tire tracks. Near them was a pile of dirt mixed with some stones that looked like coal in shape but resembled rock in color, with some parts glowing red from within, as if they were hollow and burning inside. I saw a bird in the dirt and stones, half-buried and looking injured. I thought it must’ve been hit by a car and carefully pulled it out. The bird looked like a very large parrot with red plumage mixed with vibrant colors. Its small black eyes looked around and at me with piercing intelligence, as if this parrot understood everything happening around it. At that moment, I realized it was a phoenix. I wasn’t too surprised, but I was thrilled to have met it. I put it on my shoulder and kept walking. In an instant, we were strolling down a street in Winnipeg, with small private houses on both sides and trees blooming along the sidewalks, as it was spring. I walked on the sidewalk with the phoenix on my shoulder; it was already doing much better. We moved forward cheerfully, dodging tree branches while catching the scent of their blossoms. I started wondering if this was a dream, since I haven’t met any phoenixes in real life yet, but everything was so detailed and realistic that I had some doubts. Then I thought it didn’t matter—dream or reality, I felt good and happy, and I didn’t want to change anything. So I just kept walking. I was heading to Lisa’s. I didn’t know exactly where I was, and I had no map or GPS, but somehow I knew exactly which way to go to find her. I wanted to show her my new friend, knowing she’d see all its true beauty and grandeur.

But that’s where my dream ended. I woke up to the sound of a message on my phone, in my dark room. My new partner had reached the place where he was supposed to text. That meant he’d be here in about two and a half hours. I woke Arvin and told him. My alarm went off. It was two in the morning, so I reset it for four-thirty and went back to sleep.
I had another dream, but this one wasn’t as kind as the last. This time, I wasn’t the main character—I was watching from the side. It was night. The dim light from nearby city slums faintly illuminated an area behind residential buildings, where there was a large, circular entrance to some tunnel, like a sewer exit. A group of people was fighting there, seemingly taking out the tunnel’s guards. They were interrogating them, trying to find out what was inside and asking about someone, probably their comrade, who’d been taken in. After dealing with the guards but learning nothing, a few people ran inside. The others stayed outside, but within minutes, desperate screams echoed from the all-consuming darkness of the tunnel, signaling their comrades wouldn’t return. The rest tensed up and prepared, waiting at the entrance. Heavy footsteps sounded. Someone was coming out of the tunnel, the steps growing louder. Slowly, the dim light began to fall on the creature. It was about five meters tall, dressed in an old-fashioned eggplant-colored Renaissance suit and a matching top hat. It looked like some giant mix of a goblin and a human. The people at the entrance froze in horror. It was heading straight for them, but it wasn’t looking at them. At some point, I realized it was staring right at me and walking toward me, ignoring the others. The closer it got, the more my gaze was pulled toward it, as if I were flying up to it. I didn’t want to go toward it, and when it was about five meters away, I woke up. But I didn’t wake up fully. It felt like the dream hadn’t completely faded and was overlapping with reality. I no longer saw the tunnel; instead, I saw the outlines of my room’s walls and ceiling. I no longer saw the giant goblin, but I saw a shadow standing right over me, at my feet. It felt like it was staring at me. I got scared and tried to fully open my eyes, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even open my eyelids a third of the way; breathing was hard, and my mouth was dry. I must’ve been sleeping on my back with my mouth open. I greedily took two small breaths and tried again to focus my gaze on something. An overwhelming sense of exhaustion hit me so hard that I couldn’t even half-open my eyelids. I realized I couldn’t move. I closed my eyes, gathered all my willpower, sharply opened my eyes, and took a deep breath. To my surprise, I did it quickly and came to my senses fast. Now I saw no one in my room.

In the past, it took me more time and effort to snap out of that state, so I was pleasantly surprised I managed it so quickly with one try. This happens to me, but very rarely. As far as I remember, it’s been happening since childhood. I don’t know what it is or who I sometimes see, but I always feel someone’s presence in those moments. I don’t know how real it is, but maybe I’ll figure it out someday.
I turned on my side and saw my phone. The time was 4:26. I closed my eyes, and within a couple of minutes, I heard the front door open and someone walk into the apartment. My new partner had arrived.