Dream & Time

I woke up today with a slight headache. I dragged myself into the kitchen and turned on the faucet to fill my glass of water. One...two...three sips. I paused for a moment. There was something I was forgetting. I had a dream. At least I think so, but my efforts to recall the images that had flashed through my head during the night were not getting me any closer to the answer. I felt that it only reduced my chances of remembering. I gave up.
I finished my drink and looked at the clock. It was time to train. I had been putting off my workout time for a week already. I just had to get on the floor to do some push-ups. I didn't really have an exercise plan. Maybe I could come up with one quickly. I took my cell phone and out of habit clicked on one of the apps. A social network looking for exercise videos. A funny video here, a delightful picture there and finally montages of all kinds. It was always fun to see some of them.

- Oh, that's right, I need to work out.

7:30 a.m. appeared on the phone. Already?! I had only looked at a few pictures. I jumped in the shower. I had found a way to avoid sweating again this morning. I came out a few minutes later. The water was still dripping on my skin. What was I going to wear this time? I opened my closet. There were only about ten pieces of laundry, but I couldn't decide. Time was running out. My hands grabbed the first thing and I got dressed.
I hurried out of the house. The bus was coming. The looks on the faces of the other passengers let me know that they were not impressed with my choice of clothing. It wasn't that big of a deal. I still had tomorrow.
When I arrived at work, the big hand was pointing to 3. That was the time I arrived every single day. There was a time when I made sure I wasn't late, but that time was long gone. I sat down in my uncomfortable chair and began to work until dinner time. My only fun time at the office.
Having not taken the time to make my lunch, I went out to get it. As I passed through the halls, several of my colleagues had their lunch. The others did as I did and went outside.
One of the only good things about the place was that it was surrounded by all kinds of restaurants, which gave me a lot of choices. Even if my choice was already made for a long time. Every time I went out it was to get two slices of pizza with a can of soda. The owner didn't even ask me what I wanted and started my order immediately by habit.

- You didn't choose your best clothes today, he asked.

I shrugged. I didn't even know if I had good clothes.

- I have to go buy new clothes soon," I replied.

- I think you've been saying that for three years now.

It was true. Ever since I started working, I'd been saying I was going to store, but I'd never done it yet. I took my lunch and ate it quickly. I went back to the office to finish my work day and went home. There was nothing to do at home except watch TV and my little fun box of a phone that kept me company. I watched videos until late at night.
I opened my eyes to a white space that stretched as far as I could see. A woman was standing next to me. Her eyes were hidden by her hair. She did not move nor did she speak. I looked at the ground and saw the same white that painted the horizon.

- Where are we? I asked shyly.

- You have 30 days left. She answered with a snap of her tongue.

I opened my eyes. The dream was still fresh in my mind. I also remembered the one from the day before. It was exactly the same, but she had told me 32 days. 32 days why? I didn't understand.
I arrived at work wondering what the dream meant. Instead of working out this morning, I went online to look for more information, but nothing. I intended to continue to the office, but my manager was standing next to my desk. She seemed to be waiting for me.
I sighed. Just seeing her made me want to turn around and go home. It wasn't just because she was annoying that I didn't like her. I still couldn't believe that the boss had decided to give her the job instead of me.

- You're late again.

- ...

- If you keep this up, we'll have to fire you. On top of that I needed help with the system. It keeps giving me an error message. Do you know how to fix it?

I nodded. Of course, I knew how to fix it. I had been working here for three years. She had been here less than three months. It was crazy that someone with no idea of the company had managed to take the job.
I quickly clicked on the keyboard making the error message disappear. I tried to quickly go to my seat, but she stopped me. I wanted to growl, but I held back.

- What did you click to fix the problem.

I hesitated, but quickly showed her anyway. She would probably forget about it next time and ask me to help her again. When I quit, I wonder how they will survive?
I woke up with the number 28 on my mind. The dreams had become regular and the days were getting shorter too. I still didn't understand why. My research hadn't helped me either.
One of my colleagues forced me to eat what she had prepared to change my pizza diet.She insisted so much that I could not refuse. The next day, I was back to 30 days. It was weird.
To stop thinking about it for a while, I got down on the floor and did some push-ups. 31 days the woman told me. My number was going up. It couldn't be a coincidence.
That's when I realized that my actions were making the number go up or down. What took my breath away for a moment, however, was the realization that the number given in the dream was the time I had left to live.
That was the only explanation I could find. Why else would eating well and working out increase the days. I tried to concoct other explanations, but none made sense like this one.
It also meant that I didn't have long to live if I continued in the same vein. 31 days was only a month. I had to make several changes. To begin with, I started to write down everything I did during my day.
The plan was simple. I was to find all the activities that increased my time and eliminate all the things that decreased it. It took several days to come up with a schedule that seemed optimal.
Living with the shadow of death in my back gave me an energy I never thought I had. I worked out every day, even if it was light exercise, it was better than doing nothing. I made my own food at home. No more pizza for me. I was really paying attention. Except at work, where I was always late in an organized way.
After several weeks, I came upon a pitfall. I couldn't get any higher than 2 years and 6 days. I was doing everything I had written down. Without exception. Everything was always calculated. After each day that passed, my limit decreased by one day. It seemed that this was the day I was going to die. I had another worry, though: sometimes I would lose two to seven days without any explanation.
I was starting to panic. I was looking everywhere in my schedule for what could have gone wrong. I took out some of the activities, replaced them and so on, but that didn't solve anything. It even made the situation worse. I lost 20 days in one day. I asked the woman, but she didn't answer me. Even worse, I stopped dreaming.
I could no longer keep track of the days that were left or what was going right and wrong in my day. Confused and angry, I opened my notebook and quickly flipped through the pages, what could I possibly have forgotten? I screamed. I tore the pages out of my notebook and tore off the schedule that I had hung on the wall.
I continued to ransack the rest of my apartment before finally getting on my bed. My heart was pounding. I could hear it. I was wondering what to do about this situation. I had to find a way to dream. It was the only way to find the problem. There was no other way. I had to make her come back.
I forced myself to fall asleep, but it was no use. The days passed and my need to see her only increased. My fear of dying at any moment was not helping. All the control I had managed to have over my life in the last few months was gone.
Without realizing it, I arrived at the office on time. My head was still searching for a solution while trying to keep my eyes open so I wouldn't die. My manager was standing next to my desk again. I was in no mood to see her. I turned around. She called my name, but I didn't turn back.
I could hear the sound of high heels running behind me. She put her hand on my shoulder to stop me.  She stood in front of me and began to congratulate me for arriving on time, but I didn't respond.

- I know you don't like me because I took the job you wanted, but I see that you are ready to work again as you should. If you are cooperative with me, I could easily put you as an assistant and you would be a great help to the company. Instead of wasting time like you do, you could have a bright and beautiful future.

I had no desire to be her lackey. I had better things to do than waste time talking to her or helping her... Something clicked. I noticed her black hair. It wasn't just that. I remembered now that every time I lost days, she had spoken to me.
Everything was starting to make sense. She must have put a spell on me or something. She had to be behind it. If I could kill her, I could break her spell. This had to be it. I decided to act fast. I had to get my freedom back.
Without wasting another second, I grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the desk. Screams echoed through the room, but I didn't stop. I had to finish her off before she finished me off. Two or three more employees pulled me back, but I couldn't be stopped.
As everyone ran to leave, something caught my eye. In the corner of the room, there she was with her black hair hiding her eyes.

- You're finally back. I found your master. It's all over with this stupid time thing. I'm free now," I shouted.

For the first time, I saw her smile, revealing her curtain of yellow teeth. She laughed. Despite all the sounds around me I could hear her clearly.

- Two seconds, she let go.

Two seconds? I repeated. No, it wasn't possible. I had done what I had to do to be free. Before I could retaliate, I saw a knife speeding toward my throat.