The rose

My skin crawls
The shadow people call to me
It's a dream come true
But not one of those normal dreams
A nightmare
A million eyes watch me
Appearing on my walls
As one becomes a physical being
It steps forward to speak to me
"You're an old and young soul,
Perfect and unnatural,
A wonderful mix of all that is"
I burst in to tears
"Is this my end?"
"Yes" He reaches for my hand
I don't want to take it yet
I think about life
It's beautiful and cruel
Even the prettiest flowers die eventually
But I am far from being the prettiest flower
So why do I deserve to live?
Because I know to acknowledge the pretty flowers?
I don't want to follow this shadow
But I know I will have to
I can't think of a reason I need to be here still
"Can I have one more day?" I plead with him
After a minute he agrees
Leaving me with a smile
And a wonder of whether it happened or not
For a moment I think it's just a dream
Until I look down and notice the rose tattooed upon my arm
It's a reminder with each dying petal that my time is coming
And the reminder that he will return
Keeps me up all night.