I gasped as my eyes flew open. It was dark, silent, and cold. Was I dead...? The cieling above me came into focus and I realized that it was still late at night. Glancing over at the alarm clock next to me, a sigh escaped my throat. 12:30 AM. I've only been asleep for a little over two hours. What happened? I've never woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Curling myself back under the covers, my mind returned to blanking out again for the night.
I found myself staring at the cieling again when my alarm went of at exactly 7am. With a sigh, I reached over and clicked off the noise and resumed my staring. I had a dream. For once, it wasn't a nightmare like I always have. No, tonight was different. Much different. I wonder... did it have any meaning?
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A young Lily rushed through the meadow that her and her family were visiting. A perfect picture of happiness. A memory that the younger Lily only dreamt of.
"Mommy, mommy!" Lily said, hurrying over to her mother with a flower crown in hand.
"Yes, Lily-dear?" Her mother responded with a musical voice. Her long, jet-black hair flowing behind her, and her back facing her daughter. Her husband sat next to her, jet-black hair smoothed back, also facing in the same direction.
Lily came to a stop and smiled happily as she held out the flower crown to her mother. "Mommy, lookie at what I made for you! Isn't it pretty?" A giggle echoed throughout the air.
Lily's mother turned around to face her daughter with a smile. "Lily-dear. It's beautiful. Will you help Mommy put it on?"
Lily nodded enthusiastically. "Mhmm!" She walked closer to her mother who was sitting down and got on her tippy-toes to make sure the crown would be placed properly upon her head. The crown shined as the sun hit is, it contained her mother's favorite flowers all around it, Lilies.
"Thank you, Lily." Her mother said. She was back to facing away from her daughter. Her father said something silently to her mother, making her chuckle.
Lily tilted her head as she looked from her mother and father. "Mommy? Daddy? How come you're not looking at me?" Silence. The younger girl shuffled on her feet. "Mommy? Daddy? Do you not love me?" Again. Silence. At that moment, the once sunny world started turning gray.
Lily's parents turned to face her, Lily gasped at the sight that was shown. Both her parents face's were blank. Not a smile, not an eye that sparkled, nothing. The voice of her father echoed out of no where.
"We love you very much, sweetheart. But you must remember, with love comes a sacrifice..."
The words spun around in Lily's head as she watched her parents disappear into nothingness. Past where he parents used to be, the world around her crumbled into a dark hole. The feeling of falling came quickly as the ground beneath Lily shattered. "KYAAAAH!!!"
The falling lasted for several moments before it was completely dark, and Lily found herself lying on the ground. It was weird. Everything around her, above her, below her, was still pitch black and full of nothing. Tears were streaming down the little girls face. She lost her dream, her parents, her life, everything. It was quiet, she couldn't call out for help, she couldn't make a sound, not even a sob could escape her throat.
She stopped silently sobbing once she heard a buzzing out in the distance. She frantically looked around for any kind of life around her. She opened her mouth to call for help, no sound. But in the distance, she could hear what she yelled. 'I NEED HELP!' A light appeared far away from her and came closer.
Lily watched it in amazement. She slowly stood up as she waited for the light to reach where she was. The light finally arrived, showing the young girl a glowing orb. "Why are you crying?" The orb shaped itself into a boy around her height.
The boy was still transparent like he was in orb form and he still shined a brilliant bright blue. He smiled a smile that, if it also shined, would be brighter than his own glow. The young girl was captivated by him.
"Will... will you be my friend?" Lily's voice shocked her as it came out without a problem. She wiped away the last few tears that rolled down her cheek.
The boy tilted his head and gave a toothy smile. "Only if you stop crying, of course I will!"
Lily blinked. The sad expression she thought would be permanently stuck to her face changed into a large smile with a laugh included. "Heehee~! I promise not to cry anymore, then!"
"Great!" The boy said. He took Lily's hands in his as his light grew brighter. Soon enough, darkness that surrounded them was pushed away revealing a new meadow that they both stood in. The girl looked around in awe, taking in the scenery.
"So pwetty..." She said quietly. She returned to look to the boy, who had returned to his orb form. "M-mr. Shineman!"
"Don't let me down, Lily! If you keep to your promise, I'll return one day!" And with that, the orb disappeared. And Lily was left alone again.
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What was that? I don't recall ever having a memory even close to that. Maybe... was it something I once dreamt of as a little girl? I glanced at the clock. 7:30. I spent too long thinking over that dream. With a groan, I rolled out of bed and got dressed.
"I'm leaving, now...!" I yelled back as I made hand contact with the doorknob. Like I expected a response in the first place. Not even waiting for a spark of notice, I left the house to begin day two of my life-changing event.
