I felt a sharp pain in my chest from what Alexia told me.
I couldn't have been kidnapped, could I?
Wouldn't there have been a report? Or Something?
Wouldn't somebody come looking for me?
I shook my head, throwing my hair around me in a small circle.
I reached up and opened one of my cabinets right above the coffee pot that held my cups and pulled out my favorite. It was one that a friend of mine made in our pottery class; it held a wolf howling at a blue moon. I felt myself smirk and filled my cup halfway with hot water, and reached next to the coffee pot for the little tin box that held my teas. I figured that some chamomile would help calm my nerves. Putting a teabag in my cup, I carefully walked over to my living room, turning on the light and enjoying the softness of the carpet.
It reminded me briefly of the grass from when I met Alexia.
I felt safer here, in my own home, but how did I go to a different world and come back with no time change?
Did I dream it all up? Did I sleepwalk?
Or was it one of those 'inner world dreams" that I only read about?
I walked over to my chair and sat down. There was a small dark cherry colored table next to it, and I laid my mug down on it. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I had to try and think about everything that was said and everything I already knew. I knew I was adopted from the Cirdian Adoption Agency; mom and dad had the adoption acceptance paper framed next to our family picture in their living room. Lochlan, my dad worked for The Agency that helped out SMAU. He was a powerful mage who seemed to help everybody when it came to artifacts or protection items. My mother, Vanessa, was just a human; she stayed home to take care of me.
I couldn't think of them kidnapping me from my true family, but what else could it mean? Could Alexia have lied to me?
I leaned my head back on the chair cushion and closed my eyes, trying to remember everything Alexia told me, and I ended up drifting off...
My dream almost seemed like I was visiting Alexia; this time, though, the grass was browning. It was hard to step on quietly; every step sounded like a sharp crack.
There was the sound of breaking branches everywhere I looked. I could also see the moon. Last time, it was full in the sky; this time, there was a crescent. The trees were bare, there weren't any leaves, no song birds, not even crickets.
There was nothing that should be making noises around. The shadows swallowed almost everything; there was a little bit of light from the stars above and the moon, but nothing much.
In class, they explained it's always quiet before the storm hits.
I rubbed my hands on my bare arms, ignoring the goosebumps that were rising and the part of my head that told me to run.
Every step I took was audible, a crack of a stick, a crunch of leaves; every turn I took looked like the last.
I found my heart pounding before I admitted I was scared.
It wasn't supposed to frighten me, but it did.
Everything about this place was wrong; the air held malice, and it felt like something was squeezing the air from my lungs. That's when I felt it, I was being watched.
There was nobody here that I could see. I kept walking, trying to keep my head up straight and my shoulders back, trying not to show that I was scared.
That's what you're supposed to do, right?
My stomach kept doing flips until I finally found a green spot in the decaying forest.
I quickly padded over to it, ignoring the sharp cuts of the dead grass on my feet.
I sat down and pulled my knees up, trying to focus on my breathing and trying to calm down.
As soon as I closed my eyes, it felt like whatever was watching me moved closer. I couldn't hear anything, but I felt it. I kept my eyes squeezed shut and wrapped my arms around my knees. Hopefully, whatever was watching me was like Alexia and wasn't evil.
Although I didn't know if Alexia was evil or not. Maybe it was just wistful thinking.
I counted to ten, once, twice, three times, and decided to open my eyes.
Everything was cloaked in shadow. I could still feel something watching me, but the air wasn't as constricting. The moon hung high in the sky; there wasn't a cloud in sight.
I strained my ears to hear something, anything.
I started to feel my muscles relax when the wind brought the sound of a male's deep bass chuckle to my ear.
I quickly turned towards the way the wind came from and stared into the darkness.
This was my dream, I can't be hurt in my own dream. Can I?
Only if it's a Dreamweaver.