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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Death / Heartbreak / Loss
- Published: 08/21/2023
An Eternal Dream
Born 2001, F, from Singapore, Singapore.jpeg)
Prologue
A dark cloth of the nightsky draped overhead, stars sparkling and twinkling to their own soothing rhythm. The moon hangs high in the sky, a full pure milky white. The night swoops in gently, singing a lullaby for everybody to rest their quiet minds. Another tranquil night with the occasional breeze. But something was amiss in the air, a stirring perhaps…
Chapter 1
Lucy couldn’t sleep. She had been tossing and turning, desperate to find a comfortable spot on her bed to knock herself out. Her eyelids drooped, and she could feel the exhaustion from school on her body, but yet something… something was keeping her up. Sighing, she heaved her tired body up and moved towards her room’s window. Perhaps a whiff of the night’s air would do her some good. Her family was neither rich nor poor, all they could afford was the basic two-storey house that did not really stand out from the rest, beside the forest. The only thing that separated the houses from the forest was a long patch of overgrown grass, reaching up to Lucy’s waist. The very same grass was gently rippling in the night wind outside Lucy’s room. Her lustrous long golden hair swaying in the wind, she closed her eyes and immersed herself in the rustling of grass. In this moment of peace, it was as if it was just her and the sounds, the sounds and her. She opened her eyes, ready to go back into her bed and sleep, but caught a quick glimpse of a white figure from the corner of her eyes before it darted back into the grass. “What was that…?” she murmured softly to herself, but there was no reply. Lucy leapt out from her window on the first storey onto the ground. She stared for a long time at her house before turning to run in the direction she had seen the white cloth in the field. It did not matter that she was gone now anyways, for she was sure she would be home before the sun peeked in from the horizon.
Lucy treaded carefully, keeping an eye out for anything with a white figure. Who was that? Why were they here? Why would they be here at such a time? Such questions ran through her mind as she continued searching. She was now in the middle of the grass patch, the dark gloomy woods lying ahead of her. It was then she saw it again, or more of a she amongst the trees. A young child that went maybe up to Lucy’s chest in a snow white, flowy nightdress stared back up at her. The child’s hair had a dusty blonde to it, tied up with black laced bowties into short pigtails. Her complexion was pale, and her eyes look teary. “Who…are you? Why are you here? Have I seen you somewhere before…?” Lucy’s brow furrowed, she was sure she had seen this girl somewhere…it sparked some recognition in her memory but she just could not put her finger on it. The little girl shook her head, her eyes filled with tears, turned and fled back into the forest. “Wait up! I didn’t mean to make you cry!” Lucy took chase and ran after the mysterious little girl, straight into the forest. Trees seemingly flew past Lucy as she ran deeper and deeper into the forest, but it was difficult to run with a dress. It was not long before Lucy was panting, out of breath and drenched in sweat. She leaned against a tree, stopping to catch her breath. Her eyes darted around, hoping to see that same mysterious girl again, but the girl seemed to have vanished into thin air. “Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me…” Lucy said to no one in particular, scanning her surroundings for one good measure before heading back to where she had came from.
Lucy stepped cautiously as she continued walking on the path in the forest, each step sounding a loud crunch from the dry leaves on the floor. Crunch! Rows of trees after trees reached up into the sky, as the occasional ray of moonlight shone down through the gaps in the leaves overhead. Crunch! Although everything looked fine, something seemed very odd about this forest. Crunch! It was quiet. Crunch! Way too quiet. Crunch! Had Lucy really ran that far? She could not seem to find a way out. Crunch! Maybe she was lost. Lucy paused in her steps and looked around her. Here, there, in all directions, the same trees were aligned in the same pattern. She was very, very lost. She could not tell which path she had taken to end up here, since all the paths looked identical. The same gnarly brown barks of towering trees were lined up around her. If anything, Lucy was disoriented. It was as if someone had shone a mirror at the path and had reflected it on another mirror, and another, and another, multiplying the same path. Lucy felt something tug at her hand and jumped in surprise. Why, it was the very girl she had set out looking for! The girl’s eyes were no longer teary, instead they looked up at Lucy, with a glint of sparkle full of wonder. The little girl’s hand tightened around Lucy’s hand, and it was as if the girl was afraid of letting go of Lucy’s hand. “Do… Do you know the way out…?” The little girl stuttered out while trembling ever so slightly. Oh, so the little girl was lost, too… Lucy gently patted the little girl’s head, “Don’t worry..! I’m sure we can find the way out together!” Although Lucy sounded reassuring, on the inside, she was panicking, her thoughts running amok as she pondered on how to get out of this never ending forest.
Trudging through the forest, it gradually grew muddy and hard to see as the trees grew to tower high above them, shading away most of the moonlight’s light. The longer they walked, the more the silence grew between Lucy and the little girl. “So… what’s your name?” Lucy asked, hoping to make the atmosphere less awkward. “Li…Lily” The little girl said her name slowly, before putting her hand beneath her chin, making a thinking stance that Lucy thought was cute, before adding on,
“I think…I… don’t remember…”
“You don’t remember?”
Lucy questioned, what exactly had happened to Lily? Lily was a rather mysterious girl.
“Memories are muddled up…Can’t recall clearly…”
Lily spoke with long pauses in between, it was as if she was constantly hesitating on what to say next. Suddenly, Lily’s hand jolted to her temples as she yelped in the sudden pain in her head.
“It’s alright, you need not try too hard to recall, it was just a question since I wanted to get to know more about you.”
Lucy comforted Lily, gingerly reaching out her hand to Lucy’s head and slowly petting it.
“It’s alright…It’s okay…” Lucy cooed as she suddenly felt protective of Lily. The night moon lulls them to sleep, drooping their eyelids. As they both curled up on the forest floor together, with Lucy’s arm casted protectively over Lily, they both fell asleep, transported to the realm of rest.
Chapter 2
Opening her eyes drealily, Lucy blinks as her vision came into focus. Somewhere, far away, someone was calling out her name. Trying to stand up from her bed, a headache hit her like a wave. What exactly had happened yesterday..? Her thoughts were muddled. Suddenly it shone on her on the events that had occurred the other day. Gazing around, she found herself in her room. No, this doesn’t make sense…? Lucy quietly thought, looking around frantically, Where is Lily…? Where was the forest that they were in…? Was it all a dream?
“Lucy!” a voice shouted as a blur of white burst into her room, tackling Lucy. Hardly given any time to react, Lucy’s first reaction was to draw back. A little girl gazed up at her with doe eyes, her arms spread open as if expecting a hug. “Lily…?” The sight of a familiar face sparked a hint of recognition in Lucy as she quietly mumbled her name. “She is not just a mere friend or stranger you met in the forest… she is your sister….” A voice, like a gust of wind, swept past Lucy’s ear. Although many would have been stunned by the realization, some part of Lucy accepted it. It was as if a memory that had been blocked off for a really long time had been unlocked with just a few words. Not knowing why, tears trickled down Lucy’s face as she hugged Lily in a tight embrace. If anything, it had felt as if an eternity had passed since the last time she had seen Lily. “Lucy…? Are you okay?” Lily looked up at Lucy. “No… it’s just…” Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it!” She flashed a reassuring smile at Lily.
“If everything’s fine, then can we go mushroom picking in the forest? Its been a really loonngg time since we last did that together!”
“Yes, yes….of course!” Lucy beamed, although there was something in her urging her not to go. She had a feeling, something deep in her warning her.
Walking past the lush grass rippling in the wind, Lily raced ahead, on the lookout for wild mushrooms. Trailing behind, in the grass, Lucy followed Lily. Coming to a stop by the fringe of the forest, Lily bent down in front of a circle of mushrooms. Feeling tired, Lucy waited a distance away from Lily. Turning her head to face the Sun, her eyes fluttered closed. For once, she felt free and safe. She had her beloved sister by her side, she wasn’t lost in some forest, all was well. “A circle of mushrooms, a portal to another world, should never be disturbed…”, a voice sounded in Lucy’s mind. Lucy’s eyes snapped open. A circle of mushrooms? She spun around to see Lily’s fingers reaching out for one of the mushrooms. What if what the voice had said was true? What if Lily might be in danger after picking those mushrooms? “Lily, no!” Lucy shouted as she ran towards Lily. However, all Lucy could see afterwards was Lily with a mushroom in hand. “Look at this, Lucy! I picked our first mushroom for today!” Waving a freshly plucked mushroom over her head in joy, Lily cheered and celebrated by herself. Lucy stopped in her tracks. In contrast to Lily’s feelings, a sense of dread was welling up in Lucy’s heart. Something bad is about to happen, but what? And would she be able to defend Lily from it? “No…” The same voice resounded in her mind again. However this time, it entailed a tint of melancholy to it. Eyeing Lily, Lucy loomed behind her like a guard, committed to protecting Lily from any harm.
A deep, guttural cry resounded from a forest. Birds flew off, crying out warnings while flapping their wings frantically in hopes of escaping from whatever threatens them from within the forest. “Lucy? What was that?” Her hands full of mushrooms, Lily was still busy picking the numerous mushrooms from the circle. Not wanting to ruin Lily who seemed happy to pick the mushrooms, Lucy shook her head and ended the conversation with a simple “It’s nothing.”
The cry sounded again, this time closer and louder. Then, Lucy saw it. With narrowed eyes and a large frame, a beast of sorts emerged from the dark depths of the forests, its ears flicking. Keeping its eyes on Lily, it stared, its front limbs bent, as if waiting for an opportunity to strike Lily. Picking the very last mushroom from the circle, Lily’s back was facing the beast, totally unaware of the impending doom behind her.
With a leap, the beast charged towards Lily, closing up the distance. “NO, LILY!” Screeching out in distress, Lucy pushed Lily away, standing in front of the beast. Impacting her, a searing pain bloomed from Lucy’s chest. Crumpling to the ground, her hands clutched her abdomen, now exposed and dripping with a scarlet red. The beast, however, was nowhere to be seen… as if it vanished into thin air. Getting up from the ground, Lily ran to Lucy’s side, her expression painted with panic as her eyes flitted from Lucy’s wounds to Lucy’s pained expression. “Don’t worry, Lily… I’ll be-” Lucy’s words were cut short as they dissolved into coughs. “Lucy! Don’t talk!” Lily sobbed while leaning over Lucy.
“It’s okay! There… there must be something to save you…! Anything!”
“Shhhh Lily… It’s okay, everything will be fine… it’ll be okay….”
Despite saying that, the puddle of red growing around her and the burning pain gnawing from her inside told a different ending. It was getting awfully clear that whether Lily tried to call for help or not, she would not come in time to save Lucy. So, she sat there patiently, by Lucy’s side. If anything, perhaps it was better than having Lucy depart alone. The sisters remained in that position, Lucy quietly stroking and comforting Lily, while Lily embraced Lucy for what might be for the very last time.
The skies, which had been gradually darkening, finally released a torrent of rain, as if it were weeping, too.
Chapter 3
She blinked once. She blinked twice. Lucy reached her hand in front of herself, even pinching to feel if she really were in reality. That dream felt real. Her passing away and feeling herself gradually fade away felt so real. The overwhelming sadness that followed felt too rooted in her heart to be fake, too. Yet, she was there, awake. She sat up, looking around only to see the oh-so-familiar forest with its neverending rows of trees.
“Was it all a dream?” Lucy whispered to noone in particular.
“No,” The answer came instantly from the familiar voice, the very same voice which had whispered into her ears as if it knew what was going to happen next.
Whipping her head around, Lucy’s eyes widened, and everything seemed to come to a standstill as she stared at Lily.
“...you knew who I was? Why am I still alive then, I clearly died then, didn’t I?”
“This was meant to happen…! Look, all i wanted was one last glance at you before I left, alright? I didn’t know… My spirit just gave me the impulse to get as close to you as possible, if anything, I simply wanted to see you again…”
Her face filled with apprehension, Lily looked as if she was hesitant to tell Lucy something, her eyes looking at anywhere but straight into Lucy’s eyes. Lucy swept the dangling strands of hair covering Lily’s face while cooing comforting phrases to get her to calm down. The words were like a breeze, blowing away the fog casted over Lily’s mind as she took deep breaths.
“To start off, yes you did die in… the past… but as you said, everything is fine and all that matters now is that you’re alive! I…however, had to make a deal with someone…and…”
“And…?”
“She told me that if i wanted to save you, I had to exchange something in equal to your life…”
“Lily, don’t tell me you…!”
Lily’s forlorn expression said it all. Silence enveloped them completely as Lily looked away, avoiding eye contact with Lucy.
“I-I must go now…or the deal wouldn’t be sealed…”
“But- it shouldn’t have been me who lived! It should’ve been you! So, why would you…?”
“Because you risked your life for me.”
Getting up and walking past Lucy, Lily looked straight ahead before stopping in her tracks.
“Are you leaving?” Lucy called out.
“Yes, I have to go… you musn’t follow me. The road ahead for you might be cold and lonely, but everything’s alright because all that matters now is that you’re alive.”
“Cold and lonely? I wouldn’t feel cold and lonely for you are,” Lucy placed her palms on her heart, “going to be here, close to me, and by my side.”
“Close to you? You…” Lily pulled away, her eyes casted onto the ground. ‘You wouldn’t remember’ was what Lily wanted to tell Lucy, but she could not bring herself to say it herself.
“Goodbye, Lucy.”
“...”
It all felt too unreal. Lily leaving? Really? Right after they had just met? Watching Lily’s figure growing smaller and smaller into the distance, Lucy gazed longingly at her, until it was devoured by the shadows of clawing trees. Like a passing breeze, Lily had came and went. The events of today were like a blur, like that of a very long dream. Feeling her eyelids turn heavier and heavier, Lucy finally curled up for a rest.
Epilogue
Staring out of her window at the nightsky dotted with stars, Lucy felt…confused, somewhat. She felt as if she had finally awoken from a dusty old memory of hers, but she just could not place her finger on it. But something, somewhere, deep in her heart, she felt the warmth and comfort. Like she had finally found and had been reunited with someone after what seems like an eternity…
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