I ran out of the house as fast as I could. Running… That's the only thing on my one track mind. My hair flew around me as my legs pushed themselves to the limit of pain. My white dress flapped crazily around my legs, making it more difficult to run. I yelped once then bit my tongue. I dared looked behind me and instantly regretted it. Despite my determination, I let out a scream. But it wasn't an ordinary scream. It rang backwards into my ears and into my very soul. It reverberated against the walls of my skull. It echoed painfully in my ears as I fell to the ground. I covered my ears and began to feel salt across my lips. I cried as I tried to hold myself together. I could feel it getting closer. With each breath, it grew. I, still crying, pushed my weak body off the ground. The ground had felt soft when I landed, but I now saw that it was cobblestone. Cobblestone covered in red. I looked at my body and saw scraps and blood of the side of my dress. My legs strained against the need…the want…to give in and let it get me. I began to run again. Had I ever known pain until this day? I thought in my head. In the complete darkness surrounding me, I saw a faint yellow light. It felt familiar and safe. Relief stretched across my limbs as I recognized the smell. I knew it and I didn't. A smile began to stretch across my face as I ran towards it. My dress ripped against a sharp edge and tore up my leg. My smile turned into a grimace, but I kept running. If I reached the light then everything would be alright. I just knew it in my heart. The blood dripped down my upper leg as I came closer to the relief. Just as the light was as big as my hand, a frosty cold bit across my back. I shivered as a pair of cold hands gripped my sides. I was pushed against what felt like an ice pack. A very large, human shaped ice pack. And I think I was beginning to get frost bite. "Come…" It said into my ear. I shook my head back and forth and bit my lip to keep from crying again. "No…no…no," I kept repeating. The hands moved over my stomach and held me tighter. "Shhh…Don't be afraid…" The icy words melted into oblivion. I kept shaking my head and repeated, "No…no…no." It spun me around and clapped a hand over my mouth. My hair shook into my eyes and I struggled against his gloved hand. Even under the glove I could tell that the hand was cold. I turned my head away and screamed, "No!" At this, he released me for a brief moment. It was long enough for me to swing my fist to connect to his face. He shouted profanities at me and cursed my name. But I was too busy running to give a care. The light grew and grew before my eyes and before I knew it, my body was taking in the warmth it gave off. For a moment, under the tear and blood-stained eyes, I marveled in the brightness of it. I stopped a few feet away from it in awe. I barely registered that it had gotten up and coming after me again. I looked behind me and took another step backward. It got closer and I jumped back into the light. I was immediately surrounded with warmth and comfort and relief. That and I noticed that I was falling backward. In my haste to get to the light, I had managed to trip and fall over my torn dress. I let out a small cry and I braced myself for the pain that would come when I hit the ground. But it never came. A strong pair of arms were keeping me upright. I grabbed the two hands that were holding my waist and pulled myself into the warmth of them. I silently sobbed as the arms encircled me and held me as I sunk to the ground. From behind me, a voice came. "Shh…Everything is gonna be alright. I promise," The voice promised me. And I believed it. After a while I turned to look into the face of the kind person who was there to catch me. The face smiled at me knowingly. As if the face knew every little detail about me. And that the fact that my being practically naked from all the tears my dress had taken didn't bother him one bit. Recognition covered my being as I fell into him. The last thing I remember before I fainted was the sound of his laugh and the feel of his arms lifting me off the ground.

I bolted up and out of my bed. Sweat covered my forehead. I ran a hand through my hair and plopped back down on my bed. I was shaking against the protection of my blankets. Whoa…What a dream… I could feel a slight pounding against my head and recognized the faint feeling of an on coming migraine. I groaned as I fell back against my pillows. The shouts of the morning came floating up into my bedroom like an unwelcome sibling. My heart thud loudly from inside my chest as I lay there. That was the second time I had had that dream except this time, I made it to the light. I shuddered as I remembered the cold hands. My mom came up to my door and looked inside. "Oh wow! You're awake! This is the first time all summer that you had gotten up early, Marie!" She smiled as she said this. I was notorious for being a late sleeper. And honestly, all I wanted right now was sleep. To sleep off my coming migraine. I offered her a weak smile and lay back against my wall. Concern crossed her kind face and she put her hand to my forehead. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" I groaned as I said, "You know me so well, Mom." I took her hand off my head and said, "Migraine coming on." Understanding crossed her face. "I'll get the migraine medicine. Rest," she said pointing a finger at me. I raised my hands in surrender. I heard her walk into the kitchen and open the cabinet. The cabinet slammed with incredible force back into place. I winced and covered my ears. She stomped back into my room and threw my door open. My eyes crossed a little and my vision blurred. "Please…" I whimpered. She came to me and handed me the pills and a glass of water. I downed it gratefully. "Please…" I tried again. "Hmm?" my mom asked. "Please…stop making so much noise. Why are you talking so loud?" I whispered. "I-" she began, but I interrupted her with a "Shh…Whisper…" She nodded and whispered back, "Call if you need me. Now, try to go back to sleep." And with that she left the room. "Uhh…" I moaned as my head met fluff. I could feel everything. The feel of footsteps on the tile floor, the numbingly loud beats of my heart, and the pounding of my head. And then…I felt sleep. Welcomed, numbing, comforting sleep…

My eyes opened and I lifted a hand to shade my eyes against the light. I coughed and tried to sit up, but was pushed backward by pain bouncing around inside my head. It was numb, but pain none the less. Something warm gently pushed me down into a fetal position and said, "Shh… Don't do that so quickly. You'll hurt yourself." I detected a bit of a smile in that voice and then I recognized it. It was the voice from earlier. The one who saved me. My head moved to where the beautiful sound came from. My hands reached to find it and bring it back to me. Arms constricted around me as the voice laughed. He bent down so my fingers touched his face. I sighed as I brought my hands back down to my chest. I didn't want to open my eyes. Not in fear of the bright light, but in fear that I would wake up. For now, I knew that this was a dream. It had to be. There is no way on heaven and earth that anyone, much less a man, who would hold me this way. What the hell? Why am I dreaming of a man anyway? I thought with a bit of amusement. He laughed again as if he knew what I was thinking. The pain disappeared from my head and raised it a little. Seeing that I wasn't pushed backwards, I sat up. A little dizzy, but I'm ok, I thought. I then remembered that I was being held. "Umm…" I said, a little more than embarrassed. He laughed and released his grip on me. Gently placing me into a sitting position on the ground, he stood up. He stood directly in front of the sun and extended his hand to me. I looked at it as if it were going to bite me. This was a dream after all. He laughed again and said, "Do you want me to carry you?" My eyes widened a little and I shook my head. I placed my hands firmly under me to support my weight and tried to stand. I was wobbly, but I stood. Only problem was, when I tried to walk I fell. I didn't hit the ground though. Where else would I have fallen? "Whoa there. Ha! You'd think you were just learning to walk. But then again, with that nasty cut right there it must be difficult to walk," he said. I looked at him confused and then noticed that he was staring at my leg. Embarrassed, I tried to cover my leg only to be greeted my the feel of moisture. I brought my hand back to my face and saw blood. I swooned for a moment, but regained my posture. Without the help of the man, I may add. I looked at him and tried to speak, but all that came out was a small whimper of pain. Damn it, what's wrong with me? A flash of something came over his features and he ducked down and swept my legs out from under me. I gasped as I landed back in his arms once again. If he keeps this up, I may just have to hit him, I thought. He laughed and said, "Sorry babe, but you wouldn't be able to hit me even if you tried." At that, I found my voice again. "Exc- Excuse me, but I'm not 'babe'. I have a name and how did you know what I was thinking?" I demanded. From the view I could see his mouth turn into a smile. "You could say that I read your mind. And I know you have a name," he answered simply. I was too tired to argue. I just sank into his arms and pondered everything that had occurred. He finally put me down into a chair. Where'd this come from? I wondered. All I had seen around here was brilliant green grass, beautiful trees, a magnificent sky, and a guy to match. I blushed at that thought and pushed it from my mind. He kneeled before me and said, "Do you mind?" He pointed to my leg. I raised an eyebrow at him and he took it as an invitation. He laughed when I jumped at his touch. Who could blame me? He took his hand and placed it over my upper leg where the beginning of the cut was. I winced as he grazed his hand down to my ankle where the cut ended. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted. He answered back, "Healing your leg." I looked down at my leg to see that it was clean and healed up. As if there was never a huge gash along the side of my leg. My mind reeled as I grazed my hand over my leg as he had done. It was completely smooth. I looked at him in wonder. Who is he? He seemed to like my stare and answered my mental question. "I'm your guardian obviously." Confused, I said, "Come again?"

"Your guardian. Name's Nick, by the way," he added with a smile. I blinked as he confirmed what I thought I had heard. Trying to stay calm I said, "Um…So why are you coming to me?" Nick raised an eyebrow, teasingly. "What? Can I not say hello to my girl every now and then?" His girl? I shook my head and said, "There's gotta be a reason. I've heard stories about this kind of stuff. You guys don't come to…their people…unless they have a message." Smiling, he replied, "You, my dear, are very smart. Haha! And you are correct. Oh, you are going to flip when you hear this. I'm coming down." Me, being the very confused one in this conversation, said, "Huh? What do you mean 'coming down?'" He tapped my chin with his hand and said, "I'm coming down to the earthly plain." All I could register was the sun beating on my back. I took a deep breath and asked, "Why?" He replied, "To keep a closer…watch…on you." There was way too much amusement in his voice for that to be a good sign. "And you have permission to do this…?" "Of course," he said, smug. I stood and began to pace. As I stood, Nick took a seat in the chair that I had so quickly gotten up from. He watched me as I walked back and forth. "You're welcome," he said looking at my legs. I laughed, to my surprise, and said, "Thanks…I think. You sure that you're my guardian and not a stalker that my mind conjured up?" Laughing, he said, "Positive. You're mind couldn't possibly 'conjure' up someone as amazing as me." I rolled my eyes and said, "Gee, thanks dude." I heard a low chuckle come from the chair. "So…how do you know me? You obviously know me somehow," I questioned. "Yes I do. I know you very well, Marie," he said. That made me stop. "You know my name? …Wait, that's a stupid question," I said while I placed a hand to my forehead. When I moved my hand, I realized that my dress was still extremely torn. "Holy crap. Why didn't you bring this to my attention, Nick?" I demanded as I tried to cover my legs more efficiently. "Didn't notice," he said. I looked at him and muttered under my breath, "Liar."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

That conversation was met with a good amount of laughter. When it died down, I asked, "So, when are you coming down?" A smile in his eye and on his face he answered, "Now that, I'm afraid, cannot reveal."

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't."

I laughed and punched him in the arm. "How come?" He laughed at my weak attempt at a punch and said, "It's a surprise. I'll be there when you least expect it." I rolled my eyes and a pain burst through my skull. "Ah!" I said as I clutched my head. Concern rolled over his face and he said, "You're waking up. I'll see you soon."

I rolled over in my bed and pulled my covers up to my chin. I sat there and then threw the blankets off my legs and checked to make sure I didn't have any cuts. I sighed, fell back into my pillows, and mumbled something incoherently. "She awakens!" I heard a voice ring through my bedroom. I sat up quickly and for one insane moment, I thought that the…man…from my dream was in my room. At the least expected time. But it wasn't. It was my best friend, Suzanne. She laughed at my bed head and said, "Hey, I'm your friend. And being your friend mean I have to tell you the honest truth. And honey, you look like crap." I rolled my eyes, scratched my head, and said, "Thanks. Love ya too." I could practically hear his chiming laughter in my mind. I shook my head and said, "Oh my God! Look over there!" She looked and I took the advantage of kicking her off my bed. She hit the floor with a hiss and a satisfying "Oof!" sound. At the sound of her making contact with my floor made me bust out into laughter. Her head peeked over the edge of the bed and she said, "Oh, just you wait. Next time a guy tries to kidnap you, I'm not saving your sorry butt!" I rolled my eyes and threw a pillow at her. "He wasn't trying to kidnap me, doofus! Being…weird…maybe, but kidnap? No." I recalled the memory of us at the mall when a strange older man approached me. She laughed and threw the pillow back at me. "You're so stupid," Suzy said. I muttered, "You're the stupid one."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

After that, she explained how I had slept for over 12 hours and how she was ready to call the hospital. "Why did you let me sleep that long?" I asked my mom. "The only way to get rid of a migraine is to sleep it off," she said. Suzy has stayed for dinner and had ended up sleeping over. We sat on my bed and talked. A prick of a memory touched the back of my mind. Then I remembered everything. The cold hands…the warm ones…his voice…his face… I shook my head and said, "Whoa." Suzy looked at me funny and asked for an explanation with her eyes. I told her all about my dream and I was met with a crap load of questions. "What did he look like?" "Guardian?" "When?" "Where?" "Why?" "…What the crap?" I tried to answer as best as I could and she seemed to believe me. Even if I didn't believe it myself. How could I be sure that this wasn't a migraine dream? Only time will tell, I guess. Though the more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. I mean, really? That stuff only happens in movies and books. But Suzy was all over being the believing one. "Oh. My. God. When do you think he's gonna 'come down'?" I rolled my eyes at the question I had heard a hundred times. I brought my hand to my forehead with a nice slap as I said, "I told you, Suze. I have no idea. I don't even know if it was real." As soon as I said it, I could feel something pinch my arm. "Ow!" Suzy looked at me with concern. "What? Is your migraine coming back?" I shook my head and said, "I could've sworn something pinched me…Must've been my jacket." I looked at the jacket that was draped over the back of my swivel chair. I spun in circles as Suzy talked to herself. "Marie? Did you hear what I said?" I stopped spinning and stood. I walked around my room like a drunk as I said, "Do you think I was listening?" I heard her laugh as I sat back down on my chair. She crossed her legs under her and stated, "I want to be there." I cocked my head over my back, which was turned to her. "What do you mean?" "I want to be there when you guys meet!" I laughed and said, "Whatever you say, Suze. Let's just drop this conversation." "Why?" "Because I smell cookies, that's why," I said as I saw her run down the stairs. I followed after her and the rest of the night involved us talking, eating cookies, and finally more sleep. Only this time, no dreams for me.

I was awakened by Suzanne jumping on my bed. "What are you doing, crazy lady?" "Waking you up!" I groaned and fell under my blankets. I tried to make myself comfortable and I heard from outside the confines of my blankets a voice. "Ha! C'mon Marie. Do you really want me to get you up?" I sat up quickly and said, "W-What?" Suzy looked at me confused and said, "I said, 'C'mon! Do you really want me to get you up?'" I shook my head. "Fine, I'll get up…In five more minutes," I said as I hid under my blankets. They were ripped off my body and Suzy poked my head. "Get. Up." I rolled my eyes and finally got up. "Now, what' so fricking important that you just had to wake me up so God forsaken early?" She laughed as she said, "You were talking in your sleep." I blinked and replied, "What did I say…?" She strolled around my room and said, "Oh, nothing…Just three words." I raised my eyebrow and she continued. "You said, 'See ya soon.' I had just woken up when you said that and I tried to get you to talk more, but you wouldn't." I stared at her for a moment and then said, "Well…I have no clue what that was about." She laughed and skipped down the stairs to get breakfast. I heard my dad say to Suzy downstairs, "So when are ya leaving?" And then a witty response from Suzy, "Oh. You didn't hear? You're adopting me!" I laughed as I heard my dad chuckle under his breath.

The next few days passed quickly. It was filled with pools, plenty of sun, and a lot of being outside. For the rest of the summer, I was busy being as lazy as a 17 year old girl could be. And let me tell you, it rocked. I didn't have another dream like that again and thankfully the cold man in my dream didn't come back to haunt me. Before I knew it, it was the day before school was starting up again. As I was packing my bag for tomorrow and laying out my uniform, my cell phone rang. I picked it up and balanced it on my shoulder. "Hello?" I said into the electronic. "Hey! Ohmygosh! School is tomorrow! Aren't you excited?" came an eager voice through the phone. I laughed and said, "Hi Suzy. And no, I'm not excited because I still have a few days of summer left in me." "True… But I cannot wait to walk through those doors as a senior!" I rolled my eyes and continued to humor her over the phone while I got ready. After a while I said, "Hey, I gotta go. I'll see ya tomorrow." "Ok, bye!" I pushed the end button and laid back on my bed. I absent mindedly twirled a strand of my hair around my index finger and thought about how uncomfortable tomorrow would be. Somewhere during this thinking moment, I ended up falling asleep. The last thing I thought before everything went dark were the words "See ya soon."

Beep, beep, beep! "Huh?" I said as I rubbed sleep from my eyes. I looked at my clock and realized that I woke up a little late. "Oh shoot," I muttered as I dressed. I ran downstairs and grabbed an apple on my way out the door. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" I called out the door. I grabbed my keys out of my bag and hopped into my car. I started the engine and drove to school.