A high-pitched scream exited my mouth as I felt my body being pulled unforgivingly by gravity, farther down towards the seemingly endless pit of nothingness, also known as the pile of clothes inhabiting the area beside my bed. Noticing the displeasing feeling of sweat that was dripping down my temples, I realized that I hadn't fallen down a steep cliff- not that that was what I had hoped had happened, but I had rolled off the side of my bed to the mountain of my garments which had accumulated over the past few days. Half due to laziness and the other because I had much more important matters to attend to, like trying to invent new flavours of Howalons and brainstorm new ways to acquire money in order to hang out with Hotaru as a result of her expensive time. No time had been left over for cleaning, not that I wanted to anyway.
I sighed in relief and wiped the bead of perspiration which had been travelling progressively down the side of my head, it was becoming a normal routine these past few weeks. These annoying nightmares were becoming more and more recent, although I hadn't a clue as to why I've been having them. Believing that confessing my troubles to my best friend would help ease the load off my shoulders, one day I confided in her. Hotaru just branded me as an idiot the moment I mentioned them, which led me to leaving the matter to time, yet that hadn't helped either. Beginning to give up hope I quietly but reluctantly cleaned up the mess on the floor, thanking it beforehand for breaking my fall. The moment I was left with nothing to do once again, I slid down to the hard floor, reminiscing my concerns.
Tears unwillingly left a cold, wet trail down the sides of my cheeks, although I hadn't noticed them while I was lost rummaging through the countless nightmares I've had lately. Howalons becoming extinct, Hotaru picking her baka gun over me, Jin-Jin electrifying my poor soul with his annoying wand, Natsume burning all of my hair- leaving me bald (not even sparing my poor eyebrows), I shivered at the mere thought. Those thoughts were the ones I would never speak of to anyone due to the sheer possibility of the reality unfolding in my daily life. I couldn't even imagine the horrible incidents which only appeared in my dreams to crash down and obliterate my chances at a happy and peaceful life. It was highly unlikely but I couldn't even take those minuscule chances, no matter how tiny they were.
At times there were the more serious ones with the Alice Academy being destroyed and invaded, something terrible befalling on my friends, Natsume dying from either his deadly missions or his fatal alice. Those thoughts were the ones which utterly terrified me, the ones keeping me up at night, not allowing me to sleep a wink. This was thanks to the fact that I knew that the minute I closed my eyes to fall for the tempting rest that was awaiting me, the horrifying nightmares would begin all over again. They frightened me to the point where I wouldn't dare sleep, just to get away from those terrible images. Those nights where in the morning a pair of dark coloured bags rested underneath my eyes, patiently anticipating attention and unnecessary questioning from my worried friends.
Natsume was a reoccurring event in my dreams, I was confused about it when I thought about it at first but later realized he was the one I was scared for the most. Frequently in constant danger, staring at death with those determined crimson orbs of his. All I wanted to do when I saw him like that was take him away from all those threats just to reassure him that somebody cares for him, unlike the lonely thoughts he often portrays. He could be considered one of my weak and sensitive points, even though I would never readily admit it. Unless it was in the dire state in which Koko, with his unnecessary alice, would be snooping in on my thoughts like he usually does, he pretty much knows the weaknesses of the whole population residing in Alice Academy.
I crawled on all fours to my window sill, silently expecting him to be there, waiting for the moment in which he would swoop in and tell me that everything was going to be fine and that I was simply overthinking unreasonable situations that would never happen. Even for him to label me as an idiot for even pondering the absurd thoughts, I just wanted his company, just wanted him to be here with me. His very presence was a comfort to me, although I don't know how it makes me suddenly revert back to my old, bubbly self again. It was just him and that stupid smirk that he puts on. Tears continued to cascade down my cheeks, although I couldn't care less as I had more drastic dilemmas to deal with, including my nightmares and the ever confusing feelings about Natsume.
The dead of the night greeted me from outside of the open window, no stars to light up the darkness- even the moon was barely visible, lighting up a small portion of the seemingly never-ending night. It was slightly depressing, leading me to think about how all these nightmares were obscuring my light sources and pondered on if I did have any light, or hope in my case, in this dark sky of nightmares.
It was then that I saw the breathtaking sight of our beloved sakura tree that had immediately erased all my doubts and fears, clearly discernible over the dim sky. A grin erupted on my damp face, stretching from ear to ear in ecstasy. Although it hadn't simply been the tree which had sparked my sudden change in mood, it had been the glaring figure lounging on one of the branches of that breathtaking tree.