Hello everyone! Here is the first revised chapter! I've changed a lot of things and I hope you like it!

I yawned as I headed down the path towards the small river. I fiddled with my cellphone, listening to music as I walked. I had to get away from that house no matter what; it was stifling and it was loud. Sighing, I crossed the bridge and walked down the small path towards the water. Stepping onto a large rock, I sat down and picked through the smaller rocks and pebbles at my feet.

There was always drama at my house. There is never a quiet moment. There always has to be one person in the house that has to yell at another. I can't deal with it, so I always leave the house for a while. I don't really have any friends I can visit. I don't like to bother them when I'm feeling stressed. I would rather go to a quiet place anyway like the trails by this river. It was better than being a bother to someone else. The only thing I have to worry about is myself, and that's just fine.

Picking up a few flat rocks, I tried lazily skipping them across the river's surface. A few just plunked straight into the water, but a few skipped one or two times. I listened to the music through my earbuds, making sure that I didn't waste too much data. Otherwise the drama would get turned in my direction, and that's what I hate the most. I hate getting involved with drama.

I threw the last flat rock in my hand and watched as it plunked into the water. I was getting ready to pick up more rocks, but then I realized something.

Time seemed to stop.

Nothing moved. No sound could be heard; no birdsong, no cars. Not even the river! And my music stopped as well. I took out my phone and tried to unlock the screen, but the screen stayed black. It wouldn't turn on no matter what I tried. Pressing the power button, holding the power button, pressing and holding the volume buttons. Nothing worked. So I put my phone and earbuds in my pocket and stood up. I looked at the spot where my last rock had sank into the water, and I noticed that time had frozen the water in midsplash. The water droplets were floating in the air. I looked at my hands, turning them over and then staring at the frozen splash. Why was I the only thing able to move?

Then something bright started to shine in the water under the splash, slowly growing brighter and larger. I tried to shield my eyes from the strange light but then it spread everywhere, engulfing everything in a bright light. I had to close my eyes to not be blinded, but I could still see the brightness from under my eyelids.

"Dear one…"

What? Who is that? I tried to open my eyes, but all I saw was darkness. The light had disappeared. And I was floating? I couldn't see or feel anything solid under my feet. I reached out, but I couldn't feel anything. Where am I? What's going on? I curled my legs up a bit, feeling a bit frightened.

"Do not be afraid," the soft voice whispered again, echoing around me in the dark space.

I tried to speak, but no sound came out of my mouth. I tried turning around, but I still could not see anything. Is this a dream? Did I somehow fall asleep at the river? I flinched as a circular bright light suddenly appeared in front of me, glowing with a soft warmth that calmed me down almost immediately.

"This is not a dream, young one. I have an important mission for you…"

A mission? I tried to reach out and touch the light that the voice seemed to be coming from. But the floating light seemed to far from my reach, yet so close at the same time. It held no heat and was bright, yet it did not illuminate anything in the darkness.

"You have an important role in the universe I will be sending you to…"

Wait, what? Another universe?! No way. This has to be a dream! I tried to pinch myself, and I immediately winced. Ouch. Okay, this is definitely weird.

"Before I send you, I will give you two gifts. Use them wisely…"

Gifts? I watched in curiosity as a flame suddenly appeared and floated beside the floating light, burning bright and licking the space above it slowly yet hungrily. On the other side of the floating light, a bubble of water appeared. What? All of a sudden, the flame flew at me and engulfed my body completely. In surprise and anticipation of pain, I opened my mouth in a silent scream. I'm going to be burned alive?! But then I realized I felt only a gentle warmth, not a painful burn. I opened my eyes again as I closed my mouth, watching as the flame around me died down. But the comfortable warmth never left my body. Then, the water bubble engulfed me. I had instinctively held my breath to avoid suffocation, but then I remembered that the flame had not harmed me. So the water wouldn't either, right? I began to breath again as my breath came out as bubbles in the bubble. When the water disappeared, I could feel a calmness wash over me.

"Now, you are ready. Follow your heart, and just be yourself…"

Before I could react, the floating light exploded and engulfed the area around me. The light was blinding but harmless, but soon I could feel my body tilt. I could feel solid ground beneath as I lay on my side. The ground steadily grew colder until it was freezing to the touch. The area around me changed, and I suddenly realized that I was laying on cold snow. The heat was sucked from skin as I continued to lay there, staring at the face that steadily came into view in front of me.

In front of me, staring straight at me at close range, was a seal face. But the coloring was odd. As it noticed I was awake, it barked and hobbled away. On it's back was a large turtle shell, and its flippers did not look like a normal seal's. I watched as it slipped into a hole with a small splash and I realized that I was on the ice somewhere. But where? I forced myself up, wincing as the cold air bit at my skin. I stood and hugged myself, trying to conserve as much heat as I could with my light clothing. I looked around, seeing nothing but snow, ice, and a few spots of open ocean. I walked over to the edge of the ice where the turtle seal had disappeared into the water and I knelt down, looking at my reflection in the water.

My eyes were blue, reflecting the ocean in color. My hair was reddish-brown and reached just passed my lower back, the bangs neatly trimmed above my eyebrows. That's different.. I then stood up and moved away from the ice to a safe distance, looking down at my attire. My clothes were rugged and brown, reminding me of what a refugee might wear. It was a thin material and was no help against the frigid air. I felt something on my wrist and I lifted my hand, noticing three different bracelets: one red, one blue, and one green bracelet with intricate golden designs on each one. I traced the designs lightly with my thumb, a lonely feeling suddenly coming over me.

I quickly shook my head. I needed to focus. I patted my clothes, searching for pockets. Nothing. My cellphone and earbuds were gone. No technology in this universe I guess. I looked around. Shelter and some sort of warmth is a necessity. Hugging myself for attempted warmth, I began to trudge through the snow in a random direction. I needed to find any sort of structure that could provide me with shelter. Anything would do. I tripped on a patch of ice covered by the snow and I landed on my stomach. The snow stung my skin and I hissed in pain. I pushed myself up and continued through the snow, hugging myself. I took a deep breath and breathed out through my nose. Heat escaped my nose and smoke blew down onto my arms, heating them almost instantly. I breathed a sigh of relief, but also a bit of surprise. I didn't know what I had just done, but it worked to keep me a little warm.

The wind whistled in the distance and I continued on, using my newly found discovery to my advantage to keep myself warm. The wind whistled again and this time I stopped. That wasn't wind, I realized. It was something else. I listened quietly for several long moments, then the whistle came again. But it wasn't a whistle. It was a voice. Three separate voices. I looked around, trying to spot the owners of the voices. I looked towards the open ocean behind me, and then looked inland. In the distance, three dark dots were moving, slowly coming closer by the minute. Their voices echoed to me, but I could not hear their words. My warm smoke breath was not helping as much as I would have liked. I still felt frozen, and I could only guess that my feet were frostbitten from the cold snow.

I gulped and opened my mouth to try to call out to them for help, to come and rescue me from my predicament. But only a strangled noise came out. I wouldn't be able to speak until I was out of this weather, was warm, had drank water, and had eaten. I needed help. Instead, I tried to help to close the distance by trudging forward, ignoring the numbing pain that grew in my feet. As the distance continue to close between us, I could see a little more detail. Two of the dark figures were wearing blue and were running. The other figure was wearing a lighter color of yellow and orange, and was hopping more than running. Why were they hopping?

In my confusion, I tripped over another patch of ice and fell into the snow. I could feel my strength leaving me as the seconds went by, and I couldn't even muster an ounce of strength to try and get back up again. I just whimpered pathetically in the snow, waiting for the figures to come and save me. It felt like hours before the voices reached me. I could feel hands turn me over and I could barely keep my eyes open to look at them. Their voices were muffled in my current state and I couldn't make out any of the words. All I could do was whimper and hope that they wouldn't leave me in the snow. As consciousness slipped from my grasp, I could feel myself being jostled somehow. Perhaps they were picking me up? I couldn't confirm the action as my vision went dark again, slipping into unconsciousness.