Some people will ask why I bother starting a new story when I still have to finish a previous one. Well, if I don't obey inspiration when it comes, then I'm in big trouble. ^_^;; So I offer to you what I call inspiration's latest... this is different from what I usually write and I don't know how well I've done on it. Feedback is appreciated, but not necessarily expected.
Daydream Believer 1/6
By Elysia [ely_chan@yahoo.com]
rated PG
This is a story of one such dream, one so powerful it was truly real to the man who dreamt it. His dream led him to a place and a time unknown to his world, that changed his life forever and gave him an experience he would never forget.
****
The air around him was thick and difficult to breathe. As he gasped for breath, he was amazed at how quickly the fog dissipated when he took a step forward into the clearing ahead. The clouds were all but gone now, except over in a shaded area at the edge of the meadow. He wondered how he had come to this place, and most importantly, why he was here again. He'd seen this foggy place before, but he didn't know why.
It was a garden of some sort, with clumps of little white flowers adorning the soft green grass everywhere. The lush green trees hung their branches low, as if they were bowing in the midst of royalty.
The clouds began to lift now, and he could make out a form of something or someone standing in the midst of it all. Squinting his eyes, he surmised that it was indeed a person.
The figure spoke for the first time, but it was so far away he could not hear the all the words. The voice itself was low and hushed, and he could barely hear anything. Was it referring to him? And what in the world did it all mean?
As he took another step towards the mysterious figure, there was a sudden flash of light, too bright to ignore. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the glare and at the same time, he felt himself being pulled away from the clearing, floating away into a solemn silence.
****
Mamoru shot up in his bed, pulling at the sheets and blankets that had somehow become twisted around his body during the night. Running a hand through his thick hair, he glanced at the clock and ruefully muttered to himself that it was much too early to be awake on a Saturday morning. If it hadn't been for that weird dream...
The dream had been coming to him for the past week now, a repetition of the previous night but always adding on more each time. He couldn't explain its meaning and sometimes he wasn't sure if he even wanted to know. It obviously had some deeper meaning if he kept seeing it every time he slept. Every time, not just at night. If he happened to doze off during the day, there it was again. He just couldn't explain it.
He slid out of bed and gazed into the mirror hanging above the bureau, a frown marring his handsome features. Adjusting his tee-shirt and flannel bottoms, Mamoru strode over to the open door of his balcony, and looked out on the district of Azabu. Already busy for a Saturday morning, he noted to himself.
Mamoru slipped on a clean shirt and a pair of jeans and left his apartment, grateful for a weekend off. He was currently working a temporary shift at Tokyo General until a full-time position became available. Even with all the crazy hours and constant work, he liked helping others get better. He needed something to make him feel good.
It was still early enough in the morning for a cool summer breeze to wind its way through the trees, and against Mamoru's face as he broke into a light jog to the park. Days like these were too beautiful to drive or ride his motorbike anywhere; it was the perfect morning to spend outdoors.
He took little notice of the other people walking and playing around him. Instead, he took a seat on a small bench beneath a withered cherry tree, its long branches hanging limply, moving only when the breeze blew. Leaning back into his seat, Mamoru ran his hand along the back of the bench, feeling the worn and warped wood beneath his fingers.
Another light breeze blew by, and Mamoru closed his eyes momentarily, feeling the fresh air surge around him. He was far from tired, but he began to drift off into a light sleep anyway. The last thing he was aware of was a sensation of falling into nothingness.
****
It was that blasted garden again. He had nothing against gardens, but a change of scenery every once in a while never hurt. He noticed there were long vines hanging from the trees, and Mamoru had to push them aside to walk into the clearing. Not a trace of fog this time. The sun shone brightly, reflecting off the leaves of the numerous plants growing around the area.
Mamoru passed a hand over his eyes, rubbing them wearily. Weren't dreams supposed to represent some forbidden fantasy, unbound by the rules of logic? As far as he knew, waking up in the middle of a garden every time he slept was not one of his.
He knelt down to touch the flowers blooming at his feet, seeing if they were real and not just a figment of his imagination. Mamoru discovered that they were very alive and were soft to the touch, with very sweet aromas.
Then he heard something new. Not the warbling of a bird or the rustling of the leaves, but something uncommon to the regular sounds of a garden. He strained his hearing to make sure he had really heard it.
There it was again. Giggling. He was sure of it. And it was somewhere close by. He got up from off his knees, and cautiously moved towards the neatly pruned hedge that separated him from the rest of this place.
He heard the light giggling again. Curious as a newborn kitten, he crept closer towards the hedge, hoping for even the slightest glimpse of anything that would give him a clue to solving this mysterious dream.
Mamoru peeked over the top of the hedge, and looked around. Just as he focused on a white figure in the distance, he felt that familiar tug and before he knew it, he had been swept back to reality.
****
He awoke with a start, almost falling off the bench from the sudden shock. No one took notice of his sudden movements except for a few toddlers nearby. They just looked at him curiously, then happily returned to their play time.
Mamoru ran a shaky hand through his hair, trying to clear his thoughts. It had been so real, so lifelike, that he was beginning to confuse which was fantasy and which was reality.
Glancing down at his wristwatch, he decided to take a walk down to the café on the corner, where his good friend Motoki worked. Perhaps a long talk with him would clear his mind of these crazy dreams.
****
The bell hanging on the door chimed as Mamoru walked into the Crown Center café. Behind the counter, Motoki looked up from his habitual cleaning and smiled as he watched one of his oldest friends sit in his usual booth.
"Mamoru! Haven't seen you for a while! What brings you to this side of town?"
Mamoru smiled faintly. "I've been... busy." That was overstating the truth, he thought to himself. Motoki nodded. "That's right. I forgot about your internship at the hospital. How's that treating you?"
He shrugged, though he hadn't exactly been referring to his job. "It's all right, I guess. I haven't been getting much sleep lately."
"Too many graveyard shifts?"
Mamoru took a sip from the mug Motoki had placed in front of him. "No... it's not that." He set the mug down and sighed. "Tell me something, Motoki. Do you believe in your dreams?"
Motoki raised an eyebrow. "What kind of dreams?"
Mamoru ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure, really. They're hard to explain. But I've been having the same dream night after night for weeks. All I can remember after waking up is being in a garden."
"Maybe it's trying to tell you to give up your internship and become a gardener," Motoki remarked wryly.
"Very funny, Motoki," he said flatly. "I'm serious. What do you think it means?"
The sandy-haired man shrugged his shoulders. "I'm no expert on dreams, Mamoru. But I guess there has to be a reason for everything, ne? Was there anything else in the dream that might give you a clue?"
Mamoru started to shake his head, but then he stopped. "Wait. There was something else. Giggling. I distinctly remember giggling."
"Giggling? Man, you really have lost it."
Mamoru shot him a look over his mug. "Shut up, Motoki." He sighed inwardly. This was no help. How could he get the dreams to stop if he didn't know what they meant? Mamoru paid for his drink and left the café, leaving behind a bewildered Motoki. 'Let him be curious. All he did was make fun of me.' Suddenly feeling very tired, Mamoru slowly walked the four blocks back to his apartment. All this thinking was stressing him out.
****
There it was again. The giggling. Only this time it sounded a lot closer than it had before. Mamoru paced the edge of the dream garden, trying to discern its whereabouts. Where there was giggling, there had to be someone who knew the way out of here.
As he walked around the perimeter of the hedge, he sudden came to an opening, which led into the meadow he remembered from the last dream. Finally, he was getting somewhere. Now all he had to do was find someone who could tell him where he was and how to get out of here.
He stepped cautiously through the hedge opening, and looked around the open meadow. In the distance--about 100 yards he estimated--he could see a large and ornate building surrounded by another high wall of hedge. Ah, Mamoru breathed to himself, a place with people who knew where they were and the means to get out of here. He started to head for it, allowing nothing to get in his way.
Suddenly a flash of white came rushing at Mamoru and crashed head-first into him with a soft cry, knocking him forcefully to the ground. Falling back into the hedge and then into the soft dirt, Mamoru tried to identify what had crashed into him so suddenly.
The white turned out to be a soft, satiny cloth--and there was a lot of it. As he pulled it away from his face and body, he realized there was more than just cloth. A small, warm form sat in his lap, surrounded by waves of golden silk, which he discovered was actually hair.
A young girl sat in his lap with her golden blonde hair all over the place. Mamoru could not think of another time when he had ever found himself in this kind of a predicament. And he was sure he would definitely remember something like this
Wait. Back that thought up. She was *sitting* in his lap. He could actually feel her, how warm her slender body felt against his own. It was at that moment Mamoru began to realize that perhaps all of this wasn't just a figment of his imagination after all.
Lifting her head up slowly, the girl looked up into the man's eyes, fear swimming in the blue depths. She was afraid of him. Afraid of what he'd do or say because of her sudden actions. She didn't realize how fast she was running through the meadow until she collided with him. Thank goodness Luna wasn't around to see her right now; she'd be in hot water for sure!
In fact, why was she still this close to him? She jumped out of his arms as quickly as she had fallen into them in the first place. Brushing off the skirt of her dress, she stood and glanced warily back at the man she had collided with, who was still sitting on the ground in a daze.
At that moment she collected her thoughts and replaced her bewilderment with a calm face. After all, she had no clue how to address this sort of situation; it had never come up once in one of Luna's lessons. Throwing her shoulders back, the girl gazed back at the man who had finally gotten to his feet.
"How in the world did you get in here?" she finally asked, regaining the ability to talk. She practically had to crane her head back to look at Mamoru because he towered over her by a good foot. "I've been told that common people like you aren't allowed in these gardens." Then she eyed him carefully. "And by the looks of your clothing, I'd say you're as common as they get."
Mamoru was taken aback by her attitude. "Who are you to decide what is common and what isn't?" The girl's eyes widened at his outburst. How dare he speak like that to her! "You have no right to speak to me in that manner!" she replied angrily. "Don't you even know who I am?"
Who she was? What did that have to do with anything? This was one girl he didn't care to meet again. But before he could answer her impudent question, he felt a warm light wash over him and he left the garden right in front of the girl's eyes, leaving her to wonder if it all had been real.