The wind was blowing through the trees, carrying their whispers along. The sun was shining brightly; to brightly. He wasn't used to bright things. He had spent to many years locked away in the dark. Or maybe he was simply becoming nocturnal. Who knew?

Regardless, the light made him uncomfortable. The air was to light, the breeze to peaceful, the chirping of the birds to melodic. Everything he wasn't, everything he didn't have, everything he'd never have. In the back of his mind there was an inkling, a whisper of a long forgotten memory, that maybe, once, he had had this. Peace. Content. Love.

But he couldn't remember, and what he did remember was pain, strife, cruelty, and hate. He knew that even if he did remember it wouldn't make a difference; he could never be like that again.

Still, this place was familiar and yet foreign. Suddenly there was something different in the wind. A new sound; as light, peaceful, and melodic as it's surroundings. Yet, it held an air of regret and sadness. It soothed him.

He moved forward, trying to find the source of this mysterious sound. As he moved, the forest morphed into a clearing of flowers surrounding a river. He scanned the field until something caught his eye. A flash of white behind a lone tree on the river bank.

Once again he started forward, realizing that this piece of alabaster was the source of the sound he now identified as singing.

As he came closer he found that the piece of white was white fabric. This fabric, he soon discovered, was a dress. Wearing afore-mentioned dress was a woman whose face he had yet to see.

Inching forward, he found the face of his mystery. And he froze.

She turned to look at him, a smile breaking across her face. Her singing had ceased as soon as she had perceived his presence. Her eyes were alight with laughter, her hair playfully being tossed by the wind. She sat up and opened her arms in a gesture of embrace. Her smile brightened and any sadness or regret in her voice vanished. She opened her cupid bow lips and spoke words he thought he'd never hear again.

"I love you, Ototo-chan."

He gasped awake. He wished he hadn't.