I opened my eyes, only to be surrounded completely by blinding lights. I blinked, trying to adjust to the light. What could be the source of this brilliant, overwhelming light? Could it be the four radiant beings co-existing in the house with me? It was a possibility, though I groaned at the thought of facing them first thing in the morning.

"Sunako-chan, get up! We're already late for school!" called a voice.

I gut up groggily and looked around angrily, to see who dared to intrude upon my beloved sanctuary.

It was, of course the radiant creatures, all dressed and smiling at me. I quickly shielded my eyes, as I thought a nosebleed would come. To my intense surprise, I stayed blood-free. That was definitely strange. Why wasn't I nose-bleeding?

Pushing the thought aside, and pushing the creatures out of my room, I got dressed hastily, pulled on my hat, to avoid unnecessary light and left the house with my books. Another day at school.

On the way to school, I didn't lift my head, as usual, since I was forced to walk alongside the others. Once, when I looked up to cross the street, I thought I would have to look up at the light, the blinding, bright light. But shockingly, I could tolerate it.

What is this? Did I grow to adjust to their radiance? Or did they become less radiant? That had to be it. They must have lost their shine.

When we reached school, we were greeted by a very enthusiastic Noi.

"Sunako-chan, did you put on make-up today? Or did you do something different? You look very pretty today!" she gushed.

"Of course not. I don't look in mirrors."

"No, you definitely did something! You seem almost…radiant today!" insisted Noi.

I winced at the word. Me, radiant? That was surely not a possibility. I suddenly noticed a group of people surrounding me.

"Nakahara-san! You look nice today!" complimented one of them

"Did you do the homework?"

"I wonder what theme they've decided on for the fair."

"Nakahara-san, are you going to be in the class play?"

The questions kept coming at me. It was as if they were attracted to me by some magnetic force. People were all around me, talking at the same time, smiling, laughing, shouting. The horror of this, I cannot describe. I quickly ducked into a nearby classroom, and suddenly, the colors seemed to swirl and the scene changed. I was now in a dark cave-like tunnel, which looked as if it were never-ending. I looked around, surprised to be in a different place all of a sudden.

Perhaps I was in a supernatural trance? Thinking happy thoughts, I walked down the tunnel, until I reached a brighter room. It was my living room.

"Ah, Sunako-chan, I've been waiting for you. Let's start our tea-party now" said Yuki, sitting alone in the room, holding a teapot.

What were they doing here?

"Tea-party? You said this was a thumb-war competition!" shouted an outraged Kyohei, who had suddenly materialized in the room.

"You said it was a book club!" said Takenaga.

"You told me it was a mixer!" said Ranmaru, who had appeared with Takenaga.

I blinked at them, completely confused. Wasn't I just at school, escaping from people? Why was I in the living room?

Definitely paranormal activity.

I rubbed my eyes and looked at them again. They were still there, except this time, they were dressed differently. Yuki was wearing a top hat and a purple suit, and Kyohei was wearing a rabbit costume, complete with ears and a fluffy tail. Takenaga was in a cat suit, and Ranmaru wore giant flower petals around his head, and was dressed in green.

Suddenly, Kyohei got up and shouted "I'm late!" and hurried out of the living room. The other three got up, and pushed me out through the same door Kyohei had exited through.

I decided to follow him, to see what he was up to. We came to a dead end, and he turned around slowly, with an evil look on his face, I instantly regretted following him, and was about to turn back, when a brick wall formed right behind me. I was trapped in that room with the radiant creature. He reached into his pocket and took out a shrunken version of Hiroshi-kun, and started stabbing him with a small knife. Before I could scream in horror, I was again teleported off to another location.

This time, I was in a church, with classical music playing in the back. It was a wedding ceremony. I looked around, and saw many familiar faces – Aunty, Noi, the radiant creatures, Machiko-chan, my parents, Tamao-chan, my classmates, and many others.

I felt as if I was being weighed down as I walked, and when I looked down at myself, I was in a full white gown. I touched my hair. It was tied up in a bun. I looked around angrily to see who had done this to me, but everyone was smiling pleasantly at me.

Suddenly, the room darkened and a spotlight dropped on me.

"Say 'I do', Sunako-chan!" everyone chanted.

I had no idea what they were talking about, so I ran out of the hall, and accidentally bumped into someone, and fell on them.

"I'm so – oh, it's you" I said, when I realized it was Kyohei. "Why did you kill Hiroshi-kun?" I asked him, remembering the incident which had just taken place.

"Hiroshi-kun? What are you talking about?" he asked me.

"Sunako-chan, we wanted to show you something" said Takenaga, who had emerged along with the other boys from the bushes.

"What?" I asked.

"This" said Ranmaru, holding out a small square-shaped object.

I looked at it. It was a mirror.

"Look at yourself" urged Yuki.

"That's right, you might want to look at yourself more often" said a voice. A very familiar voice.

It was him. The one I had fallen for a long time ago. It was before I had joined the darkness.

"What are doing here?" I asked harshly.

"I don't know why I'm here. Why should I come to your wedding –"

"My wedding? With who?" I asked.

"I don't know, okay? One of those four" he said, indicating the radiant beings, who waved at me. My jaw dropped.

"Let me continue, Nakahara. I was saying, why should I come to your wedding when I hate ugly girls?"

I lunged forward, ready to rip him to pieces.

But the scene dissolved yet again, and this time, I was standing on the banks of some fast flowing river. Kyohei was standing in front of me.

Unexpectedly, he moved forward, towards me. I stepped back. This repeated till I was standing at the edge of the rapid river. He was getting dangerously closer, till I could feel his breath on my skin. I decided to risk drowning and I stepped a little further. My foot slipped, and I fell back. I waited for the water to drench me and carry me away. Instead, I hit the cold hard ground. I opened my eyes, to find myself on my bedroom floor, wrapped in my blanket. I thought back to what had just happened and I realized it was just a dream. My worst nightmare.

"Sunako-chan! You're finally awake! We're late for school!" a voice called.

Some nightmares never end.

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