I was running so fast I could barely control my legs. It felt like I was on autopilot as I rushed through the forest dodging trees, rocks and fallen branches. All I could hear was the sounds of my footsteps, moving too fast. I'm scared. But I can't remember why. I look up to notice the dark sky. The tree tops seem too far away. An owl hoots in the distance. I don't know where I am running to. I try to stop but I can't. I look down to focus on my feet. They are a blur. My face is slick with tears and my vision is distorted. Stop. I urge my feet silently. Please stop. But they won't. The sound of them slapping against the hard ground is too loud. It gets louder and louder. It begins to hurt my ears. Then it starts to change. It morphs into the sound of flapping. Bats! I look behind me; a black cloud is chasing me. I turn to look for a way out of the forest, or a place to hide, but there is not point. The black cloud is in front of me as well. It's surrounding me. Closing in. It's getting closer and closer. It's suffocating me. I can barely breathe. The flapping noise is deafening and I close my eyes as I continue to run. All of a sudden, I trip on something and fall. I scream.

"M.K?!" a muffled shout wakes me, "M.K. are you all right?" My dad knocks on the wooden bedroom door before entering. I sit up in bed and realise I'm sweating.

"Yeah, I think so," I say, my voice hoarse. I cough to try and fix it to no avail, "just a bad dream."

"Again?" My dad sits on the small bed next to me and I move over to make room. "That's the third night in a row!"

"I know," I'm still crying from the dream and I wipe my face on my sleeve. I stare into space, watching the dust mites dance in the sunlight that flows through my bedroom window.

There's an awkward silence before my dad leans over and kisses my forehead. "We'll sort it out, my love," he whispered, "we'll make them go away. It's only been a month since it happened, you just need time for your mind to take everything in. You went through a massive psychological ordeal!"

"The sooner the better," I grumble as I slowly get out of bed, careful to not hit my head on the low slanting ceiling.

My dad gets up in the same manor, "I was thinking that you could change bedrooms. Since you're almost an adult now?"

I laugh, "I don't think the bedroom is the problem. I think the problem is that everything is miniature and pink!"

We both laugh. "Well I was up all last night cleaning out the attic if you do want to change? We could go shopping for some new furniture. It will be my birthday present to you."

I look up at him with surprise. Cleaning out the attic? All of mums stuff was up there. He noticed my weary look. "We can use this room as a store room for the stuff that was up there. It really is a lot bigger and you can have your own balcony!"

"Sounds great, Dad! It really does," I say with a smile. Although I can't remember the last time I went shopping with my father. This was going to be interesting.

"What about this one?" My dad points out a hideously girly looking white iron-lacey-pumpkin looking bed. I groan. "Or not," my dad sighs, "I'm sorry; I guess your sense of style has changed since we last went shopping."

"I guess," I mumble as I walk away from the 'teen diva' and 'Cinderella' section of the furniture store. I run my hand across the end of each bed. Feeling the cold metal of each one slide through my fingers. I used to love shopping with mum. Now it feels like a chore. I couldn't decide what type of furniture I wanted and I couldn't care less to make myself decide. It all seemed so trivial when just a couple of weeks ago, my life and the life of the forest that surrounded our house was in danger. I stop pacing the aisles, thinking about that day. The one day that changed my entire life. All the amazing things I saw. All the amazing things I did. All the amazing people and things I met. Then I was thinking about him. And only him. Nod. The most amazing person I've ever met. How could I miss someone so much. I feel like I barely know him, but at the same time like I've known him all my life. I can't help but smile, remembering the conversation I had had with him last night. Via skype. Well it's something I call skype to make it seem more normal. But it's a close to normal as our relationship will ever get. Video chat. I sigh again and the smile fades.

"Is this the one you want?" My dad startles me as he taps me on the shoulder.

"What?" I say as I turn to him. He gestures at the bed in front of me that I hadn't even noticed before, even though my hand was absently caressing the carvings in the wood. When I finally notice the bed I gasp. It was gorgeous. A mahogany four poster queen sized bed, with stunning carvings of flowers in the wood. The sides were draped by delicate thin white curtains.

"Oh my," I whisper.

My dad laughs, "I'll take that as a yes." He waves a store attendant over, "I don't even want to know the cost," he chuckles again as he tells the attendant, "just put it on my card. We will need a dresser, and a desk as well as the two matching bed side tables."

The attendant nods and writes down the information of the bed, then follows us around the store while I pick out a simple but elegant dresser and a desk, both made out of the same wood. I even found a study chair with the same engravings as the bed. Now I remember why I like shopping so much.

The next day the bedroom ensemble arrived. I'd had trouble sleeping once again, and Nod hadn't 'called' me like he usually does every night. But the worried thoughts quickly left my mind as I focused on showing the moving guys where to put my furniture. The attic, my new bedroom, was huge. It was eight metres long and six wide, with a small balcony right in the middle of the long side. It overlooked the forest, facing east to get the most perfect view of the sunrise. Wide windows framed the balcony door and the north and south sides of the room. I loved all the sunlight that flooded my room. The bed and bed side tables were placed in the middle of the wall facing the balcony, with my dresser and desk on either side. It was very simple, but I like the minimalistic feel.

I thanked the moving men and stood on my balcony as I watched them go. I had found similar white curtains to the ones on my bed to hang up on the double glass door entry to the balcony. When a breeze came by all the curtains swayed around the room.

"Very majestic," my dad noted as he walked in, pushing the curtains aside to join me on the balcony.

"Thank you so much dad! This is perfect!" I said as I hugged him.

He chuckled as he pulled away, "there is just one more thing," he said as he turned.

I followed him back into the bedroom and was shocked. There, leaning against the wall was mum's old mirror. It was the kind that sits on a woman's make up desk. The oldest memories I have of my mother in this house were of when she would sit in front of it, making herself look even more impossibly beautiful than she already was.

"Dad, I can't-"

"Nonsense!" he interrupted before I had a chance to speak, "It matches perfectly, and it can be screwed into your desk." He picked it up and carried it over to the desk, lining it up and pulling out an electric screw driver and some screws from the utensil belt he was wearing. I stood there watching him silently before he asked me to help him.

I walked over, still dumbfounded, and held the mirror in place as he screwed it on. My fingers traced the wooden vines that served as a frame for the mirror. I started to cry. It seems like I've been doing that far too often lately.

"Thank-you," I whisper to him as he stands up to admire his work.

He wiped my tears away before he smiled, "she would have wanted you to have it. It's her 18th birthday present to you." He kissed my forehead again and left the room.

I sat on the wooden desk chair, looking at my reflection and seeing my mother staring back at me.