Crystal Feelings
The young woman walked quickly down the crowded street, almost running in her haste to get away. She needed to get to her music, only her music could take her away from the nightmare she had just experienced. It had all begun when she had fallen asleep at her friend's place after a party. It had been a small party, and she had accepted the invitation to stay for the night, as it was rather late by the time the party finished. She had fallen asleep on the spare bed and straight away she began to dream.
She was in a cave that was filled with darkness, and she could sense an uncomfortable presence in the air. She couldn't see a thing, and then out of nowhere something grabbed her and wrapped itself around her chest, getting tighter and tighter until she could hardly breathe. Light suddenly filled the cave and in the middle was a man who looked about her age. He was tall, about 6"3, with gorgeous blue eyes and dark hair that looked like it was all over the place while looking extremely stylish. As soon as she saw him, another machine came and grabbed him around the chest and he just stood there, not struggling at all. She could see the machine growing tighter and tighter around his chest without him seeming to notice. After a minute though, he began to scream, but not as loud as she was screaming for him. She didn't know who he was, but for some reason seeing him being tortured hurt her more than being tortured herself. The machine that was around her, she could now see that it was a machine, began to tighten again, until she couldn't breathe. Just before she blacked out though, words magically appeared in front of her. STAY AWAY FROM HIM OR THIS WILL HAPPEN.
She continued to rush through the streets, determined to get to her apartment and get to her music. For Serena her music was everything, ever since she was in high school. Until she got to high school, Serena was a klutz who got bad marks in everything. When she got to high school, she decided to get down and study, but nothing really interested her that much, nothing inspired her. She told this to her form teacher, who had noticed the lack of enthusiasm in the girl. Her teacher had then suggested to her parents that Serena should learn an instrument. Her parents agreed to this and they bought her a flute for her birthday. From day one she had loved it. Even before she had gone to her first lesson, she had already figured out how to play most of the notes the instrument could play. After a year she had skipped up to 4th grade, and she devoted most of her time to playing, instead of hanging around at the games center. Because she was spending so much time playing though, her grades slipped even more until her parents decided that they wouldn't let her play until she had done all of her homework properly. Her grades then started to go up and up as she worked hard so that she could play her music. Now she is a professional flutist and music teacher at Tintern, and she uses her music to get her through problems in life, as it helps her calm down and be herself.
Now it was a Sunday, and for once in her life, she had a day off from everything. "What a great way to start my day off" she thought to herself as she tried to push through the growing crowds on the street. She was VERY eager to get to her music, especially as the crowd was beginning to make her nervous. Her home wasn't very far away now, and she had just turned the corner when her friend Lita called out to her. "Serena wait!" she called from across the street. She was a tall young woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and eyes that were a sparkling green. She was dressed in a long green and gold floral skirt and an old- fashioned blouse; she was a cook at a nearby hotel and that was her uniform. She was obviously on her way to work. "Hi Lita! Feeling better?" Serena asked her as Lita arrived next to her in a few moments. Lita had been sick lately and her husband Ken was really worried about her. "Yep! I've never been better. I went to the doctors to see what was wrong with me and he told me that I was pregnant! Can you believe it? I'm going to be a mum!" Lita practically skipped with excitement. Serena felt a pang of jealousy. She hadn't even gone on a date for ages, and now Lita was pregnant. It wasn't fair, all of her friends were either married or engaged, but Lita was the first one to be pregnant. For some reason that made Serena even more jealous of Lita, and it awakened a jealousy for all of her friends. Why should they all have people to love and who love them when she couldn't? "That's great news! I'm really happy for you!" Serena gushed, hiding her jealousy to herself. After all, she didn't want to upset her friend. Lita had seen something flash through Serena's eyes though, and that made Lita feel a bit sorry for her little friend. "All she's got in life is her friends and her music, and now that we're all married or engaged, she basically only has her music," Lita thought to herself, "poor Serena!" "When's the baby due?" Serena asked her, trying to look her best as an excited friend, but Lita could still remember the pain that had flashed through her friend's eyes only moments before. "Ummm.. We're not entirely sure, but we think that it's due around June," Lita answered trying to think of a way to help her friend out. "That's near my birthday then," Serena said conversationally. She really was happy for her friend, but she still couldn't keep the jealousy out of her mind. Lita then had an idea. "I can invite Serena over for a little party, and invite some guys over, and maybe she'll hook up with one of them and finally fall in love!" she congratulated herself for having such a good idea. "Hey Serena, I'm having a party soon, to celebrate the news of the pregnancy, so can you send me times that you are available in the next few weeks? I'd really like you to come as you are one of my best friends, so I'd hate it if you couldn't come and be there for me," Lita said carefully to her friend who was now silent. She had to tread carefully and include the friend part because if she didn't, Serena would never turn up, as she wasn't really a social girl, being too caught up with her music. "Well, okay. I will try to come and I'll send you my schedule for the next 4-5 weeks, okay?" "Yeah! Thanks a lot Serena. Oops! I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up! See you later on then. E-mail me the schedule!" she called over her shoulder as she ran down the street to get to the hotel. Serena couldn't help but sigh with relief once Lita had gone. Yeah, she was her friend, but the dream and her new found jealousy were bothering her, and she desperately needed to play. While she had been talking to Lita they had walked toward her apartment, so it was only a short walk to get there. As soon as she got inside the messy, cramped living room she threw down her bags and took off her coat and just chucked it on the floor. "I'll clean it up later," she thought to herself as she rushed to her flute and music stand. As soon as she had gripped her instrument, she felt most of her worries floating away. Soon all her worries were gone and the room was filled with a sorrowful melody that she had made up by herself, a long time ago when she had been rejected by. something, it was too long ago for her to remember why she had written the melody, just that it was her favourite tune. She knew it off by heart and she played it with her eyes closed. The pressure of her dream had left her as soon as she had begun playing, but as soon as she stopped it began to haunt her again. Who was the man she had seen being tortured? Was it just another nightmare, or was it a dream that spoke the truth? She began to play a different melody, a delightful one with trills and fluffy notes, and she forgot her problems again, but as soon as she stopped the dream haunted her again. So she didn't stop all day.
At about 6:30, she received a phone call from her friend Raye. She almost missed the call as she was so absorbed into her music, but at that moment her song had ended, so she had heard the phone. "Hi Serena, how are you?" Raye's voice came over the phone. She hadn't heard from Serena for almost 3 weeks now, and she was starting to get worried about her. Although Serena didn't go out often, she always phoned at least once a week to talk, but ever since she and Chad had gotten engaged, Serena hadn't called. Raye didn't know what was going on with Serena, but she assumed that her friend was a bit jealous. After all, Serena was the only one in their little friendship group who wasn't either engaged or married, and from the looks of it, she wasn't going to be anytime soon. It had been months since Serena had been on a date as far as Raye knew, and she was beginning to worry that Serena would end up all alone with only her music for company. "I'm okay Raye, how are you and Chad?" Serena managed to say without bitterness to her voice. She was feeling a bit rejected because all of her friends seemed to be leaving her, but Raye getting engaged to Chad was a big shock, as they had only been "going out" for a few months, while all the others had been going out with their husbands or fiancés for at least 2 years, so Serena was feeling as if her best friend had deserted her. "We're okay, my job's good and so is his, so we're doing okay," Raye was a lawyer, one of the best in the country, and Chad was an accountant, so they were doing more than okay. Raye had gotten her reputation as a lawyer pretty early, as she is only 25, and is one of the youngest lawyers in the country, a well as being the best. "That's good. Have you heard from Lita?" Serena asked, trying hard to keep the poisonous jealousy from creeping into her voice. She was softly fingering the notes to her music while she was on the phone. "Yeah! She told me the good news an hour ago. Isn't it great! She's going to be the first mum among us. I think that she's going to be a great mother.." Serena stopped listening to Raye on the other end of the phone as tears started to fall down her cheeks. She was going to be all alone forever, all her friends were already leaving her, and all she had left was her music. Her music was the only thing left in her life, so she embraced it. She sat there with the phone up to her ear, crying silently and fingering the notes to her mournful memory.
End Of Chapter One
The young woman walked quickly down the crowded street, almost running in her haste to get away. She needed to get to her music, only her music could take her away from the nightmare she had just experienced. It had all begun when she had fallen asleep at her friend's place after a party. It had been a small party, and she had accepted the invitation to stay for the night, as it was rather late by the time the party finished. She had fallen asleep on the spare bed and straight away she began to dream.
She was in a cave that was filled with darkness, and she could sense an uncomfortable presence in the air. She couldn't see a thing, and then out of nowhere something grabbed her and wrapped itself around her chest, getting tighter and tighter until she could hardly breathe. Light suddenly filled the cave and in the middle was a man who looked about her age. He was tall, about 6"3, with gorgeous blue eyes and dark hair that looked like it was all over the place while looking extremely stylish. As soon as she saw him, another machine came and grabbed him around the chest and he just stood there, not struggling at all. She could see the machine growing tighter and tighter around his chest without him seeming to notice. After a minute though, he began to scream, but not as loud as she was screaming for him. She didn't know who he was, but for some reason seeing him being tortured hurt her more than being tortured herself. The machine that was around her, she could now see that it was a machine, began to tighten again, until she couldn't breathe. Just before she blacked out though, words magically appeared in front of her. STAY AWAY FROM HIM OR THIS WILL HAPPEN.
She continued to rush through the streets, determined to get to her apartment and get to her music. For Serena her music was everything, ever since she was in high school. Until she got to high school, Serena was a klutz who got bad marks in everything. When she got to high school, she decided to get down and study, but nothing really interested her that much, nothing inspired her. She told this to her form teacher, who had noticed the lack of enthusiasm in the girl. Her teacher had then suggested to her parents that Serena should learn an instrument. Her parents agreed to this and they bought her a flute for her birthday. From day one she had loved it. Even before she had gone to her first lesson, she had already figured out how to play most of the notes the instrument could play. After a year she had skipped up to 4th grade, and she devoted most of her time to playing, instead of hanging around at the games center. Because she was spending so much time playing though, her grades slipped even more until her parents decided that they wouldn't let her play until she had done all of her homework properly. Her grades then started to go up and up as she worked hard so that she could play her music. Now she is a professional flutist and music teacher at Tintern, and she uses her music to get her through problems in life, as it helps her calm down and be herself.
Now it was a Sunday, and for once in her life, she had a day off from everything. "What a great way to start my day off" she thought to herself as she tried to push through the growing crowds on the street. She was VERY eager to get to her music, especially as the crowd was beginning to make her nervous. Her home wasn't very far away now, and she had just turned the corner when her friend Lita called out to her. "Serena wait!" she called from across the street. She was a tall young woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and eyes that were a sparkling green. She was dressed in a long green and gold floral skirt and an old- fashioned blouse; she was a cook at a nearby hotel and that was her uniform. She was obviously on her way to work. "Hi Lita! Feeling better?" Serena asked her as Lita arrived next to her in a few moments. Lita had been sick lately and her husband Ken was really worried about her. "Yep! I've never been better. I went to the doctors to see what was wrong with me and he told me that I was pregnant! Can you believe it? I'm going to be a mum!" Lita practically skipped with excitement. Serena felt a pang of jealousy. She hadn't even gone on a date for ages, and now Lita was pregnant. It wasn't fair, all of her friends were either married or engaged, but Lita was the first one to be pregnant. For some reason that made Serena even more jealous of Lita, and it awakened a jealousy for all of her friends. Why should they all have people to love and who love them when she couldn't? "That's great news! I'm really happy for you!" Serena gushed, hiding her jealousy to herself. After all, she didn't want to upset her friend. Lita had seen something flash through Serena's eyes though, and that made Lita feel a bit sorry for her little friend. "All she's got in life is her friends and her music, and now that we're all married or engaged, she basically only has her music," Lita thought to herself, "poor Serena!" "When's the baby due?" Serena asked her, trying to look her best as an excited friend, but Lita could still remember the pain that had flashed through her friend's eyes only moments before. "Ummm.. We're not entirely sure, but we think that it's due around June," Lita answered trying to think of a way to help her friend out. "That's near my birthday then," Serena said conversationally. She really was happy for her friend, but she still couldn't keep the jealousy out of her mind. Lita then had an idea. "I can invite Serena over for a little party, and invite some guys over, and maybe she'll hook up with one of them and finally fall in love!" she congratulated herself for having such a good idea. "Hey Serena, I'm having a party soon, to celebrate the news of the pregnancy, so can you send me times that you are available in the next few weeks? I'd really like you to come as you are one of my best friends, so I'd hate it if you couldn't come and be there for me," Lita said carefully to her friend who was now silent. She had to tread carefully and include the friend part because if she didn't, Serena would never turn up, as she wasn't really a social girl, being too caught up with her music. "Well, okay. I will try to come and I'll send you my schedule for the next 4-5 weeks, okay?" "Yeah! Thanks a lot Serena. Oops! I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up! See you later on then. E-mail me the schedule!" she called over her shoulder as she ran down the street to get to the hotel. Serena couldn't help but sigh with relief once Lita had gone. Yeah, she was her friend, but the dream and her new found jealousy were bothering her, and she desperately needed to play. While she had been talking to Lita they had walked toward her apartment, so it was only a short walk to get there. As soon as she got inside the messy, cramped living room she threw down her bags and took off her coat and just chucked it on the floor. "I'll clean it up later," she thought to herself as she rushed to her flute and music stand. As soon as she had gripped her instrument, she felt most of her worries floating away. Soon all her worries were gone and the room was filled with a sorrowful melody that she had made up by herself, a long time ago when she had been rejected by. something, it was too long ago for her to remember why she had written the melody, just that it was her favourite tune. She knew it off by heart and she played it with her eyes closed. The pressure of her dream had left her as soon as she had begun playing, but as soon as she stopped it began to haunt her again. Who was the man she had seen being tortured? Was it just another nightmare, or was it a dream that spoke the truth? She began to play a different melody, a delightful one with trills and fluffy notes, and she forgot her problems again, but as soon as she stopped the dream haunted her again. So she didn't stop all day.
At about 6:30, she received a phone call from her friend Raye. She almost missed the call as she was so absorbed into her music, but at that moment her song had ended, so she had heard the phone. "Hi Serena, how are you?" Raye's voice came over the phone. She hadn't heard from Serena for almost 3 weeks now, and she was starting to get worried about her. Although Serena didn't go out often, she always phoned at least once a week to talk, but ever since she and Chad had gotten engaged, Serena hadn't called. Raye didn't know what was going on with Serena, but she assumed that her friend was a bit jealous. After all, Serena was the only one in their little friendship group who wasn't either engaged or married, and from the looks of it, she wasn't going to be anytime soon. It had been months since Serena had been on a date as far as Raye knew, and she was beginning to worry that Serena would end up all alone with only her music for company. "I'm okay Raye, how are you and Chad?" Serena managed to say without bitterness to her voice. She was feeling a bit rejected because all of her friends seemed to be leaving her, but Raye getting engaged to Chad was a big shock, as they had only been "going out" for a few months, while all the others had been going out with their husbands or fiancés for at least 2 years, so Serena was feeling as if her best friend had deserted her. "We're okay, my job's good and so is his, so we're doing okay," Raye was a lawyer, one of the best in the country, and Chad was an accountant, so they were doing more than okay. Raye had gotten her reputation as a lawyer pretty early, as she is only 25, and is one of the youngest lawyers in the country, a well as being the best. "That's good. Have you heard from Lita?" Serena asked, trying hard to keep the poisonous jealousy from creeping into her voice. She was softly fingering the notes to her music while she was on the phone. "Yeah! She told me the good news an hour ago. Isn't it great! She's going to be the first mum among us. I think that she's going to be a great mother.." Serena stopped listening to Raye on the other end of the phone as tears started to fall down her cheeks. She was going to be all alone forever, all her friends were already leaving her, and all she had left was her music. Her music was the only thing left in her life, so she embraced it. She sat there with the phone up to her ear, crying silently and fingering the notes to her mournful memory.
End Of Chapter One