Dreaming of Dreams
Chapter One
Sunny blonde hair was flying wildly. A girl was panting heavily, running from something…what she was running from, she didn't know…
"Momma!"
The girl stopped. 'Momma…?' She pondered the word in her mind.
"Momma, Momma, Momma!" The voice held a cry.
The girl continued to breathe heavily as she turned to the call of a child's voice. Her deep blue eyes blinked back tears as she saw a small little girl staring up at her.
"Oh, Momma, I thought you were going away. Please don't leave, Momma!"
The young child, no more than five years old, hurried up to the girl. She sniffled slightly and stared up. "Momma…" She reached her little arms up.
The girl blinked slightly. "You called me Momma…"
The little child started crying. "Momma, hold me!"
The girl blinked again. She looked deep into the little girl's cerulean eyes. 'She couldn't possibly be my child…could she?' She reached out a hand and stroked it through the child's long white hair. 'My child…?' She pulled her hand back quickly and clasped her palms together. "What's your name?"
The child's cries stopped and she looked up, puzzle crossing her soft features. "Momma…you know my name…I'm your little Angel…don't you know me, Momma?"
The girl started crying herself, shaking. "No, I don't know you. I don't know you."
The child reached out and hugged the girl's legs. "It's okay, Momma. Daddy will be home soon and then you'll remember me. Daddy will help you remember me."
A sharp ringing noise shook Aino Minako from her sleep. She bolted upright in bed, panting. 'What was that dream? That little girl! She kept saying I was her mother!'
She groaned and fell back on the bed, whacking the alarm clock on the bedside table that had awakened her. She ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. "What a crazy dream." She murmured.
"Crazy dream, Mina-chan?"
Minako gasped, leaned over, and peeked over the side of her bed. Her talking white cat, Artemis, was sitting on the floor and giving her a concerned look. She smiled slightly and outstretched her arms, waiting for him to jump up on the bed. He did, and cuddled up to her. She stroked his fur gently.
"Hai, Artemis, a crazy dream…but don't worry yourself over it. It was just a dream, after all." She gave him a reassuring smile.
"Are you sure? We can talk about it, if you want…" Worry flashed in his blue eyes.
"It's alright, don't worry about it!" She hugged him and got up, setting him on the floor. "Well, I set that alarm for a purpose. I'm supposed to be meeting the girls at the arcade soon. I'd better get ready quick or I'll be late!"
She rushed to her closet and grabbed out some clothes and ran to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Artemis purred slightly and crawled into his cat bed, going back to sleep.
Minako walked down the sidewalks of Tokyo, Japan, heading towards the CROWN Arcade, where she was meeting her friends. She frowned, thinking how that for the first time, she really wasn't in the mood to hang out with her friends. She sighed and stopped her walk, staring across the street. The arcade was just a few steps away from her; she was almost there. She frowned and turned away. Heading in the opposite direction, she began to run. 'Where am I going?' She yelled at herself. Sighing, she stopped running and started to just walk again. 'The girls are going to get worried about me…I should go back.' She frowned again. Going back didn't sound appeasing. She walked past a children's playground that was full of kids running about and playing happily. She smiled slightly and sat down at a bench to watch them.
She stared ahead silently. 'That dream…it's nothing…' She frowned again. "But if it's nothing, then how come I'm worrying over it so much?"
"Worrying about what so much, Minako-san?"
She gasped and looked over at a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled slightly. "Konnichiwa, Mamoru-san. Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on people?"
Chiba Mamoru chuckled lightly. "Gomen, Minako-san. Don't YOU know that it's odd to talk to yourself?"
"I didn't know I said it out loud…" She looked away, down at the ground.
He frowned, taking a seat beside her on the bench. "Something bothering you?"
She looked over at him, his piercingly sapphire eyes reflecting concern towards her. She sighed and looked back over the playground. "Just…an odd dream."
He tilted his head slightly. "Odd dream? Was it a nightmare?"
She looked up at him again. "Um…"
'Do I tell him? …I couldn't even tell Artemis…can I tell Mamoru, of all people? Of course, I've heard he's wonderful with helping with problems, but…I've never been that close to him. I mean…Ami's close to him, and so are Rei and Makato…they talk to him a lot…but I never have, really…but…' She bit her lip. 'What will Usagi think if I tell her boyfriend a problem that I'm having, and not tell her? She's my best friend…'
She pursed her lips together and stared up at the blue sky above her. It was seemingly easy to tell him, after all. "No, not a nightmare…it was just odd. I mean…" She sighed and turned to him. "Don't tell Usagi-chan about it. I haven't told anyone, not the girls, not Artemis, but…well, it's…" She bit her lip. "In the dream, I was running. And then I heard a little voice yell out 'Momma'. I stopped running and turned around and there was this little girl…she was a beautiful little girl. She had this really long beautiful white hair, and…her eyes, her eyes were this blue shade…much like mine. She…kept calling me Momma, and asked me to hold her. I asked her what her name was. She looked upset and told me "I'm your little Angel, Momma, don't you remember me?" I had a CHILD, Mamoru. She said she was my Angel! …and then…then she said that 'Daddy' would be home soon and he'd help me remember her. It was so…weird." She stopped and leaned back, sighing.
Mamoru shook his head, his black hair shining in the bright sunlight. "Minako-san…that is quite…odd, I have to say. Have you ever had the dream before?"
"No, I haven't." She turned to him. "Mamoru…don't tell Usagi-chan about it. Please. It was nothing, after all. I mean…just a silly dream."
He nodded. "I won't tell her. But Minako-san…it might not be just a silly dream. Some dreams mean…that something's going to happen. Tell me, have you been seeing anyone…seriously lately?"
She shook her head sadly. "No…I haven't dated anyone in quite a while, actually. Why do you ask?"
"Just a theory. I thought it might have been that you were thinking of getting very serious with some guy. I suppose not, ne? Well, I don't know what to tell you, Minako-san. But don't take the dream lightly and if you have it again, tell me. If it does, it's really not just a silly dream and we'll look into it. Alright?"
She smiled. "Thanks a lot, Mamoru-san. I've been told that you're a wonderful listener and problem solver. I've been told right!"
He laughed. "Well, thanks. I try."
She nodded and jumped up. "I'll see you later, Mamoru-san. I'm supposed to be at the arcade with the girls as we speak. Ja ne!"
She walked away briskly, turning around only briefly to wave to him. Then she took off running towards the arcade.
Mamoru stood up and frowned. "Minako-san..."
Chapter One End.