Title: True Destiny

1

NIGHTMARE

I woke screaming, with my hair in wet rats tails clinging to my neck, my heart was pounding, feeling like it was about to burst through my chest. I looked around my room, it was pitch black; my alarm read 2:37 am. Too early. But after a few moments of considering that I just had a nightmare I decided to get up, knowing that I wouldn't be going back to sleep that morning. I threw off the covers feeling hot, and went is search of a shower. The water was soothing and relaxed my muscles. The wind blew and my hair whipped across my face, half blinding me; I couldn't stop myself, my arm reached out without me knowing what I was doing, my finger brushed lightly across the petals, and it instantly turned from blood red to velvet black... I returned back to reality, at unease by my flash back of my dream. After about half an hour I decided it was time to get out. I got dressed in anything in arms reach, which was just a shirt and my jeans. I raked threw my hair not bothering to be merciful, and went to the kitchen. I got down a bowl and put in three wit-bix. As I sat at the table I thought about doing the rest of my maths homework, but thought better of it. ...my hand threw back involuntary as I watched each petal turn dead black, losing the only life they held so desperately, a petal fell off and got court by the wind, another fell, and another. I panicked... Ihid my face in my hands, and took several deep breaths, I'd lost my appetite.

"Sky?" I knew exactly who it was and didn't want to face her at that very moment. "What are you doing up at this time in the morning? it's 3:30."

"I know mum, I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up."

"Oh, hun, don't worry I used to have dreams too when I was going through puberty-,"

"NO!" I couldn't believe it, the last thing a 15 year old girl wants to hear from her mother is how she dreamed about layed.

"No, it's got nothing to do with puberty mum, for Gods sake, shut-up!"

"Okay, then tell me about it."

I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her.

"I had a nightmare about this flower." I said, and it sounded like it was the most harmless thing in the world, even to me.

"You had a nightmare about a flower…?" "Right, and I slept with the president." She obviously wasn't taking this seriously.

"Very funny."

"Oh come on, you dreamed about a flower, aren't flowers suppose to be harmless?"

"Year, well when was the last time you dreamed that a flower was beautiful red then when you touched it, it turned dead black and died?" and even I could hear the acid in my voice. My mum went pale white, like shed just seen a ghost.

"I-," I started to apologize, but she interrupted me before I could say anything.

"What did you say you dreamed about?" mums' voice was shaky and urgent.

"I said I touched a red flower and it turned black and died." My stomach churned till it felt like it had wound itself into huge knots.

My mum left the room half walking, half running, she reached the phone that hung on the lounge room wall. She dialled a number I didn't know and the person on the other side picked it up immediately.

The voice on the other end was just a muffle to me, but I guessed they said hello.

"Hi can I please speak to Lucian?"

More muffle…

"Thank you."

I could tell that mum was about to throw frenzy fit if she didn't get her way; so I stood back.

Who was Lucian? And why was mum so panicked?

She turned and saw me, her golden-brown red hair fell over her shoulders, and in the light of the moon beam she looked like an angle, or that's what I thought an angle would look like anyway. She was still pale and being in the light didn't help that either. She worked as an artist, teaching kids at other schools. She got payed good considering that she was a professional. She also taught me everything she knows about art, I guess she wanted to pass down art through the generations, after all, her mother was an artist too, and she taught her about art. My mum also worked part time as a business woman, and her nick-name was India or Indi, her real name is Indianna, her mother gave her that name because India is famous for 'The Land Of The Rising Sun'. She said that her mother got inspiration from India and painted a lot about it. My mum called me Skyler because she loves the clouds and the sun, the birds and anything peaceful. I guess she interpreted the sky as peace, being free she calls it, and I've always respected that fact.

When she spoke again all she said was,

"She's ready." And waited a couple of seconds before she put back the phone.

"Sky," she said. "Go pack a suit case, only pack what you need; we're going away for a while."

I was speechless, going away for a while? Where were we going? Why were we going? I had no idea what just happened, my mind was blank.

"Sky, go pack your bag." Mum's voice was warning, but I couldn't move my legs, I was frozen in the middle of the room. I just stared at mum, how could she say we were just going? Running away wasn't my idea of a vacation. Finally mum had had enough and pulled me to my room, where she got down a suit case and threw random things in. I didn't know what she put in there but she had difficulty closing it.

She handed me that bag and went to pack hers, I wanted to hit something or someone, I wanted to yell, wanted to scream and have a tantrum. But I couldn't move -still- my knees buckled under me and I fell to the ground, in a half sitting half laying position. Mum was at my side in an instant, saying something, I wasn't listening to what she was saying, all I heard was we're going away, we're going away The words repeated them selves over and over inside of my head, like a never ending river of regretful reality.

...the last petal fell and every thing around me seem to fade and crumble in on its self. I realized everything I knew was gone, every memory, every emotion...gone. I felt as dead as the flower that was once beautiful was. The bushes and trees closed around me concealing me in my own horror, and I couldn't get out...

"Sky, Sky honey wake up. Come on, come back to me, we have to go..."

I could barely hear my mum's voice but I could hear it well enough, we were still going and there was nothing I could say or do to change her mind.

I got a grip of myself and forced my legs to work, I got up in an awkward way, but I was up.

"Sky we don't have much time left let's go!"

"Mum what's going on?" finding my voice once again.

"We don't have time to talk, let's move." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the garage, she was pulling so hard she nearly took my arm out of my socket. Mum opened the car door and piled the luggage in the back seats. She opened the passenger door and pushed me in. I reluctantly pulled on my seat belt, and mum climbed in diver's side and started the engine.

We were on the Princess Freeway, headed to Melbourne, or even farther than that. Finally, curiosity got the best of me and I couldn't help myself.

"Okay, where are we going, tell me now because you're going to have to sooner or later."

She sighed deeply and then hesitated.

"We're going to a town not marked on the map." She said it like she was completely bored with the subject.

"Not marked on the map?" I echoed her words, surprised.

"Yes."

"So what's this town called?" and I tried to say it as casual as you would in a normal conversation.

She didn't say anything, I tried harder.

"Who's Lucian?" I wasn't going ask that until we were talking more but I needed a conversation starter, and it worked.

"Why would you want to know about Lucian?"

"Because you seemed to know him or wouldn't have asked for him, right?"

She waited a couple of minutes before speaking again.

"Lucian is an old friend of mine."

"How do you know him?" it seemed like I was asking the same question over and over again.

"We were at school together." She was giving me strait answers and not enough detail, and it was really starting to piss me off.

I sighed in frustration. She obviously noticed because she started talking without me asking a question.

"We were in the same class for five years in a row; we even hooked up at one stage."

So she did know him.

"So what's the town called?" I asked for the second time.

"Well if you must know it's called Dion."

"What the hell? What kind of name is that?"

"One with a lot of history."

She seemed a little offended so I dropped the subject. But the one question I had been dying to know was…

"Why are we going?"

Mum took a deep breath and chose her words carefully; she must have known I was going to ask that, wouldn't she?

"You're ready."

"For…?" not enough information, I could see she was trying to put this off, but I wouldn't let her get her way, not this time.

"For the beginning of your life."

"In English. Please."

"We're moving for good."

What? She just said that we were only going for a little while, now we were moving for good, what did I miss in-between?

"What?" I said in a very small voice, I couldn't yell at the moment. Evan though I wanted to.

"We are moving for good."

I'd had enough and this time I did yell, really loud.

"MUM! WILL YOU JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHY ARE WE GOING?"

I'd court her off guard which was very hard to do, I was sort of proud of myself, but that feeling lasted about two seconds because when she spoke she sounded hurt, and I immediately felt guilty which I was in some ways, but I refused to apologize.

"I can't explain it, I'm sorry, I wish I could, but I'm not allowed. You will find out when we get there, Lucian will tell you, I'm sorry."

I was going to meet Lucian? Wow. I was going to meet my mums High School ex-boyfriend-ex-crush, or was he just an ex-boyfriend; I decided to ask, which again through her off guard, I was getting to be a pro at that.

"Do you still love him?"

"What?" I'd clearly surprised her, and I had a little smile all to myself for a brief moment.

"You heard what I said, do you still love him?" I said one word at a time so it sounded like I was talking to someone that was slow.

She was quick to answer which meant she was lying.

"No I don't."

"Don't be so quick to answer, people will assume your lying." I turned my head to look at her, and gave the best mocking look I could manage, and she clearly picked up on that, which is what I wanted. She smiled and then gave me mocking answer that I wasn't expecting her to say.

"Who said that I wasn't lying?" now that through me off guard, and for the time being I was speechless.

We Were out of Melbourne in 45 minutes, and onto a highway I didn't know the name of, I was getting hungry and as I was about to ask mum if she packed any food while I was in shock, she turned onto a closed road that was made of dirt, something like you would see on a farm.

"What are you doing we're not allowed on this road."

"I know that."

"So why are we on this road?"

"Just trust me."

Gee last time she said that I ended up having two molars taken out.

"Why what are you planning on doing this time?"

"Trust me."

She wasn't going to let me in on what she was planning to do so I had no other option but to wait and see.

The road led us down the stream bank and past all the old industries that were no longer used, I wondered what those industries were used for, but figured that they were old wool factories.

We we're going past cow paddocks when mum stoped the car and I nearly fell out of my seat.

"Um… mum what are you doing?"

"Like I said, trust me." She hesitated before she spoke again. "Sky, what you're about to see will only be the start of things."

"What are you talking about?"