I sat bolt upright, fumbling my lamp on. The yellow halo of light gave me some comfort and I peered through the darkness. Rain pelted against my window, the shutters bobbing against the glass. I sighed in relief. The dream had obviously been stirred up by the storm, my mind drawing parallels to something that had happened two years ago. I lay back against my pillows, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to sleep. But there was a cold fear radiating through my stomach and I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
I swung out of bed,the carpet rough against my feet. Inching slowly across the floor I squinted into the shadows, waving a hand through each black stain. There was a draft leaking through the window and I shivered, pulling at the hem of my night gown. BANG, BANG, BANG! I whirled my heart pounding.
"Sarah?"
I sighed, it was just my father.
"Yeah?" I ran a hand through my frazzled hair, trying to shake the feeling of fear out of my chest.
"Look, Toby's fever has gotten worse. We're going to take him to the hospital. Will you be alright here by yourself?...Sarah?"
Alone? "Ye-Yeah." I cleared my throat, the night's grey chill crawling along my skin.
"Alright. We should be back in a few hours, you can go back to sleep."
Sleep? There was no way I was going to be able to sleep, it was too dark, too quiet... too...similar. I listened to my father's retreating steps until he was out of ear shot, then I ran to the light switch, flicking it up with desperate fingers. The light cleared away the general greyness, but the darker shadow seemed even more dark and concealing compared to its white glow. They spilled out of my closet like wet ink, beckoning something to come and hide in the shadows. I crept over to it slowly...then I wrenched apart the line of coats, tripping and entangling myself in a heap of breath rushed out of my crushed stomach and I sat back, wincing. Pushing a hundred pound cardboard box back away from my knees I scanned my room again with real relief. The only danger seemed to be my over active imagination.
I staggered upright. Looking down at the flattened cardboard. A familiar shape was poking through the flaps. I dropped to my knees again pushing the box open carefully. I'd forgotten them. Hoggle, Didymus...Ludo... I'd shoved them out of my mind like I had shoved these toys away into the closet. I hadn't seen them in... a year...didn't remember how I had ever seen them to begin with...
Reaching down I hefted the book end that reminded me so much of Hoggle, the one that had been poking out of the box. It's hat was chipped, and sometime in the past Toby had managed to take a marker to its face. I wonder if they remembered me? Or if they'd shoved away my memory like I'd shoved away theirs... Or if they were waiting for me... to call. Probably not. I put the toy back in its box. They probably hated me by now... or had given up on me entirely.
"Sarah."
I bolted upright, racing out into the hallway.
"Dad?" I peered down into the empty was nothing but a shadowy hole, sort of like... I rushed to my window, looking out through the rain. The car was gone from the drive. I was alone. My breath came in panicked gasps and I leaned hard against the wall. I needed to calm down. It was nothing... just dream lingerings... phantoms brought on by the storm... Steeling myself I raced to the bathroom, trying not to make things out of the shadows. Slamming the door behind me I gripped the sink, staring at my reflection.
"Look Sarah!" the voice demanded and suddenly it wasn't my reflection I was seeing in the oval glass... "I've brought you a gift." I couldn't see the bauble rolling along his hands, I could just see him. His face. The beginnings of his shoulders. His mouth moving as he spoke.
"What is it?" I heard myself ask, though my lips didn't move.
"It's a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way...it will show you your dreams..." His voice faded with his image and I was left staring at my own terrified face, muscles frozen, knuckles white around the taps. It was a memory. I told myself. Just a memory. Peeling my hands off the sink I stumbled back to my room, falling against the door when it was closed behind me. I buried my face into my hands, my whole body was shaking and I tried desperately to calm it down.
There was a tap against my window and I looked up in time to see an avian body wing past. I stood slowly, staring and was just about to step forward when there was a crash from the other room.
Toby's room.
"Sarah."

Chapter 2, by request. Tell me if you want me to keep going...