Alice fell asleep again. This time her sleep riddled with hushed whimpers and near audible groans, in order to figure out what was wrong with her I dove into her dreaming mind. All I saw were images, memories, of her mother, her father. They were just flashing, like strobe lights, her screaming siblings flashed by. It was loud, screams and moans, the sounds of a crashing airplane nearly made me have to cover my ears. I felt the heat of a fire, but as it all climaxed, it went dead silent, absolutely dark. Utter blackness spread as far as the eye could see. I searched for the little teen. But a beat shattered the crushing silence, like that of a heartbeat. It echoed like a lullaby throughout her Alice's mind. A small golden pinpoint of light sparked out of the darkness.
No more. It was Alice's voice. It was a broken, rugged, sad, tear clogged voice, but beneath it all, there was strength. There was hope. The golden light exploded, nearly blinding me, causing me to shield my eyes until it dulled down. When it did, I heard the sound of running water, and birds singing, the fragrance of wild flowers hung heavily in the air. I opened my eyes, seeing a peaceful looking Alice sitting cross legged in the meadow. She had her eyes closed.
"This is where I go when I clear my mind." She told me, opening those gut punching Caribbean blue eyes. Her raven hair swayed in the light breeze. I looked around in awe, we were completely surrounded by trees, a charming little dirt path lead the way into the clearing.
"Is this place real?" I asked her, sitting down across from Alice. She nodded.
"My mom always brought me here; this was where she taught me to clear my mind. She also brought me here to play, before she died. When my dad was actually a father. We'd come here, when I was an only child and we would spend the day here; having picnics. She's buried here." Alice said, looking over to the left. A small gravestone had appeared.
"I miss her a lot." Alice's voice cracked. I stared at her with sympathy, reaching over I brought her into my arms. She allowed me to, burying her face in my shoulder.
"All I ever want is to be six again. Like this was all a dream…" She muttered. I rubbed her back soothingly, she pulled away from me and went over to the stream.
"This is my place of peace. Sometimes my mom is here, others she's not. But either way, here, I'm happy." She told me, despite what she said, she looked sad. Alice was hugging herself, slouched over, longingly watching the water run by her with a hung head. The meadow faded away, leaving us in a dark abyss again. I stared at her from the distance she put between us. She turned slowly looking at me.
"What about you? When you cleared away all your worries, and fears; did you go somewhere?" She asked me. I nodded slowly at her. She smiled softly. I couldn't fight my own grin.
"Show me, you have full control of my mind. But don't you dare try anything funny. I'll throw you out faster than you can even blink.
"It's my castle in Transylvania." I told her, with that, a fierce wind came, forcing away the darkness like a hot summer wind would an early morning fog. It whipped Alice's hair about ferociously, making her press her hands to her head to keep her hair back. The wind died down as silvery moonlight fell upon the landscape, mist covered the ground up to my knees. It was up to Alice's calves. She looked around.
I gazed upon the mystical Transylvanian landscape with gentle nostalgia. The slopes of the mountains that my castle was nestled in were barely visible in the darkness, their giant, majestic outlines barely highlighted against the moonlight. I could barely pick out the fire lit windows of my far off palace, its towers rising up above the small mountain slope and silhouetted against the moon. Alice came to my side.
"This place is beautiful." She told me, her crystal clear blue eyes wide. She was beautiful in the moonlight, her marble skin glowed radiantly, eyes shone softly, her hair glistened, moonlight playing off of the black strands of silk enticingly. I had to kiss her, but I was able to manage a chaste kiss to the forehead.
"I want you to be this happy, for the rest of your life, alright?" I whispered to her. She squeaked, nearly whimpering. I pulled back and looked her in the eyes. Hers were even wider than before, filled to the brim with surprise. She nodded
"Okay." She told me. I smiled gently, nearly touching her face. But this time I restrained myself. She was so young, too young. I'd wait. So I left her to dream her own dreams. Taking my vision of Transylvania with me.
I sat in the chair patiently, Alice was still asleep. I hoped that she would remember what had happened when she woke. She had trusted me without even slight hesitation. If she didn't remember, and she would wake up hating me again, I wouldn't know what to do.
Four hours passed and she woke, stretching with a quiet groan. I fidgeted nervously. It was just a kiss on the forehead. I kept telling myself that, but I knew it was intimate for people that had just met face to face mere hours ago. As she finished stretching she went limp. Not saying a single word to me. She stared out the window at the starry sky.
Please remember. I prayed (using the term lightly here) urgently.
"Dracula." She asked quietly, looking at me. I turned my attention to her gently.
"Yes Alice?" I replied. She was hesitant.
"Was that real? In my dreams, was that you, really you?" She asked. I nodded.
"Yes. You were upset, more than the last time. I… wanted to be sure you were okay." I told her nearly sheepishly. She gave me a quiet 'oh' but remained quiet for the rest of the flight.
We finally landed at 2:30 in the morning. Alice was sound asleep once more. I nudged her awake gently, Simon woke with a jolt and a drowsy 'What?' I looked at him for a moment.
"We aren't flying anymore." He stated. I snorted and nodded.
"What a wonderful genius you are Simon." I commented. Alice was getting her bag from over our heads. She looked at me.
"In the dream… did you kiss me… on the forehead?" She asked, pointing to her face. If I could blush I would have.
"Yes. I don't know why, I apologize. Alice." I told her. She shook her head with a drowsy shrug.
"I'm not mad… just confused. Why?" She asked "How long have you known me?" She continued.
"Since 2000." I told her, walking out into the isle, she by passed me.
"Four years? You've been watching over me since I was eleven?" She asked. I nodded shyly.
"Once more, I apologize." I told her. She laughed sleepily.
"No, it's fine. Comforting, now that I know you, like you were my guardian angel." She commented, touching my forearm. She grabbed my hand and started leading me off of the plane.
"Your refuge was beautiful by the way." I told her. She smiled softly.
"Thank you, I wish I could learn more about your Transylvania." She told me. I smiled.
"Maybe, if Mary and Simon let you. Maybe you could come see it, for a senior trip in high school." I told her. She smiled sweetly.
'I'd like that. It sounds completely wonderful."