"Grey... Nothingness... Lost... Lonely... Mm... Mmm... MOM! DAD!" Emerald began
to mumble in her sleep which was punctuated with screams. Hurrying to her
bedside, Luna held onto her and gave her a few shakes. Startled green eyes
shone back at her.
"Was I sleep-talking again?" Emerald whimpered. Luna sighed and let go of her.
"You were sleep screaming," Luna replied. "Close your eyes and I'll make them better." Emerald lay back and stared at the ceiling, listening to the blood beating in her temples.
"No," she said softly, weakly. "I can manage..." Luna gave her a pitying look. "Something's wrong, Luna. Somewhere. I'm... I'm a little scared."
"You should talk to Ann in the morning," Luna advised. "It's your future sense, I'm sure. You two are kindred in that aspect, she can help you interpret what it was. It... May have just been your longing for your parents again."
"Maybe," Emerald whispered. When it was obvious that was all she was going to say, Luna left quietly, leaving Emerald to lay in silence, until she quietly sat up, struck a match, and lit the candle in the room. She stared into the flame, letting its dance hypnotize her. It was in these semi-conscious states that she sometimes thought she was talking to her mother, even though it was just her own mind.
"What was it in my dream you saw?" the voice asked her, after she was satisfactorily lost in thought.
"I saw my family, even if it was rather photo like," she thought back. "Then the background of it disappeared, and then all of us until it was just me. I didn't understand, but when I tried to find someone to ask, they were all gone. After I realized that, the house began to burn down. I could hear screaming, and I tried to find who it was, but again, the place was empty. After a while, the only screams where my own..."
"Let's go through this piece by piece," the voice advised. "What did the photo represent?"
"The past," she thought firmly. "When we were all together."
"Good," it complimented. "Now, what did the background disappearing represent?"
"Change."
"And the family?"
"Loss."
"This isn't so hard," the voice scoffed. "I think we just effectively covered fifteen years in a few minutes. Your confusion was just that, confusion. You wonder why everyone left. And when you couldn't find anyone to ask?"
"Lack of answers," she said, this time aloud. "Nobody knows the answer..."
"Now comes the tricky part," warned the voice. "Why did the house burst into flames?" There was a deep silence in her head as she tried to put together an answer. There were many possibilities; it was a matter of picking the right one. She settled on her impulse.
"Crisis."
"And the voices?"
"People caught in this crisis as well, and want help," she murmured. Then she thought of a list of names. "That's a lot of people. I suppose my brothers are foremost on that list. Twilight especially, he doesn't have anyone to mourn with. Sunray because Angel doesn't understand... And Snowflake, but not so much. Seafoam was very understanding for her... And now that I think about it, the voices were male. So I'm going to say Sunray and Twilight."
"But you couldn't find them," the voice added. "Perhaps that was because you didn't know where to look."
"Nonsense," she scoffed at herself. "I looked everywhere."
"Then maybe they didn't want to be found."
This made little sense to Emerald. In a fire, she would certainly want to be found. Who would want to be burned alive? But then she was looking at it from the non-symbolic view... In a crisis, not wanting to be found normally meant denial, or some other form of coping that was unhealthy. Now it was becoming clear.
"Now you've got it," the voice whispered, but faded, as she had grown tired again and was drifting to sleep once more.
"They're in trouble," she thought, eyes closing heavily. "And unless I act fast, they're going to burn..."
"Was I sleep-talking again?" Emerald whimpered. Luna sighed and let go of her.
"You were sleep screaming," Luna replied. "Close your eyes and I'll make them better." Emerald lay back and stared at the ceiling, listening to the blood beating in her temples.
"No," she said softly, weakly. "I can manage..." Luna gave her a pitying look. "Something's wrong, Luna. Somewhere. I'm... I'm a little scared."
"You should talk to Ann in the morning," Luna advised. "It's your future sense, I'm sure. You two are kindred in that aspect, she can help you interpret what it was. It... May have just been your longing for your parents again."
"Maybe," Emerald whispered. When it was obvious that was all she was going to say, Luna left quietly, leaving Emerald to lay in silence, until she quietly sat up, struck a match, and lit the candle in the room. She stared into the flame, letting its dance hypnotize her. It was in these semi-conscious states that she sometimes thought she was talking to her mother, even though it was just her own mind.
"What was it in my dream you saw?" the voice asked her, after she was satisfactorily lost in thought.
"I saw my family, even if it was rather photo like," she thought back. "Then the background of it disappeared, and then all of us until it was just me. I didn't understand, but when I tried to find someone to ask, they were all gone. After I realized that, the house began to burn down. I could hear screaming, and I tried to find who it was, but again, the place was empty. After a while, the only screams where my own..."
"Let's go through this piece by piece," the voice advised. "What did the photo represent?"
"The past," she thought firmly. "When we were all together."
"Good," it complimented. "Now, what did the background disappearing represent?"
"Change."
"And the family?"
"Loss."
"This isn't so hard," the voice scoffed. "I think we just effectively covered fifteen years in a few minutes. Your confusion was just that, confusion. You wonder why everyone left. And when you couldn't find anyone to ask?"
"Lack of answers," she said, this time aloud. "Nobody knows the answer..."
"Now comes the tricky part," warned the voice. "Why did the house burst into flames?" There was a deep silence in her head as she tried to put together an answer. There were many possibilities; it was a matter of picking the right one. She settled on her impulse.
"Crisis."
"And the voices?"
"People caught in this crisis as well, and want help," she murmured. Then she thought of a list of names. "That's a lot of people. I suppose my brothers are foremost on that list. Twilight especially, he doesn't have anyone to mourn with. Sunray because Angel doesn't understand... And Snowflake, but not so much. Seafoam was very understanding for her... And now that I think about it, the voices were male. So I'm going to say Sunray and Twilight."
"But you couldn't find them," the voice added. "Perhaps that was because you didn't know where to look."
"Nonsense," she scoffed at herself. "I looked everywhere."
"Then maybe they didn't want to be found."
This made little sense to Emerald. In a fire, she would certainly want to be found. Who would want to be burned alive? But then she was looking at it from the non-symbolic view... In a crisis, not wanting to be found normally meant denial, or some other form of coping that was unhealthy. Now it was becoming clear.
"Now you've got it," the voice whispered, but faded, as she had grown tired again and was drifting to sleep once more.
"They're in trouble," she thought, eyes closing heavily. "And unless I act fast, they're going to burn..."