Shinigami-cat: Well… I OWN NOTHING!

Forgotten dream

Who knows what happens when we dream? Is it merely a manifestation of random memories, information, thoughts and desires, collected and rearranged in odd and unnatural ways? Some believe it's the brain's way of possessing everything that's happened after a long day's work. Few believe it means something more.

But can we ever say for certain where our dreams come from or what they mean… If they do mean something? They seem like weird and twisted gateways into fantastic worlds, that can decay and crumble before our very eyes.

What about when we dream of falling? Are we falling emotionally or is it a sensation, a symbol of what we feel during the day in our waking lives? Losing control over our destiny or is it just some random, meaningless experience? But are we falling for another reason?

Can our dreams warn us of the future? A terrifying experience of what is to come? Are they trying to speak to us through the language of symbols? But we are unable to translate their meaning. Dreams are unstable and unpredictable. Attempts to translate our dreams are destined to fail.

Yet sometimes there is a strange feeling we get even after we wake up. A feeling we get and when that dream comes true that makes us jump up and say, 'I've been here before, but I can't remember why.'

Déjà vu, we call it. Some who believe in Sooth Sayers, Oracles and Fortune tellers wrongly call it a prophetic dream. A window into the future about something to come.

There is no telling if a dream might be significant, nine hundred and ninety-nine times you'll have a purposeless one. But then there is that thousandth dream. That one that will stay with you at night and haunt your waking hours. It is screaming out for you to hear what it is saying, begging, praying, crying, and pleading. But you aren't listening. You can't speak the language of symbols.

Maybe you are falling because you fell in life, so you continue to fall in your dream? Perhaps you are going to fall? Sadly you'll never know if you could have prevented it by listening to your dreams. Because no one ever listens to their dreams ever. They just fall through the void without thinking. Without feeling. Numb to all emotions and senses. Then one day they just look up and say, 'I've been here before!'

But like a cruel twist of fate they never remember why… or what danger forgetting will lead to.

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Gilbert slowly opened his eyes. He could feel something cold and metallic pressed up against the side of his face. Everything was pretty dark but he could hear the grind of rusted metal against metal. He slowly stood up and looked at what he was leaning on. It was a metal bar. He frowned and took a few steps back. His eyes widened as he took in its shape.

"A giant bird cage?" He whispered. "A giant bird cage… What the hell?"

He walked back towards it and looked inside. There was nothing much in there; an apple tree, a small pond and a swing. From where he was he could see a small figure of someone with their head down low. Their legs dangling lifelessly beneath them.

Gilbert frowned and began to walk around to the front of the cage. He pulled on the door and it slowly creaked open. The sounds of metal grinding against metal echoed around the room. When he had managed to make enough room to squeeze through he did. He slunk into the cage.

The first thing he noticed was the temperature change. It felt like it was absolute zero in there. He could see his breath leave his mouth as steam. Cautiously he walked over to the person on the swing.

When he was about arms-length away from the person he stopped and looked at them; their head was down, long greasy blond hair covered his face and cast a dark shadow over his face, his clothes were a faded grey and tattered, only a small stream of steam floated out of his mouth.

"Hey kid." Whispered Gilbert. "Are you okay? Do you need help?" The kid didn't even move. Gilbert frowned and touched the kid's shoulder. Even through his clothes Gilbert could tell he was freezing. "Damn you're ice cold… Let's get out of here."

Slowly the kid lifted his head and looked up at Gilbert with his large, dead, lifeless, violet eyes. Gilbert's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. 'Oh god… Matthew!'

Gilbert Grabbed Matthew by the shoulders and shook him. "Matthew! Come on, we need to get out of here! You're sick! We have to go now!" Matthew's head fell to the side and lolled around like a rag doll. That was when Gilbert first noticed the water slowly dripping out of the corner of his mouth. Gilbert's heart began to race. "Matthew…" He whispered. "Are you dying?" Matthew slowly closed his eyes and in the blink of an eye he turned into water. Leaving nothing but a puddle of water behind. Gilbert fell to his knees and began to cry. "I've lost everything!" He cried out to no one. "I have nothing left anymore!"

As more violent sobs wracked his body he curled up on the floor. Darkness seemed to consume him along with sorrow. 'Matthew… Birdie… My Birdie… My precious Birdie… I want to go with you… I want to be with you please… I'll jump, you just have to catch me when I fall… Please… I love you…'

Suddenly a hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up; kind, loving, caring lavender eyes looking at him without pity, without hate, just love. Slowly Gilbert sat up and smiled. "Matthew." He reached out and held Matthew in his arms. There was something familiar, yet different about him. He couldn't place it but he didn't care. He just wanted to hold his Matthew in his arms and never let go. Then it hit him. He pulled back and looked into Matthew's eyes. He was close but not close enough. "Canada?"

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Gilbert's eyes snapped open and he fell out of the bed with a thump. "Ouch… not an awesome way to wake up… Now where the hell am I?" He slowly stood up and leaned against the soft mattress. Slowly the events of last night began to seeped into his mind. He groaned and face palmed. "Right… KKK lookalikes kidnapped us, tried to kill us, Canada went bat shit crazy and killed a Plague and Kuma is actually a polar bear… My therapist is going to have a field day."

He quickly pulled off the hoodie and grabbed his clothes from last night and pulled them on. They smelt a little like dirt and sweat. He sighed and walked down stairs. He paused for a second and sniffed the air. He could smell bacon, eggs and something sweet. He poked his head into the kitchen and grinned.

Canada had three pans going on the stove. One with bacon, one with a large omelette and one with pancakes. He had his iPod in and was humming along to some song. Soon there were plates piled high with bacon, egg and pancakes. He set them down on the table and went over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice. When he noticed Gilbert he smiled and waved him over. "Just in time for breakfast."

Gilbert sat down at the table and helped himself to the food. He piled his plates up high with pancakes. "Do you have any maple syrup?"

Canada grinned and put a large bottle of the stuff down on the table. "My name is Canada isn't it? What kind of human being would I be if I didn't have maple syrup?"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Human?"

Canada shrugged. "Human enough. I look like a human don't I?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes and drenched his pancakes in maple syrup. "Yeah… You look human but you can cast magic. Human's don't cats magic you idiot."

"Then I guess I'm kind of human." Said Canada as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Right. I really don't give a rat's ass if you're a freaking goldfish or a fruit bat." He ate some of the pancake and waved his fork at Canada. "But you saved my life last night so I'm happy for now… man you're a good cook."

Canada chuckled. "Well I did promise I wouldn't let anything happen to you so… And you should thank my Papa. He taught me how to cook… Papa…" Canada sighed and looked down at his plate. "I miss him…"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you go visit him?"

"I can't." Said Canada. "He lives in France… Or maybe London? It's hard to tell these days. Either way a day trip is out of the question."

"Oh…" Said Gilbert. "Same thing here… When I leave school I want to go see my mum and dad… At least I know where they are."

"What do you mean?" Asked Canada.

Gilbert shook his head. "Rather not say… It's personal."

Canada frowned but didn't ask any more questions. Instead he picked up a stuffed bear and put it on a chair. Gilbert frowned and looked at it. Suddenly the toy opened its mouth and yawned. "Who are you?"

Gilbert jumped in his seat. "Holy hell! Kuma can change sizes too?"

Canada nodded and put some bacon on a plate for Kuma. "Yeah. He has three forms; human, for obvious reasons. Giant polar bear, good for attacking enemies and such. Finally there is toy polar bear or as I like to call it fun size. He's easier to move around like this." He reached over and patted Kuma who grunted and chewed on some bacon.

Gilbert nodded slowly. "Right… What's the time?"

"About ten." Said Canada. "Don't worry I'll drop you home soon and you'll make it to your appointment in plenty of time."

Gilbert groaned and face palmed. "I hate going there. I hate talking about my feelings and crap! It's just pointless! I don't wanna go there anymore!"

"Then the answer is simple." Said Canada. "Stop cutting and you won't have to go."

Gilbert pouted. "I haven't cut myself in weeks. Last time my arms were even bleeding was two days ago when you grabbed me and went all psycho."

Canada blushed and looked away ashamed. "Sorry…"

Gilbert shrugged. "No big deal. I mean I wasn't the one dying on the floor. What the hell was that anyway?"

Canada shifted uncomfortably. "Well… There are diseases caused by bacteria and viruses that occur naturally in nature and then there's diseases caused by magic gone bad… That's what happened to me… Really, really bad magic."

Gilbert frowned. "Describe it."

Canada shrugged. "It's kind of like AIDS but on speed."

"You have AIDS?" Asked Gilbert with wide eyes.

"Technically it's super AIDS." Said Canada. "Imagine every treatment there is for AIDS, now I know there is no cure of it but there are some drugs people can take to help them but with me… Those treatments are about as useful as a freezer in Antarctica. I just have to deal with it."

"What does it do to you?" Asked Gilbert curiously.

Canada scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well… First of all I get a horrible head ach so it affects my mood, then my immune system gets ripped to shreds for a moment. I can't control my body temperature and I usually end up freezing. After all that I usually end up vomiting this really gross thick, black, sticky snot like stuff. I store them in jars down in the basement because I can't burn them unless I want to end up poisoning an area the size of Russia… And I can't pour them down the sink unless I want to kill every fish in the sea."

Gilbert thought for a second and his eyes went wide. 'Those jars back in the basement… Oh man… There were so many of them.'

Canada sighed and stood up. "When you're done I'll take you home okay?"

Gilbert nodded and quickly finished off his pancakes. "Okay I'm done."

Canada smiled and grabbed his car keys. "Okay then let's get going. Oh and you can have the rest of the day off if you want."

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After another slow and drawn out session with his therapist Gilbert was back home lying upside down in an arm chair watching TV. He wasn't really paying attention to what was on. Day time TV sucked. As far as he knew he was watching some stupid soap opera where there were witches and humans and stuff. It looked like it had been made back in the seventies judging by the hair and the funny clothes.

He hadn't really been following the story line but as far as he could tell a good witch lost a potion that was making people relive their lives through visions of what could have been. Apparently one of the witches could have become a nun.

Soon the door opened and Ludwig walked in. He walked over to Gilbert and frowned. "Where were you last night?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I lost track of the time last night so Canada let me stay over."

"Why didn't you call?" Asked Ludwig.

Gilbert grinned. "Well I couldn't answer the phone because Canada and I happened to get kidnapped by a bunch of religious nut jobs who thought I was a demon and he was a witch. I freaked out a little when Canada started to rip into one of them but I'm alright now so calm down."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "In other words you didn't have your phone charged?"

Gilbert chuckled and sat up properly. "You got it. How was school?"

Ludwig sighed. "Feli somehow got stuck on the school roof again, Francis and Antonio were asking about where you were last night and Kiku is now going out with Hercules."

Gilbert grinned. "Did he give Kiku that vase?"

Ludwig gave Gilbert a confused look. "How did you know?"

Gilbert laughed. "Don't look so confused West. He bought the vase from Canada's shop yesterday. Thank the lord Canada didn't try to hug him or something. He was so high yesterday…"

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "He was on drugs?"

Gilbert nodded. "Yep. Apparently a whole lot of it too. He had the mega munchies. He kept asking me to order a pizza."

Ludwig frowned. "You shouldn't hang around stoners."

"But West!" Whined Gilbert. "It's either that or pay back all the money I owe him! I can't afford to West! I can't afford to!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes and walked off to his room. "Just as long as you don't smoke any I'll be happy."

Gilbert chuckled. "Okay West. Promise I won't get high. Besides he has a prescription for it."

"I don't care." Called Ludwig.

Gilbert rolled his eyes and walked off to the kitchen. He grabbed a can of coke and jumped up onto the bench. 'Well… things are definitely getting fucking weird. Wonder how long until everything goes to hell.'

TBC

Shinigami-cat: Blah… lame chapter is lame… Please review.