That summer was the hottest summer Kuwabara could remember. As the temperatures soared tempers shortened and patience was in short supply. Kuwabara blamed the heat then for the number of fights he got into.
But on this particular day, it was too hot to wander around and get into fights. Feeling lazy, Kuwabara flopped down on his bed with his fan on high to keep cool. Shizuru and his father were both at work today, so in the silence Kuwabara inevitably drifted off to sleep.
The dream was hazy at first. He was in a place that could have been a forest, a city, a maze, or a building, he really couldn't tell. But the place wasn't as important as the sound Kuwabara could hear. Someone was crying deep, heartbroken sobs, and Kuwabara's immediate response was to want to offer his help. He stepped toward the direction he thought the crying was coming from, and he saw the first clear image in his dream. It was the old woman that lived with her family next door to Kuwabara. She was sitting on the ground holding her face in her hands and crying those wrenching sobs.
"What's wrong?" Kuwabara asked, because asking if she was alright was obviously stupid.
She looked up at him, tears running down her wrinkle old face. "I don't want to go," she said. "I'm not ready yet; don't make me go!" With her last words she lunged for Kuwabara who woke with a start and a gasp. A strange wailing noise seemed to have followed him from his dream, and it took Kuwabara a moment to realize it was the sound of a siren.
Kuwabara got up and looked out of his bedroom window to see paramedics wheeling out a covered body from the neighbor's house.
Words: 300
AN: I apologize for the unexpected absence. I really didn't mean to disappear like that, but this semester has been unexpectedly busy, and it doesn't look like that's going to change. In light of this, I can't promise any kind of schedule for my updates, so I have decided to give you guys two options. I can post chapters as I write them, which will mean fairly sporadic updates, or I can wait until I finish writing this story and post chapters every day, which will mean a longer wait at first but then consistent updates. Please vote for whichever option you prefer using the poll on my profile (do note that if no one votes I'll just pick an option, and you may or may not be happy with the option I pick).