Chapter 1: The Riddle of Dreams
We trust the illusions of our minds
Play backs of what past we left behind
We rely on our ambitions
Forgetting of our life's missions
And when we are bound to regret
We think back of the things we have set
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I felt myself being shaken and the low voices that were rather inaudible to my ears, echoed throughout my sub-consciousness. I felt the hand shaking me on my arm and I drowsily slapped it off my arm while muttering incoherent words within my sleepy state. I heard the voices replaced with groans and I couldn't help but smile in my sleep. But then the silence was replaced by low chuckling and I scowled at the noise. No sooner I felt a finger poking me at my side and I jumped up, semi-awake to scowl at the person depriving me of my precious sleep. I was sure to have taken aback at the sight.
Colonel Mustang, yep, the one and only Flame Alchemist with an air of pride and an ambition of making female State Alchemists wear mini skirts, stood in front of me with a slightly annoyed look. I scratched the back of my ruefully and looked away from the Colonel's black eyes. "Sleeping at work again, Ross?" I heard the low voice of the Colonel and I gulped. "Ah, w-well, you see Colonel. I wasn't able to sleep quite well last night because of your mission." With the said word, I saw Colonel jumped back a bit and I couldn't help but let a smirk play along the corner of my lips. He looked away and sweat rolled down his face but he cleared his throat and regained his composure.
That's Mustang to you. I thought and I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. "Well, I guess that's completely understandable. Then, I'll dismiss you early today so that you can rest, seeing as that mission appointed to you must have drained you." Drained is such an understatement. Having Hawkeye as a colleague sure did rub her attitude on me, not that I'm complaining or anything.
I straightened up my aching body and saluted, "Thank you sir." The colonel seemed to loosen up and he smiled at me, "Then be on your way, Carmine." I withdrew my arm to my side and exited the room.
It feels so nice to be free for any speck of work for a while. Wait, slash that. I sighed and remembered the stacks of paper at home that needed my attention. Apparently, my father, Edmund Ross, has been out of commission for quite a while. If a while is surmounted to approximately five years, two months, eighteen days, five hours and forty minutes. So maybe he did leave for a long time. I let a scowl crease my forehead remembering what he had told me before he left back when I was twelve.
"I'll come back tomorrow morning. I promise."
Ever since that day, my father never ever came back. Not even a single phone call or letter was sent to us. Mother had gone into hysterics after my father left, although at certain times she had control of her emotions. Thus with all this family conflict, I was left to be in charge of the family matters, and it was like thawing yourself in hardships of hell. And here I was hoping that I would be free from any form of adult responsibility until I reached the ripe age of eighteen.
I got some of the documents from the reception and proceeded to walking my way home. Central was quite homey nowadays as the news of Scar, the infamous killer of State Alchemists, roams the streets. I looked around, there were hardly any children playing upon the wide cement pavements of the city. I looked to the nearby flower shop, it was quite deserted. After the rise of Scar, citizens have been so afraid to roam the streets even let their children play in broad daylight was a prohibition. I took out my pocket watch, the insignia of me being a State Alchemist. I tucked it back in within the folds of fabric of my uniform and proceeded my way towards home. I wanted to solve this problem, somehow.
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I peeked into the house, the same scent of the familiar jasmine atmosphere hit my nose and I couldn't help but smile in appreciation. Home. Yes, I was home. I dropped the few things I brought upon the Oak coffee table that was propped within the circle of couches. I hurriedly went up to my room and took a quick shower to rid myself of the dirt and the odor that clung onto me during the fulfillment of my mission. The strong streams of water hit my body, cooling the excessive heat that was brought upon the uniform. I pressed my palms against the white tiles of the wall as the water continued to cascade onto my back. I tried my hardest to remember my dream but knowing that I had such a faulty memory for saving dreams, I nearly lost hope. Yet all I can remember was the very craze and hating pair of violet eyes and the jealousy that ran along each line of the eyes.
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"Mother. It's me, Carmine." I spoke as soon as I entered my mother's room. Seeing as she was in hysterics, I had to make sure she had to drink her medicines to subside the attacks of hysteria. She was quite sensitive of the people that dared to come to her and the last time it was our newest maidservant, luckily she managed to survive with a few cuts from my mother's hysterical fits.
"My dear angel." I missed my mother's tender voice. At certain times she would mistake me as a stranger and often I would be the victim of her hysteria but nowadays, I was so used to it. I caress my mother's cheek and took hold of my hand. "You're so big now, I'm afraid of losing you like your father." The smile upon my face faltered and I sucked in my breath to hold the tears that threatened to stray down my eyes. "Mother, you know I won't leave you." She let a sad smile upon my lips and tears streamed down her frail face. "Mother…" I embraced her and patted her back as she began to sob onto my white cotton blouse. I learned to cope with my mother's mood swings. Back when I was twelve I was extremely terrified of her fits that I locked myself with my room and hid under my blankets to drown out her screeches and the banging of furniture upon the wall. "Shh, Mother. It's all right, I won't leave you." Her sobs subsided and I took her out of my embrace. My mother was so fragile for that moment, and I knew that as her daughter I must protect her. From that little moment, I felt my mother stiffen as the door creaked open and I turned around to look as to who had entered.
I was frozen in my movements for at the doorway was none other than…
"Father."
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I plopped myself upon the bed sheets of my four-postered bed, my brain was hacked by an annoying headache and even the painkillers couldn't mend the hammering pain. I walked over to the window to close the curtains as the sky above emitted the crimson and orange rays of sunset. I drew the cloths within my grasp and was about to pull them when three figures caught my attention.
They were standing in front of the doorway that led inside our house from our garden. They wore black clothing. One of them had striking olive green hair hair that ran down the person's back. He wore a black midriff with a short black skort to pair with. I could tell that he was a man despite his rather androgynous features, since he had a flat chest. Another of the figures was a women, rather pale but very beautiful with wavy hair cascading upon her pale shoulders. Her dress showed her assets and a weird symbol lay upon the lower portion of her chest, just an inch or two above her cleavage. And lastly the third figure is that of a fat man. He was bald and had an innocent look upon his face. I continued to gawk at them before I noticed the green-haired person's gaze was upon me. I quickly closed the curtains and laid under the covers of my bed. His violet eyes were so readable. They had hatred, anger and envy running within their depths.
I was slowly dipping into unconsciousness and somehow the man with the green hair seemed to answer something within my mind but drowsiness intoxicated my thinking and I was fast falling into the embrace of sleep.
Yet somehow, that man seemed to answer a riddle. A riddle spoken by my dreams. Somehow, yet I couldn't remember.