Just a Dream

I was dreaming. I knew because my father and sister couldn't possibly be alive. We were all sitting on the rocks by our favorite place. The waterfall, in the forest we lived by. Nobody else knew of it. It was our place.

The waterfall itself was about 15 feet tall, and it was hidden from the trails by rocks and greenery. Strangely enough, it didn't make much noise. The only reason we had found it was because my little sister, Amy, had wandered off the trail. And we looked everywhere. It was totally by accident that we found the waterfall and the stream. And her, captivated by its beauty. 7 year olds were distracted easily. Of course, my dad and I had run up to her, peppered her with kisses with orders to never do that again! Once we were sure that she understood, we had directed our attention to the magnificent water display. We had stayed there the rest of the day, and had returned on a regular basis.

I loved it there. But I hadn't returned since they died, in a fire. I couldn't bring myself to. It held too many memories. And that was why I knew I was dreaming. Because we were all crowded on the largest flat rock by the falls, talking, laughing, and eating. Being a family. But I had no family anymore. They were dead.

I jolted awake, breathing heavily, the dream still fresh in my mind. Calming myself down, I looked around my bedroom. It was still bright yellow. The window was still open. A cold breeze drifted in, raising goose bumps on my skin. I felt one lone tear dripping down my cheek.

I hadn't dreamt of my deceased family members in a while. This had been a relief to me. Until now. It had happened a few years ago. I had been at work. It was on a slow day when I got the phone call. The phone call telling me that my father, Jackson, and my sister, Amy, were dead. I had frozen up, phone still in hand, when one of the other workers, a close friend of mine, Rachael, asked me what was wrong. I remembered her eyes widening when she grabbed the phone from my hands, when the doctor told her of what had occurred. She had hung up, and, not saying a word, she had wrapped her arms around me, orange hair pulled back into a sloppy bun.

That was six years ago. Six long, hard, simple years.

I looked at my alarm clock, which rested on a small bedside table. It was 2 a.m. I knew that I should be going back to sleep. I did, after all, have school at 8. But I knew that sleep wasn't going to come. Not tonight.

I swung my legs to the side of the bed. I shuddered slightly as my feet touched the cold wooden flooring. My stomach growled slightly. Well, then. Food it is. Beef Lo-Mein sounded good. I padded towards my mostly-unused kitchen. I pulled out the leftovers of Lo-Mein and grabbed a fork.

I sighed slightly as the flavor of the first bite hit my taste-buds. As I finished my food, I pulled the book on my table towards me. I set down the fork, and attempted to get lost in the world of aliens, emerald eyes, and magical hammers. Of course. For once, I could not get lost in the mythical world of Thor, and his mischief-filled brother, Loki. Don't judge. I do minor in mythology, after all.

And so, I decided to go for a run. I always preferred running at night, instead of day, anyways. I pulled out my knee length leggings, yanked an A.C.D.C. shirt over my head, and slipped into my tennis shoes. I took the stairs to the bottom of the building, and slipped out the door. The security guard called after me "Be safe out there, Amber!"

I smiled slightly. Oh so protective, Mr. Wells. Well, I guess he is a security guard.

I started jogging, enjoying the cold night air as it blew softly against my skin. It was refreshing, and I soon got lost in the feel of the burn starting to make its self known in my legs. Houses started appearing. Then they started spacing out.

After about 40 minutes, it started to rain. Not long after, my clothes and hair started sticking to me uncomfortably. I looked around, and saw a house, with a sign that said "For Rent" on it. I wasn't paying attention to that though.

I was paying attention to its broken stairs. I was paying attention to the body that was sprawled lifelessly across them.

Author's Note: Thank you to all of those who reviewed, favorited, and followed my story! I never expected to get that much less so quickly after I posted the prologue. I probably won't be able to update so quickly, because I'm going up to my grandparents' house for the next few days, so I won't have access to my computer. Again, thank you! ~Lita