ONLY IF FOR A NIGHT

CHAPTER TWO: Dream

I vaguely recognized the place. It was so strange, because of its familiarity and mystery all together I knew it yet the place felt completely new to me. The place was a meadow, nestled amongst shivering, dark, looming forest trees. The kind of trees I now dared not to enter. Having nowhere else to go, I sat down in the field's center and looked upward. Where the sky should have been, there was only the tree's branches. They tangled around each other to form a barrier between me and the sun. I felt a pang of loneliness hit me suddenly.

"Do you like it here?" A familiar voice crooned, "I do. I wish the place were mine…but I have other places to be." I turned and saw a boy emerge from the forest, wearing tattered clothing and a friendly expression. He came to a halt and glanced over the flowers.

"R-Ralph?!" I choked, "But you're…"

"Dead?" He answered, "That's not true. Our thoughts create our world, Jack."

What did that mean? Did it mean he was alive? If so, I would find him; him and all the others.

"This is a dream, right?" I asked, hoping he would answer no. He nodded.

"It's only what you make it; therefore, it is a dream."

"Oh…"

There was a silence, filled with bird-noises and the chirping of beetles, in which Ralph crossed over and stood over me. His gaze was like that of a teacher, filled with expectations and wisdom beyond comprehension. I stared back in awe.

"This is a dream." He repeated, "But for you, it will also be an important lesson, do you hear?"

"What do you mean?"

"I want you to listen closely to all the things we tell you. I want you to remember each one and keep them close to your heart. This is important. Don't ever forget."

"O-ok." I stammered. I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Wake up."

And I did.

…..

From that moment on, I looked forward to sleep. I took any opportunity to escape into my dreams. In class, at the dinner table, during therapy sessions, in the car, on the bus. But no dreams ever came. After a week of waiting and wishing, I was starting to think that the vision had meant nothing. I shouldn't have put so much hope into it. What was I thinking, trusting such a silly notion as a dream? Dreams are for fools, as only fools invest their lives in dreaming.

It was a Wednesday night, and I was mindlessly watching a blank TV screen. It had been turned off for a few hours now. Before I knew it, I began nodding off slowly, slumped against the plush surface of the couch.

And before I knew it, I started to dream.

Although, my reception wasn't as warm as I expected. The first thing that registered was a smack to the back of my head, I fell forward and gasped in pain as my chin hit a rock and split open.

"What the-"

"-heck were you-"

"-Thinking, Jack Merridew?"

Two voices, similarly different, complained to me. It was a sound for sore ears and a sight for sore eyes.

"Samneric!" I shouted, picking myself up, "What're you doing here?"

"That's not the point." Sam said.

"What are you doing?" Eric continued.

I frowned and picked myself up off the ground, my chin dripped red warmth. "What do you mean?" The warmth from the blood quickly spread throughout my whole body, sending shivers up my spine and rust in my nose.

"You just don't-"

"-get it, do you, Jack?" They said rhythmically. The blood washed over my fingers, drowning my senses.

"What?!" I asked again, suddenly angry.

"You try to get here-"

"-To this place-"

"by your own ways."

"That's not how it works."

They finished with a smile and a nod. Already, Samneric were starting to fade.

"Don't leave." I wailed. "don't you have to teach me a lesson or something?!" Samoreric frowned and looked at the other twin.

"…"

"…"

And they were gone.

When I opened my eyes, I expected to be back at home, on the couch. But instead, it was just another dream. I was on the beach this time, the waves pounding against the sand and keeping time in place of Samneric's voices. In the midst of the water, a familiar shape hummed a tune.

"Ralph!" I exclaimed excitedly. He didn't move, but stopped humming.

"Jack." He said flatly, "tell me what you learned tonight."

I came up with nothing; a loss of words is what I thought it might be called. There was nothing really that stuck with me…

"I didn't learn anything." I shot back. The blood flowed faster, enveloping me in its sickly sweet scent. Looking down, I saw that I was almost entirely coated in the stuff. There was no way I could have been hurt that bad! Ralph stood up, walking towards me; I was a statue. If he touched me, I might just shatter into a million tiny pieces.

"Yes, you did." He stated, "Remember this and remember it well: The world of our dreams and the world below go hand in hand. Don't let one outweigh the other, because they are both just as important. They work together, both pulling equal loads, and make up who we become. Stop living in your dreams. Put them to work and improve that world below."

He jabbed my chest with a finger at his last words, rippling my vision. My eyes were locked with his; I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. The blood was suffocating me! I tried to open my mouth and scream for him to help me, for the love of God, help me. But nothing worked.

If I move

I'll break

Into a million tiny pieces.

So don't move

Don't even breathe

Just…

Look…

Slowly, I felt my body warping. His blue eyes sucked my attention into them, and before I knew it, I woke up panting on my couch, a little trickle of blood rolling down my chin with the tears.