I woke up in a startle with cold sweat running down my face and my drenched sheets.
"The same nightmare again that makes ten times this month" I said out loud.
Ever since my twenty fifth birthday last month I've been having this same dream of a shadowy figure beckoning me and each time it has happened the harder it felt to wake up from. I pulled the sweaty blanket from my body and made my way to the bathroom avoiding the beer cans on the floor. As I turned on the light my eyes flinched from the sudden light, after giving my eyes a couple seconds to adjust I stared at my mirror, the face that greeted me was that of blood shot eyes and some stuble on my chin. After splashing some cold water on my face I worked my way to my fridge and pulled out a beer to start my day, I finished the can in under five seconds. As I looked at the clock the bright neon green lights showed 1:43pm.
"Damn when did my life turn out like this" I growled softly.
Of course I know when and why my life turned out like this way. Ever since I was little I remembered the late nights when my father would come home drunk and angry taking out his frustrations on my mother. It went on like this until my freshman year of highschool when my mother left us. With my mother out of the picture my father took out his anger on me. Everyday I would go to school with a black eye and brusies on my body. It was safe to say I didn't have any friends, I started drinking then and would bully others at school. My life turned around my Junior year. It was late at night and I was reading my favorite manga Fairy Tail when I heard a knock at the door. I answerd the door and what greeted me was two police officers with their hats on their chests. I knew right away what this mean't. My father had died in a car accident. A week later I moved in with my aunt and her husband and their two kids. I finally got to see what a normal family looked like, and my life had gotten better for the next four years. With a better home life my school life turned out for the better. Then my senior year of highschool I meet the love of my life she transfered halfway into the school year, her name was Megan. We hit things off right away. After graduation I asked her to be my girlfriend. We decided to go to the same college together, then our junior year I proposed to her and she said yes and we decided after graduation we would get married. A month later there was a shooting at our school, after the school was closed for the next week. I went to live with my Aunt in the mean time during that time I never heard from Megan wondering on what could have happened to her. Reading my favorite manga my aunt put on the news and the anchor was talking about the shooting at my school they then showed a picture of the victim. On the screen was a picture of my fiance. It was safe to say my heart shattered, I ended up not graduaty college. The days merged into that of hell. Two years went by until I picked myself back up and I started to try living again, I got a job as a construction worker and bought a small apartment for myself, but I was still a shell of my former self.
As I stepped out of the shower and shaved, brushed my teeth and hair I grabbed my keys and made my way to the gym. For the past four years of my life has been nothing but a broken record. Working six days a week and going to the gym five days. and going to the bar on my one day off. After finishing up at the gym and hitting the grocery store I decided to clean up my apartment. I made my way to the bar after I was done, I found myself at the bar later then usual. As I stepped in the bartender greeted me.
"Hi Chris your in later then usual" she said with a smile.
I smiled back but my smile never reached my eyes ever since Megans death.
"Yeah had to take care of some stuff today" I responded.
"Gotcha ya, the usual"she said.
I nodded as I took a seat a the counter and surveyed my surrondings.
" Alot slower then usual tonight Kaitlyn?" I asked.
"Yeah it's been a pretty slow night tonight probably cause of the Winter Festival thats going on" she said.
Kaitlyn then set my drink infront of me I grabbed it and took a sip.
"But I can always count on you stopping by" she said with a smile.
"Yep that is true" I responded taking another sip.
Kaitlyn and her husband opened up this bar around two years ago and ever since I've been going it was just a short walk from my apartment. Kaitlyn was around 5ft 8 a couple inches shorter then me she had dark puple hair with bright green eyes and a small beauty mark on her right cheek. She was the closest person I had to a friend. A little over a year ago her husband left her for some other chick he was having an affair with. During that time in her life we got really close and I was just the person she needed to talk to and a shoulder to cry on. Around two months ago she asked me on a date which I politly declined. My days of love and romance died along with Megan, but we stayed good friends.
"I know I say this all the time Chris but your drink choice is quite weird" Kaitlyn said to me.
"Yeah I know but it is really good" I responded. "You should give it a try one of these days" I said finishing my drink.
" The only time you'd catch me drinking tequilla with ground dandelions is the day hell freezes over" She said with a smirk
"You snooze ye loose" I responded.
She went to help out another coudtomer while I waited for my second drink. Two hours had passed by with four more drinks and idle chitchat with Kaitlyn I decided to help her close up shop since on of her employes called out sick.
"You don't have to help you know, dont get me wrong I really appreciate it but dont you have to wake up early the next morning" She asked me.
"I really dont mind" I said putting up a couple of chairs "Thats what friends are for" I said putting up the last chair.
" Yeah...friends" She said with a quiet sigh.
"What was that" I asked
"Oh nothing just mumbling about work" she spoke up.
"Okay then, well Im off got the tables cleaned,the chairs put up and the floor swept and mopped. Ill see ya next week Kaitlyn" I said walking to the front door.
"Thank you so much Chris I really do appreciate it, you have a safe walk home and Ill see ya later" she said with a smile and a wave.
After I walked out the back door I felt the cool winter night breeze and started making my way back home. I sighed as my feet crunched on the loose rocks. I did hear what Kaitlyn said back at the bar when we were closing up, I just cant return her feelings. I wish I could she is beautiful, kind, smart and never gives up, unlike me I'm just a guy who has nothing to live for, she deserves better. Once I reached my apartment complex I set an alarm on my phone for five in the morning. As I opened the door to my apartment I flicked on the light switch a small smile reached my face as I took in my clean apartment. It wasn't often I drank that much but last night I had one of those days where I would drink and cry myself to sleep because of the shitty hand life dealt me. Luckily it didnt happen as often as it first did when my scars were sill fresh. After getting ready for bed I turned off the lights and crawled into my freshley cleaned sheets and slowly dozed off. I found myself in a pitch white room with a shadowy figure infront of me suddenly the shadow spoke to me in a low echoing voice
"Its time for you to fufill your purpose"
I woke with a start and rubbed my eyes why was that dream becoming more and more frequent now that I think about it that was the first time the shadow spoke to me. I went to get up and tried to remove my blanket but there was none I must've tossed and turned in my sleep I thought to myself. Once my tiredness left me I found myself in a huge plain with grass tickling my exposed skin.
"Im I still dreaming" I said out loud.
I tried pinching myself to see if was still asleep but nothing happened. What the heck was going on there is no way this is a dream it feels to real. The grass underneath me the wind in my face, and the sun casting heat down on me. Did I sleep walk I stood up and started sprinting to a small flowing river I saw. I heard once that you can't see your reflection when your were dreaming. One I reached the river and looked down the face that greeted me was not my own. I put my hand to my face and traced a small outline of a scar going down the right side of my face starting at the left side of my eyebrow and vertically going down my face till it ended at my cheeck. I had short curly dark blue hair and dark pink eyes.
"What the heck is going on!" I screamed.
I took a couple more steps to the river. I looked to be around seventeen with a slight build nothing like the muscles I had in real life from my time at the gym and my job as a construction worker. I was wearing a dark green button up vest with a lime green shirt underneath. and a green kakis the same color of my vest. This can't be happening this has to be a dream I started to panic after a couple minuets of ragged breathing and a shocked look on my face I tried regaining my composer. Maybe I died and got reincarnated into a new world like something from an anime. As a kid I always wanted this to happen so I could escape my crappy life, but now this was actually happening it seemed way to surreal. This can't be happening I have a life back home 'but did you really, your life wasn't much maybe this is a good thing to happen so you could start over' my inner dialouge told me. No maybe there is a way I can go back but this would have to wait I noticed that the sun was starting to move to its decent. I decided to start looking for a high vantage point to take in where I'm excactly at. About an hour of walking I noticed a pretty big hill and started making my way there. After a couple of minuets I reached the top as I took in my surrondings I looked to my right and saw a giant montain and below it there was a lush forest. When I looked to my left and saw nothing but ocean, but right on the shore I made out a decent sized town and some of my fears drifted away. Maybe the people down there can feel me in on where I'm at and just maybe a way to send me home. Once the sun touched the horizon I could make out the buildings up close. Once I stepped through the gate it was already dark outside. As I was walking through the streets I couldn't help but shake this feeling of familiarity. It was pretty quiet on the streets probaly since it was dark out I guess I'm just used to the lights and hubbub of the big city back home. After about ten minuets I ran into a couple holding hands, I do hope they speak English, here goes nothing.
"Excuse me where am I at" I asked the couple.
They looked at me like I had two heads, the man then spoke up
"You're in the town of Magnolia."
That's weird why does this this town name sound so familiar I said to myself.
"Anything else I can help you with" he asked me.
"Yeah one more question, where is the nearest inn?" I asked.
" The nearest inn is two blocks that way and you'll take a left and continue on past the first street and there will be an inn to your right" he told me.
"Thank you so much" I responded.
"No problem and I hope you enjoy our town" he said going back to whatever he was doing before.
After recieving the instructions I made my way to the inn he spoke of. Once I reached the location I opened the door to the sound of a jingiling bell.
"Hello welcome in can I intrest you in a room" A kind looking elderly man spoke to me behind a counter.
"Hello sir yes I am interested, how much does a one bedroom cost?" I asked him.
"That would be 200 Jewels young man" he told me.
Mentally slapping my head I really didn't think this through I don't think I have any money on me, let alone in this worlds currency.
"I'm so sorry for wasting your time sir but I just realized I don't have any money" I said apolegetically.
I guess I'm sleeping on the streets until I have some way of making the money.
As I went to walk out the elderly man spoke out to me. "Excuse me young man but is this perhaps your first time here in our city."
"Why yes it is" I spoke back.
"Well I have good news for you, first time visitors get one night free of charge" he said with a grin.
"Wait really" I questioned.
"Yep you sure do" he said.
"Thank you so much" I said gratefully.
"Dont thank me, thank you for visiting our town. Just promise me you'll come back to visit with plenty of jewels" he said with laugh at his little joke.
"Of course" I said.
He then went underneath the counter and pulled out a key with a tag saying 405.
"You're room will be on the second floor to your left"he said.
"Thank you once again" I said walking up and grabing the key.
"Thank you for choosing Magnolias most famous inn for Fairy Tail wizards and have a goodnight" he said with a smile.