>•~Falling Upwards~•<

Chapter Five: To Help an Enemy

A/N: Just a warning of possible disturbing topics/ strange universe

——

I reach out,
So close to catching you,
So close to finding you,
Again.

Are you lost?
Where did you go?
Did you leave me;
Ran off and didn't look behind?

*~*

~C~

Here I sit. Still all by myself. Still all alone. Am I really alone — I see others just out of my reach. Yet, I remain chained here, by only my own faults. More the faults of who I was, or perhaps who I am to become. Someone who I cannot control, and who fate will lead by a tight leash.

I have nothing better to do. All I do is sulk, and sink further, and further, into this sofa. Maybe this is who I will become. A lazy baboon with a broken body.

My eyes grow heavy. I want to succumb to rest. In fact, I should let myself fall into rest. However, what if this is another trap? What if I were to fall into sleep, and then never awake?

Never mind that. I have no control over my life. What will happen to me, is nothing that I will have any control over; any input into what may occur. I just smile.

As my eyes grow heavier, and heavier, I begin to remember a someone who always smiled. The ways she could mask herself in a happy little world, kept her from the harsh reality. What was that harsh reality? That, I still am unable to recall.

Soon, sleep stares at me dead in my face. A flower; a petal, dances in a weary breeze. It blows over my face, and as it does, sets ablaze my senses. I am left lost in static.

Then everything, all of this goes black.

I hear a small voice asking me: "Is any of this real?"

When I open my eyes once again, I find myself in a field of flowers. Tall poppies, orchids, roses, daffodils, and hyacinths. I find myself in a smile again. All of the fire which had come to me, gets set out by the sheer joy of this place.

Is this place a dream? Is this a world, built up my imagination? To be more direct, a child's imagination. As only a child could create some world so bizarre, and yet so pure.

I sit up. All of the pain I had felt now washes off. I look at my arms; at where I should see long scars. Now they are all filled with little blossoms. When I pull up my shirt, to where I should see a disaster, I come upon a large, red flower. A lost child; one who never got to experience life.

I begin to walk. Where my feet meet the soft, mossy ground, they spark up new flowers. Although I should feel overwhelmingly sad at the loss of life, I know where I will find new life. Eternal life, which will never falter.

Maybe I am in this place. Here, there is so much life. Here, I find so much joy. When I look to the skies, I see little birds flying about happily. I can also see little butterflies, where this time the birds leave them alone. This is a world of peace, and one of beauty.

As I continue my walk, I find myself with a task. I must find a flower, just like the one which lays on my stomach. I must go greet the new life. Even if this life was created by horrid intentions.

I stroll about this world. Here, happy trees grow. Sometimes a small animal will peak her head out from behind their trunks. I smile at this too. I know they are all gone, but here they have returned.

I see a small dog and a little fox playing. They chase each other about, and hop over a fence. Both yap at each other, and wag their tales. These creatures who once may have been enemies, are now friends.

There is a small cottage up by a hill. An elderly couple, with strange horns sprouting from their heads, both sit on the front porch. They rock back and forth on a swing. One rests his head on the other's shoulders. At seeing me, they grin, and give a wave. I return their greeting, even if it is such a small one. They see I have a mission I must be off to, and do not hither my time.

I come across a river. A wide valley, with no bridge in sight to help me cross. However, the water, at once seeing my distress, pushes up a few boulders. I nod off to it, to thank it for its gesture. Then, I run back and jump.

Easily, with just a tinge of scrambling, I climb on top of the boulder. The water splashes at my feet, and I giggle; just like a little girl. It urges me to continue. It, too, wants me to complete my mission.

So, I do. One by one, I leap to reach rock. Each boulder is no more than another step for me to take. Now, for all of this, I must thank my river-friend for letting me cross.

I leap across one more time. The soft grass awaits me, and greets me with open arms. I tumble onto it, and burst into laughter. That was so much fun!

The water splashes my hand, and I give my farewell to it. I would love to roll about here, in this beautiful sun. Yet, I know I must get going. A trail of little red flowers now spring up to guide my way.

My footsteps do no harm to these little flower-people. They are coming with me. They, in their little red gowns, with their large petal hats. They dance and help to guide me to our destination. They, too, are coming to see my mission and fulfill it.

Soon, we reach our destination. A tall, large red rose grows amidst all of the smaller flowers. The little flower-people smile at me, and wave their goodbyes. Then, they run to position themselves in the soil. They are also gone, but here they have returned.

A little girl sits at the top of the flower. Her long, silky brunette hair bounces off around her, as she crochets a little teddy bear. Her eyes hold the same, strong green color that mine do. At seeing me, she cries out a word, a name, that I cannot recognize. Then, she slides down one of the petals.

I bend down, to match her height. I open my arms for her, just as the soft grass had done for me. She darts into my arms, and I swing her around with a bright smile on both of our faces. We grow dizzy, and tumble to the floor in a fit of laughter and giggles.

She grins at me. Her little cherub face immediately melts my heart. I curl a strand of her soft, fluffy hair behind her ear. She does the same for me, and I tap her little cute nose.

We lay on our backs, and look up at the clouds. Each of us takes turns naming what we see. A horse, a fox, a wolf, a dog, and even us. This world is sweet, and she is the causing root for all of this.

Although I do enjoy my time here, I know that eventually I will have to bid my farewells. One of the little flower-people pull at my red gown. I see that we are both bathed in red. Red, which was the color that had bathed the knife from long before what would be allowed here.

I kiss the little girl; my little girl, goodbye. Some tears begin to well in her eyes, and stream down her cheeks. Gently, I brush them off. I tell her that I will be back here one day. When will that day be, is the question she may hold. However, I hold no answers to this.

Another tug comes, and slowly everything begins to fill with static. Darkness clouds my vision, and I watch at the flowers which had grown over my wounds, now falter. The world now falters, as well. Black clouds the sky, and suddenly, my pains return.

~*~

I open my eyes, and see August standing over me. "Phew! I would have thought you to be dead if you had not woken up,"

I laugh, and rub the back of my neck. A growing pang shoots through my head. However, I brush this off. When I look to the sky, I see it is now dark. Nighttime has come for sun again, and has shielded us from the sun's harsh stare.

I think back to what August had just said. Maybe, just for a moment, I had passed. No, that is nonsense. After all, it must have just been some wild dream.

None of that could have been real.

None of this is real.