Beneath the Fountain

11. Sunrise

I stand in the center of the gazebo looking towards the crystal chandelier above. From here, each little crystal looks like a raindrop, and when the light passes through it, there is a small, iridescent rainbow inside of them. The light reflects throughout the already glowing gazebo, and even though I've seen it many times now, it still manages to take my breath away. The same sad song Mystery plays is playing all around me so I turn in a circle expecting to find him, but instead I find the blonde woman standing along the railing. She is dressed in a white, lacy dress, and from behind, I wonder if she could be an angel.

So this is a dream, I think immediately, but that doesn't make it feel any less real.

"Excuse me," I say from the center of the gazebo since it doesn't matter if I'm here or right beside her; she wouldn't look at me either way as I've finally realized. "Who are you?"

I expect her to divert my questions as she usually does, but instead she quietly says with her quiet yet sweet voice, "A forgotten face from a forgotten time."

Her answer is vague and holds a hint of sadness. I know that she won't tell me more, but it does make me wonder: is she just a made up apparition in my mind, or was she once a living and breathing soul, and one that I possibly might have known? I doubt it, though, since no one could forget someone as alluring as her. Then, as if someone lit a match inside my head, I suddenly remember that she was the one who told me to return to Mystery, and that only makes more questions arise. Does she know something about him? Does she know who he is? "What do you know about Mystery?"

Sounding almost emotionless, she says, "As much as you do." Even when flat, her voice sounds like a bell, and I am certain that she would have been a lovely singer. There's something else about it, though. Something that tells me I've heard it before. It rings to the darkest corners of my mind before it is stopped, leaving me unsure of everything.

"Then do you know where to look for answers? I don't even know where to start. The library is too big, and I have so little time."

I stare at her for a moment, and I start to wonder if she is just as trapped as Mystery since she seems to be just as lonely as him. Instead of giving me a straight answer, though, she only answers me with even more cryptics. "The line between reality and fiction is small, but sometimes it is so small that it blurs and bends, and only then do you realize that there is no difference after all."

My face scrunches as her words go above my head. "I don't understand. What does that mean?" I ask completely confused.

Just as I expected, though, she doesn't offer anymore help on the subject. Instead, she only gives me another riddle, but this time, her voice strains and is so full of emotion that my heart aches for her because I have a strong urge to help her for some reason, but I don't know how. She is just as big if a mystery as Mystery; in fact, she may even be a bigger one. "The mind can be forced to forget, but the heart isn't so easily fooled."

And just as she is trying to turn to face me, to give me some idea of who she actually is, everything fades into shadows and then into oblivion.

I'm lulled from one of the most peaceful sleeps in my life by a gentle nudging and a soft voice quietly repeating my name over and over. When I open my eyes and clear the clouds of sleepiness from them, I am confused as to where I am at first. All around me, the room glows silver with huge windows before me that offer a view of the violet night sky above. The bed I am laying in feels even softer than a cloud and the sheets are a silver that flows on top of me when I move my body. The wardrobes are made of glass with crystal knobs, and the vanity is glass with a silver mirror that is so polished and clear, I can see my reflection perfectly. But, probably the most eye-catching part of the room isn't the intricately crafted furnishings, but the strange yet alluring man who stands by my bedside, watching over me as if he is my guardian. Instantly, I remember where I am, and I couldn't feel more at ease than I do at the moment.