Eleanor was falling; to where, she hadn’t the faintest idea. The only
thing she was fully aware of at the moment was the terrible falling sensation
blooming within her chest, spreading across her bones and making terror stab
itself into her heart. Her limbs flailed in panic, desperate to escape this
nightmare. But gravity did its job well and sent the girl plummeting down a
blank white world.
Ellie’s
feet finally touched the ground and she stumbled slightly, surprised at how the
impact hadn’t knocked her dead. Glancing around, she realized that she was in a
room devoid of any adornment or color. The world around her was simply one
large white planet, free of any sort of population or any sign of human or
animal dwelling. The glare from the pure whiteness around her stung her eyes
and she blinked, trying to clear away the ache.
“I see
you have come.”
Startled, the girl looked up, eyes panning around the area in search of
the owner of that soft, melodious voice. Her eyes fell on a beautiful figure
standing before her, tall and imposing with gentle features and a majestic
attire. Soft blue eyes adorned a pale face framed by locks of fair hair that
fell down her back in a waterfall of shimmering gold. A golden circlet wound
around her head and was dotted with all manner of flowers, a rich emerald vine
intertwining with the glimmering metal. Her attire was absolutely gorgeous, a
flowing sleeveless dress that pooled around her ankles, fully covering her legs
modestly. A smile graced the woman’s lips as she lifted a hand to stroke the
dumb-stricken girl’s hair.
“Do not
be afraid,” the soft voice murmured, so gentle was the tone that it nearly made
Ellie drowsy. “Though we might be slightly different in species, we are still
much alike – and you are destined for something amazing.”
Ellie
cocked a quizzical eyebrow. Different in species? How so?
“Just
remember, Eleanor Alicia,” the woman said, smiling in a nearly pitiful fashion.
“When the time comes, do not be afraid – a friend will help you lead the way.
Just remember the name Ami – Ami Forsythia. She is the girl that will help open
the gate.”
“Wha-what
do you mean?” Ellie spoke up, voice squeaky and nervous. The woman seemed to be
talking in riddles – Ellie hadn’t the foggiest idea of the words she murmured,
but they somehow felt important, which just added to the headache.
“You’ll
know in time,” the woman smiled, patting the girl reassuringly on the shoulder.
Her image seemed to be slowly fading away, blending into the blank background. “All
in due time.”
It was
at that point that Ellie’s eyelids flew open, ending the dream that had clouded
her senses. She sat up with a jolt, squinting in the semi-darkness of her
bedroom as if the woman from earlier was hiding within it, watching her warily
with those gentle blue eyes of hers. As usual, a sense of unease had crawled
into the pit of her stomach and seemed quite reluctant to fade, much to her
irritation. Swallowing thickly, Ellie snatched up the blankets she had tangled
around her legs and drew them up to her chin, covering her form in the soft
material before resting her head back onto her pillow. Hesitantly, she shut her
eyelids and tried to fade back into her slumber but she found herself unable
to. Sighing, she rolled onto her back and stared lamely at the ceiling that
hung above her.
It was that
dream again.
The one
that came to her every night.
*******
It
had been nearly a month ago that those same, odd dreams began to haunt her,
replaying themselves in her mind like a videotape stuck on repeat. Each and
every night when she had allowed her eyelids to close, it would be the same
dream – the same blank room, the same woman, with different things to say to
her every time.
All the
words that the woman had murmured to her were cryptic, always without an
explanation and always about her being ‘destined for something amazing’. The
few times it had happened she remarked on it to her mother, but when it became
a recurring thing she no longer had to courage to explain, even to her family
or best friends. It just seemed too…unrealistic. How could the exact same dream
repeat itself over and over in her head for nearly a month? She struggled to
find an answer for this seemingly unsolvable question until it felt like she was
going insane.
Her best
friend Jackie, of course, hadn’t been the least bit sympathetic. “Maybe you’re
going bonkers,” she chuckled one day when Ellie felt obliged to enlighten her,
making light of what she thought was quite a serious thing. “Or maybe you’ve
been watching too much TV. ‘Destined for something amazing’? How cliché!!”
It was
at that point in the conversation that Ellie would smack the laughing girl on
the back of her head in a futile attempt to silence her. Jackie did mean well,
but sometimes she didn’t think before blurting things out and it sometimes got
on her nerves enormously. She didn’t mean to be cross with the brunette all the
time, but she felt this was a serious matter and it didn’t help that her friend
was simply giggling at the mere thought of it like it was comedy relief in a TV
show.
She
wanted answers.
But no
one could give them.
*****
School
next day had been typical, not sparking any sort of interest in the girl and
making her wish that the clock would tick faster and end each dreary period she
had to live through. She could not even chat with Jackie due to the fact that
the seats had been arranged in a terrible fashion and the two had been divided
into two completely different rows of seats quite a distance from each other.
And it didn’t help much that the seat next to her was the only blank seat in
the classroom so she could not even make small talk with whoever could’ve been
sitting there. Sighing, the girl twiddled her pencil between her fingers,
watching the wooden writing tool spin in her hands. This would be a long day.
“Class?
May I have your attention?” Miss Morgans called from the front of the class.
Ellie’s attention was caught and she turned to look at the teacher, grim-faced
and annoyed at the fact that most of the students weren’t paying the least bit notice.
Coughing discreetly, the woman announced in the loudest voice she could muster:
“Class!! We have a new student!!”
Some
heads turned, but most still ignored the loud bellows coming from the teacher’s
mouth.
Dismissing the students that refused to listen, Miss Morgans turned to
the doors of the classroom and beckoned the hidden person forward into the
room. Slowly, the small form of a girl appeared from behind the large doors,
face hidden by a drooping fringe of red hair. Ellie cocked an inquisitive brow
at the sight of the shy girl – she didn’t seem like the happiest of fellows.
Her shoulders were hunched up, her gaze on the ground and not bothering the
least to swipe away the hair that was concealing her face. She wore the regular
blue-and-white uniform of the school and the bag she clutched tightly in both
hands looked worn and frayed, ripped in several places. Her bright red hair was
tied into a long braid that tumbled down her back and only one green eye was
visible from behind her long fringe. She regarded the classroom of students
staring at her shamelessly with an unreadable expression, doing her best to
avoid their curious gazes.
“Class,
this is Ami Forsythia, a transfer student. Now, I want you all to be nice to
her, alright?” Miss Morgans announced, hands gesturing at the dithering girl
standing meekly at the front. The teacher nudged the student lightly and asked:
“Now Ami, why not you tell the class about yourself?”
“They don’t
need to know anything about me,” Ami mumbled, still continuing to stare at the
ground. “I’m not going to stay here long, anyway.”
The
class fell silent at the girl’s slightly mournful tone and her resistance at
explaining her origins before the teacher coughed again into her fist and ended
the awkward moment. “Well! That’s fine. If you prefer a little privacy, I
understand. Now, go sit anywhere you like.”
The
last line was unnecessary, considering the fact that the only vacant seat in
the entire classroom was the one positioned next to Ellie. As the girl shuffled
miserably towards the empty chair, Ellie followed her with widened eyes. She
recognized the name of the new student and she knew why – it was the name the
mysterious woman in her dreams and mentioned. Did that mean this girl was
special somehow? How did her dream give her the name to a girl that just
happened to be transferring to her school the very next day. The thoughts spun
around her mind like a whirlpool until she had to shut her eyes for a few moments
to clear away the headache that was slowly forming.
In the
same cheerless fashion, the redhead kicked at the chair beside her before
settling herself onto it, dropping her bag on the floor next to her feet. The
air around her seemed to emit a depressing feel, as if all happiness had long
since been sucked dry from the girl, leaving her to be a sad shell of gloom and
despair. As Miss Morgans continued on her lesson, the class soon lost interest
in the petite girl that had positioned herself next to Ellie, resuming their
chats and giggles. Ellie tried to focus on the words Miss Morgans was spouting
but she was much too engrossed in her dream and the connection it had with this
girl. Could she be the answer to her recurring dreams? The notion brought
excitement to her heart.
Gently,
Ellie inched closer to the sulky girl and nudged her slightly on the hand. “Um,
hey; can I ask you a que-”
“Leave
me alone,” the girl grumbled, turning away from Ellie and the words she wanted
to say. Ellie’s eyebrows rose, her words stopping midsentence. She hadn’t quite
expected such a negative reaction from such a shy looking girl. But judging
from the sadness that blatantly showed from her quivering shoulders and her depressed
features, there was a story hidden behind her – one that Ellie was aching to
find out. She wanted to know more about this girl and why she had been
mentioned in her dreams. She had to find out the connection. It was like an
obsession.
“Erm….excuse
me?” Ellie mumbled, trying again. The girl said nothing, even as Ellie inched
her chair slightly closer to the quiet girl. She gently tapped her on the
shoulder but did not even receive a flicker of response. “Hello? Err…Ami? Ami?
Can I ask you something?”
Ami said
nothing.
Irritably,
Ellie grasped the other’s shoulder and turned her around so that she was facing
her. “Look, Ami! I’m asking you somethi-”
“I said,
leave me alone!!” Angrily, the girl
shoved her hand away and kicked at her chair, causing the seat to teeter
dangerously to the left. Ellie flailed her hands and legs, fighting to keep
balance but it was futile as the chair was already tilting quite precariously
on two legs. Finally, gravity took hold and shoved the girl onto the floor,
smashing onto the tiled ground with a crash that filled the classroom.
Suddenly, everyone’s attention was caught and all heads turned to the direction
where the girl had tumbled to the floor amid a jumble of pencils and fallen
books.
“What is
going on over there?” Miss Morgans demanded, making Ami’s cheek redden with
embarrassment and shame. The teacher marched over and gazed down at Ellie’s
fallen form, wincing as she rubbed at the bruises that had formed. With her
hands on her hips, the teacher frowned down at Ellie, making the girl slightly
more uncomfortable about her position on the floor. “Miss Alicia? Would you
mind telling how on earth you managed to get from on top of your chair to down
on to the floor? I bet it’s a wonderful tale to hear.”
A few
snickers were heard and Ellie colored slightly, scrambling back onto her feet.
At first, she was quite tempted to tell her teacher all about the new girl’s
kick at her seat, but when she caught sight of her from the corner of her eye,
all anger in her vanished. Ami was biting her lip, shoulders hunched up to her
chin with a guilty expression. Her knuckles had gone white from gripping the
chair and her pale cheeks had lit up to the color of lava. Changing her mind on
the last second, Ellie instead said: “Sorry, Miss Morgans!! I was…uhh…trying to
balance my chair on two of its legs and the thing just when crashing down. It
won’t happen again!!”
The
teacher squinted behind her glasses. “Oh, really? Well, let this be a lesson to
you to never do that again.”
Just
then, a deafening ring erupted from somewhere around the school, filling the
quiet classroom with its high-pitched sound. Ellie’s tense form relaxed – saved
by the bell.
“Class
dismissed!” Miss Morgans announced as students began to leap up from their
seats, clutching their lunch money and all manner of snacks. “Time for recess,
everyone.”
