Chapter 1: Dreams

There he was, standing in the middle of the woods with his back turned to me.

"Hello? Are you okay"

He was completely still and he had a hood on, I couldn't even see his hair, all I could see was his figure.

As I slowly started to approach him, I could see his shoulders shaking and hear his quiet sobs.

"Hey is everything okay?" I ask as I slowly get closer, almost close enough where I could reach out and touch him. My heart started to fill with unbearable sorrow and I didn't know why, it was almost like I could feel his pain.

"Please help me Olivia," he whispered, so quietly and gently that I could barely hear.

I felt like I needed to help him, I felt like I somehow knew him but I still couldn't see his face, how did he know my name?

The sorrow had become so heavy that I could feel myself starting to cry. Who is this man and why does he need my help?

"H-how can I help?" I ask, tears streaming down my face. He didn't say anything but he started sobbing harder. Without even thinking, I reached out to put my hand on his shoulder but as soon as my hand reached him, he vanished. He was gone and I had a feeling of complete emptiness, sorrow filled even more than before.

"Wait! Please come back!" I scream, nobody answers. I start to panic and start looking around me frantically, "NO! NO! NO!"

——————-

I wake up soaked in sweat and tears still streaming down my face. I've been having the same dream every night for the past week, and I don't know why. Every time I wake up, I can still feel all of the sorrow from the dream. I need to help him, I just wish I knew who he was. Every time I have the dream, I get closer and closer to him but this was the first time I've tried to touch him. I've never even seen his face or even heard his voice, I've only heard his echoed whispers.

I finally drag myself out of bed to brush my teeth, and then I decide to take a shower. I close my eyes and let the nice warm water run down my face and body. "Olivia I need you," I hear him whisper. I gasp and open my eyes and start looking around, "hello?" Nothing. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I don't think so. It sounded so real and it sounded like he was right behind me. I quickly wash my hair and body and get out of the shower.

As I'm in my bedroom getting dressed and ready for the day, I start to feel dizzy and then a rush of sorrow hits me, just like in my dreams. It doesn't last long so I just brush it off and tell myself it's because I haven't been sleeping enough, which could be true. I usually don't wear much makeup but the bags under my eyes are horrible and I look sick so I decide to dig in my makeup dresser for some concealer. As I'm digging through my drawer I find a piece of paper so I decide to open it, it was a letter:

Dear Olivia,

I cannot tell you who I am or where I am, but your heart shall lead you toward me. I am in need of your help Olivia, I am fighting a battle that I cannot fight without you. You do not know it yet but you are powerful, and in time you shall learn your power. Until then, I need you to dig into your heart and it shall lead you where you need to go. You are the key Olivia.

Forever, A

As I put the letter down, I started to get dizzy and my vision went blurry.

———————

I was in the woods again, but this time was different. I was in a big, poofy dress. It looked like it was from the 1800s but it was beautiful. It was light pink with ruffles and lace.

"Rose! We're coming to find you!" I hear a man yell while running, I finally see him and he yells "found her" as he's running toward me. I don't know what to do so I just freeze, he reaches me and lifts me off the ground and spins me around. I then see 2 little kids running toward me too.

"Mama!" They yell as they run toward me. Mama? This is weird. This man is calling me rose and these kids are calling me mama. For some reason it all seems so familiar, the kids and the man and the woods, I'm filled with a joy that I've never even known. Without even thinking I give the kids a hug. The older one is a boy, he looks to be about 6 or 7, and the girl seems to be about 3. They both have the same dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes as me, and they have the same nose and lips as the man.

"Alright come on everybody, let's go clean up before dinner," the man says.

"Awe but I wanted to hide next!" The little boy whines.

"We'll play later Joseph, you have to eat to have energy"

The kids start running up the hill and the man grabs my hand and laces his fingers through mine and we make our way up the hill.

"Are you okay, my love?" He asks, breaking our silence. I don't really know what to say so I just nod and squeeze his hand.

Once we get up the hill I see a big beautiful house with a beautiful porch and a garden out front. It's one of the most breathtaking houses I've ever seen. It's a big White House with lots of windows and it looks like a castle, we make our way up to the house where the kids are in the dining room setting the table. I walk over to a big window and look outside. When I turn around, everyone's gone. I start to get dizzy again and I close my eyes, when I open them I'm sitting on my bedroom floor.

———————

I rub my eyes and start to panic. I have to be to work and it felt like I was in the woods for hours. I look at my phone and it's only been 5 minutes, how? Maybe I'm just tired and fell asleep for a few minutes.

I find a concealer and finish doing my makeup and then I go into my kitchen to get some breakfast. As I'm making scrambled eggs, I get a phone call from my boss.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey Olivia! I was wondering if you could come in a little bit early today, we have someone new starting and I'd like you to train her, if that's okay with you?"

"Oh yeah that's fine, let me just finish eating and then I can come in."

"Perfect! Thank you so much! I'll pay you overtime for the training hours. I'll see you in a bit."

"Alright, see ya."

I finish eating and put my shoes on to leave, and then I hear a noise coming from my bedroom. I grab a knife and walk toward my bedroom cautiously, "hello?" I call out. "Hello!?" I look around everywhere and I don't see anybody so I grab my keys, lock my door, and leave.