I woke up screaming that morning, uncontrolled tears rolling down my cheeks. Nobody came running though, there is nobody after all to come running to me when I'm crying or screaming or raging my insecurities upon my own skin.
There was this dream, I was walking into dry, dark forest, the woods were beautiful and I wanted to look more so I went deep, looking around for everything I could fall in love with. And then suddenly I was running, running for whatever reason I don't remember but I wasn't the only one who was running. He was running beside me. I don't know who he was, I don't remember the face but I remember him shouting on me to run faster. "Turn right on my count to four, I'll lead them to the river."
"No!" I shouted. "I'll be the decoy. I won't let you into harm's way alone."
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing." He was panting, "I promise I'll see you again by the Old Willow."
"Wait...," I shouted, breathing like crazy when I heard the 'four' that had my instincts incited to do as I was told. I turned right and then after a while I wasn't running anymore. I looked back and no one was chasing me. Why did I start running in the first place? The place looked no more familiar than it did before and I did not know what to do. I started looking around and ended up in some wasteland. There it was, an old piece of parchment that had a name written on it. There were some digits followed by some unknown language. The only thing I could make out of it was the name, "Zephyr" and I did not know what to do with it. I left it there.
I can't seem to remember why I woke screaming by this dream because there is not much of it that I remember. The only other thing I remember is someone whispering something into my ears that had my nerves breaking down like a crumbling fort.
I could hear the birds on my window, it was already late morning and I was expected to appear by mid-day. Mr. Yates had the sweetest temper but this would be the fourth day when I'll get late and now nobody could save me, not even the calmest head would bear employees slacking off for days in a row. I showered and ran to the Florist's, the place where I work for my afternoon shifts. The shop was the only flower shop in the city and so we had the weekdays busy and weekends extra busy; I worked there under an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Yates. They had to be the most wholesome couple you could ever come across and when I approached them for work, I was welcomed without much questions about my origins and past, and that was the biggest relief to me.
I tip-toed through the back door, trying to keep low. Nobody was there, I looked around and found no one, the shop was still closed.
"But it's already Noon, why aren't we open yet?" I said to myself. I called for Willa and Violet, looking around where everyone had disappeared, when I heard some footsteps approaching through the backdoor. I waited for the door to be opened and to find Violet or Willa who might also be late like me- that surely would've been a relief. But no one opened the door for a while so I was about to walk over there when the front door burst open with too many people entering all at once. The confusion rested when I looked at them only to realize they were the townspeople and then it wasn't really hard to discern who could be behind all this- that'd be him. Who else could be dramatic enough to make so many people crowd the florist's carrying a flower each, and when they started singing I totally lost it.
"Mr. Neil," I yelled, "stop this before I'm forced to leave my favorite place on my special day."
They all stopped, wide-eyed me as if I had committed an unforgivable crime. Indeed I have, for who had the courage to yell at the most respected man in town, the insanely beautiful Mr. Neil Preston of the Blue Castle. He was a renown person, no one dared defy him- ever. But he was different for me. He was the only person around here who knew my past, I had known him ever since I remember myself. People around here seem to enjoy the rumor of a certain chemistry between the two of us so they'll probably let it slide.
"We need to talk," I said as calmly as I could manage. He gave me the look that comforted me in the most weirdest way.