Arthur's eyes snapped open, covered in a cold sweat, shaking uncontrollably. He was still sceptical that the dream followed him, so he started to rub his eyes and looked around the room while he had his heart pounding and stood up with the help of his right hand.
The sun didn't come out yet. Step by step, slowly, he got close to the window. His pitch-black irises stared intensely at his reflection as he pondered over the purpose of his dream.
He slowly brought his hand up to touch his face, tracing his movement just like the dream he saw.
He tried to remember everything and connect the dots. However, the dream started to slip away from his grasp. He tried so vigorously to remember who was staring at that watch; alas, he couldn't.
All he could remember now was a gentle female voice. Yet, he couldn't comprehend the meaning of those words.
'Who's Erra? Why did she tell me all of this? How could it be a normal dream when I heard her multiple times now.' Arthur kept staring at his reflection and questioning his reality.
"Humans only live for a hundred years at most; it is as unreal as a dream that ends in an instant. It is no more than simply being on a journey observing interesting things." He quoted a saying from a book that he read.
A creaking sound could be heard behind Arthur; he turned around to see his mother opening the door with a candle in hand. She looked at him, concerned.
"Why are you awake little Arthur? You look so pale."
Arthur did not respond and looked at her for a few seconds.
'The old woman was my heart; so many years of love and care made me who I am. Yet, I feel empty. Mother is formed of love and wisdom, for she had done everything for me.'
'My mother, she brought a smile to my face every day. In a life so ordinary and full of struggles for being poor, it was her that was extraordinary. As nature turns seed and water to flower, mother turned the normal things into fascination and love; she was my happiness, my hero. Still, for some reason, I feel empty now.'
"My Arthur, did you have a bad dream?" She asked with a worried face as she was walking towards him.
Arthur felt a warm feeling as his mother embraced him. He was shaking, hesitant to give her a fake welcome; he clenched his fist and forced himself to hug her back.
After a few minutes, his mother looked at his face again and realised something was different.
"You look so much more handsome tonight, my little Arthur. You're growing up. How come I didn't see that before?" She said with a smile as she caressed his face.
Arthur felt a strange feeling when his mother said that. He turned around to look at his reflection again; it was then that he realised his facial feature had changed. He now resembled the handsome young man he saw in that luxurious mirror, which terrified him as he touched his face.
His jawline started to look more defined; his black eyes were the poetry of the universe that you could get lost in.
"You're acting so strange today, Arthur. You seem... like a completely different person..." She said when she saw Arthur looking towards the window.
"I apologise, mother. I am and will always be your little Arthur. Could you read me a bedtime story, please?" Arthur said as he forced a smile and tried to distract her.
"Of course, my Arthur." She replied as tears came running down; His words touched her heart.
Arthur held her hand till they reached his blanket and lay down.
...
In the Enura empire, there was a young boy named Reza who didn't understand shadows.
He was afraid of them and always tried to run away from them. Yet, they followed him.
"It won't find me here for sure!" Reza decided to hide behind the couch.
"Why are you following me?" when he noticed the shadow was right behind him, he ran away and yelled.
He picked up his wooden sword to fight it.
"Reza! What are you doing?" his mom entered the room concerned after hearing him shout.
"It won't go away, mom!"
"Your shadow?" his mother replied with a smile.
"It follows me everywhere I go! It's like a monster." Reza hugged his mother as he said.
She decided to blow the candle to see Reza's reaction.
"It only goes away in the dark, but I'm fearful of the dark, mother!"
"Do you want to see something wondrous?" his mother hugs him and asks.
She lit the candle again and started to make weird shapes with her hand in front of it. Reza was confused, so he decided to ask.
"What are you doing, mother?"
"Look at the shadow behind my hand. I'm making a shadow puppet." She chuckled at his question and replied.
"Wow, mom! how did you make that duck." Reza seeing this for the first time, couldn't hold back his excitement.
"Conquer your shadows, sweetheart." She said as she patted his head with a warm smile.
She kept making shadow puppets till he fell asleep.
The next day Reza kept jumping up and down, dancing with the shadow produced by the sunlight and whenever he was about to go to sleep, he wished the shadow a good night.
...
Arthur reflected on the story that his mother told him and was thinking of conquering his own shadow.
'I'll find a way. I'll figure everything out.' Arthur shut his eyes, determined.
...
The storm has ended. Before the sunrise, the birds begin to awaken; they come together to sing a song, and when you're attentive, it becomes a symphony of excellence and awe. Arthur slowly opened his eyes to that beauty still half asleep as the light penetrated his long eyelashes.
Knock. Knock.
"Arthur, get up. We have a lot of work to do. We don't have all day long." Arthur instantly opened his eyes as he heard a harsh and deep voice calling his name.
"Yes, father, on my way."
Arthur walked out of his room looking for his father, but he wasn't there anymore. He left the house with the intention to help his father out with the farm.
On the way to the farm, Arthur realised that many people were staring at him in awe which confused him more. He saw himself as an ordinary boy.
Finally, Arthur arrived at his destination. The reflective greens of the landscape radiated more brilliant in the strengthening light; he closed his eyes and smiled to breathe in and appreciate the atmosphere.
He saw a tall, muscular man wearing dusty farm clothing and a straw hat, yet his wrinkled face was still visible, wiping the sweat off.
Even though he was still young, the map of wrinkle lines on his face told a million untold challenging journeys his life had taken. The hardship of life made him look a decade older than he was.
Arthur quickly recognised the man as it was his father, Fei Caesar.
"Good morning, little Arthur. You look different today. I almost didn't recognise you. There is something different about you that I can't pinpoint. Forget about it; start pulling out those spring onions." He took on a questioning look and instructed Arthur.
"Okay, father," Arthur replied as he turned to do his task and thought about his father's words.
'Something is going on with me that I don't see; I'm suspecting it to be because of the dreams. I see a difference in my face, but it isn't much for people to react like this. My father's words confirmed my suspicions.'
A few hours went fast like seconds; Arthur was creating a plan for the future till he heard a familiar voice.
"Arthur! Arthur, is that you? I haven't seen you in a while. You sure have changed while I was away."
"It's good to see you again, Leitus. I hope you had fun without me while you were at the capital, my friend." Arthur replied with a fraudulent smile, unrecognisable.
Gray, shoulder-length hair gently hovers over a delicate, radiant face with bright blue eyes. With a glance, his clothes compared to Arthur was of a noble. Leitus was his friend since they were six years old.
A childhood friend is heavens gift when times are complex; they'd be next to you whenever battle cry arrives, no matter the situation, anywhere, they'd always be there. Or at least that was his thought process in the past.