While the party was still going on, I snuck outside and sat beside the fountain. There was enough light outside, enough for me to read my mom's diary, I looked at the cover for the year the diary was made for. "1990" was what was written. I turned the first page. There were words written in capital letters.
"MY DEAR SON, MY DEAR ZAN ALWAYS KNOW THAT I'M PROUD OF YOU NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS".
I smiled. Ayumi by that time had discovered my absence so she came outside to look for me and found me beside the fountain.
"Zan, isn't it a bit rude to just disappear without saying anything?" She asked with a playful smile.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist" I said as I nervously rubbed the back of my head.
"Hold still" she said as she picked some pieces of grass from my hair and showed them to me.
"I guess lying on the grass with your dad and staring into the sky was not such a good idea" I said.
"Well there's not much hair to talk about. You're almost bald. Have you forgotten you had a haircut?" Ayumi teased me.
"Hey Ayu that's not funny!" I said angrily.
"I'm sorry. It's actually a good look for you. It makes you look cute" Ayumi said.
"Really?! I guess I must have haircuts as often as possible and to think I nearly went for a Mohawk" I laughed.
"Ppphhh! Y-you?! In a Mohawk?! HAHAHA! What a crazy idea" Ayumi laughed.
"I think I'd actually look cool in a Mohawk" I argued.
"I'm not saying you wouldn't look cute. That's if we were on a different planet of course. Your weak link is, this is earth" Ayumi teased some more.
I smiled.
"It's really good to see you happy Ayu" I said.
"I remember a wise lady once saying that being near you brings happiness. I guess it's just impossible to be moody around you" Ayumi said.
"Thanks" I said with a nervous smile.
"So what were you doing Zan?" Ayumi suddenly asked me.
I raised my diary.
"I was just trying to read this. Hey, now that you're here, would you like to hear what my mom has written in her diary?" I asked.
"Why not? I'd love to… that's if it doesn't bother you" Ayumi said worriedly.
"It doesn't" I said as I turned to the second page.
"Zan, I'm sure you've got a lot of questions about your father and I've written everything in prose form after all I know you really love stories"
I read my mother's words and smiled.
"I feel close to her already" I said.
"I'm glad" Ayumi said. Then I began to read the real story behind my mom and dad.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
TWENTY YEARS AGO
It was a time of trouble. There was continuous tension between the Realm of Dreams and the Realm of Nightmares. This was partly due to the fact that a number of humans had lost their lives to the ultimate unconsciousness. The Dream King and the Nightmare King were always at war. But now a new threat had arisen. A dreadful curse was spreading fast through the Dream world. The curse was causing the dream folk to be more violent than they usually were and their anger corrupted them and caused them to die. If nothing was done about this curse, there would be imbalance not only in the World of Dreams but also the World of Reality.
The Dream King suspected that the Nightmare King had a hand in this curse so he declared war on the Realm of Nightmares. There were deadly clashes between both realms. The princess of the dream world, Princess Ariel disagreed with the war but there was not much she could do since her father, the Dream king was a very stubborn man whom though kind-hearted, never changed his mind once it was made up.
One day, news arrived at the castle that all of the Dream king's best Knights had been defeated in battle and they were now the prisoners of the Nightmare king. The princess went to see her father. He seemed very worried.
"I heard what happened father. What are you going to do about the situation?" Princess Ariel asked her father.
The king sighed.
"Unfortunately my dear, there is nothing I can do. The Nightmare king's powers far surpass my own. I wonder what is truly going on. How could the balance of power suddenly tip in the Nightmare king's favour?" The Dream king said.
"Have you considered the possibility that perhaps the Nightmare king is not responsible for this misfortune?" the Princess asked.
"That's impossible, he's the most powerful force of darkness in this world" The Dream king said.
"Nuh-uh-uh, I do remember an old man saying that there exists a greater evil in this world, Zanfar, or did you forget father? That old man was you" The Princess said.
"But Zanfar is sealed within the eternal mirror gate. There is no way he could be responsible." The Dream king disagreed.
"But you always said 'the stronger the light, the darker the shadow'. Don't you think Zanfar could have surpassed the strength of the seal?" the Princess asked.
"But there is no way of finding that out. What do you suggest I do?" the Dream king asked.
"Send an emissary to find out from the Nightmare king the real cause of this curse" the Princess suggested.
"What?! You can't ask me to do that! Who will be willing to risk their lives for such a perilous mission" the Dream king asked.
The Princess smiled.
"Your daughter perhaps" she suggested.
"No! Absolutely not! You are my only child and my heiress. I cannot allow you to risk your life like that." The Dream king refused.
"Father, I'm already twenty years old. Don't you think it's about time I started taking on certain responsibilities?" the Princess asked.
"But how will I ever face your mother if you lost your life on such a fool's errand?!" the Dream king said.
"So do you think your men sacrificed their lives on a fool's errand? You know I can bargain for their freedom and you also know I don't take no for an answer besides that, you ALSO know what mom will say in a situation like this" the princess argued.
"She would say 'let our daughter follow her heart, she's wiser than most people our age' am I right" the king said with a smile.
"Yes, I promise you that I'll come back safe. Nothing will happen to me, I promise and you know…"
"Yes, you always keep your promises. Fine, I'll let you go but you must take good care of yourself" the Dream king demanded.
"I will" Princess Ariel promised.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
The following day, the Princess left the castle on her unicorn whose name was Twilight. She wasn't alone for she was being accompanied by twenty armed escorts. They rode on and on, viewing the effects of the curse along the way. Soon enough, they reached the border to the Realm Of Nightmares. Back then, Despair and the other evil souls had not yet been released so the Princess only had to cross one border, the Forest Of Frights which was the geographical location for the Forest Of Confusion in later times. This forest was vast and more confusing than the Forest Of Confusion though. The Princess' guards tried to warn her that the Forest was dangerous but driven by her passion to rescue the captured Dream Knights, the Princess insisted on going through the Forest. She felt that she could possibly restore peace between the Realm Of Dreams and that of Nightmares if she continued on her journey. When her guards saw how serious she was about crossing the Forest, they abandoned her. Secretly they had wished in their hearts that the mere sight of the Forest would discourage the Princess and they were shocked at how undaunted the Princess seemed. The Princess sighed.
"I guess I've got to do this on my own. It's just you and me now Twilight" the Princess said with a smile as she rode through the gloomy forest.
The forest was darker than night. Only dead trees inhabited that forest and it was foggier now than it usually was. Terrifying sounds echoed as the Princess moved on and she began to feel like she was being watched. As she ventured further, the forest began to get chillier and chillier until even the Princess began to have second thoughts about venturing further. She resolved though not to give up and at that moment, there was a loud howl followed by numerous barks. A creature of pure evil appeared before the Princess, a wraith, one of the shadow servants of Zanfar.
"Well what have we here? It is none other than the Princess Of Dreams" the dark figure said.
It was a tall figure cloaked in black smoke and hooded. It rode atop a terrifying beast known as an Omnicron, the evil counterpart of the unicorn. The Omnicron was a completely black horse with blazing red eyes. Its legs were covered in armoured bones. The armoured bones were rumoured to be the bones of all the warriors it had trampled on during battle.
"Let me pass, I don't want any trouble" the Princess pleaded.
"It looks to me like trouble is exactly what you seek by wandering into such treacherous lands" the wraith said in a mocking tone.
"Please let me pass" the Princess pleaded.
"I can't do that. You see, my kind exist by feeding off the spirits of pure souls. Souls that have purity and light like yours. When the light leaves your heart completely, the remaining darkness will fuel Zanfar's strength. Come my brethren and prepare yourselves for a feast!" the wraith called.
There was a chorus of eerie whispers as more wraiths came out of hiding and surrounded the princess.
"The person standing before you…IS OUR FOOD!" the first wraith declared and the wraiths charged on the princess.
She tried to escape but she was knocked off Twilight. The wraiths gathered around her and began to feed off her pure spiritual energy but instead of growing stronger, they grew weaker.
"What is happening?! Why do we grow weaker instead of stronger?!" the leader wraith screamed in horror.
"Pathetic parasites! You are the cause of this curse aren't you?! You low lying scum that survive only by feeding off the pure spiritual energy of humans and their dreams, leaving nothing but fear and hatred in your wake. You serve Zanfar so you should understand. You've all just committed suicide" a strange sinister voice said with a sarcastic laugh. "The irony" the voice added.
"SUICIDE?! What are you talking about?!" the wraiths screamed.
"You've just fed off the spiritual essence of one who knows no hatred. She has a pure love within her that surpasses even the love of humans. Do you know what you find when you feed off someone like her? You find nothing but more love because she knows no hatred and you creatures of hate have fed off pure love. To you, it is poison" the mysterious voice said.
"Who speaks?!" the wraiths screamed as they turned to face the speaker. "NIGHTMARE KING?!" they screamed in fear.
"You disgust me. You do not even deserve to be called Nightmares! Disappear from my sight, filthy vermin!" the Nightmare king roared as he stretched his hand towards the wraiths.
A stream of golden light escaped from his fingertips and incinerated the wraiths. The Princess lay on the ground, unconscious. The Nightmare king walked to her and carried her in his arms.
"How reckless" he muttered as he carried her away to his castle.
Twilight followed close behind.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
The following day, the Princess opened her eyes and found herself in a strange room. It was bright and the curtains had been drawn.
"What happened? Where am I?" she wondered.
Almost immediately after she had said that, a young woman entered the room.
"The master wishes to dine with you. You can freshen up in there?" the woman said humbly and left the room.
The Princess was still confused but she decided to follow the woman's orders. When she finally left the room, she found the young woman waiting for her in the corridor. The woman led the Princess down some massive stairs. The Princess stared around the castle as she moved on. The castle was decorated with all kinds of grotesque gargoyles and statues. When they finally arrived at the dining room, the Princess saw a man sitting at the farthest end of a long table. The table was stacked with all kinds of delicacies. The Princess cautiously sat at the opposite end of the table.
"Are you the Nightmare King?!" the princess called out hoping that the man would hear her.
"I can't hear you, come closer" the Nightmare king said.
The Princess drew a bit closer.
"Can you hear me?!" she called.
"No" he replied.
She drew closer still but he kept saying he could not hear her till she was right beside him.
"I can hear you now" the Nightmare king said with a cunning smile.
"You did that on purpose! Are you the Nightmare king or not?!" the Princess asked angrily.
"I am the Nightmare king and I know that you are the Princess Of Dreams so now, I need to know why you did such a reckless thing as coming into my territory" the Nightmare King asked.
"I only came to find out whether you were responsible for this curse or not?" the Princess said nervously.
"And now you have your answer. But now, I am quite annoyed. You did such a reckless thing on a fifty per cent chance of survival?" the Nightmare king inquired.
"A-Actually no. I also came to plead with you to release the captured Dream Knights" the Princess said.
"I will not do such a thing for two reasons; firstly, it was your father that declared war against me and secondly, I know the Dream Knights he sent to protect you abandoned you. That for me is the highest peak of dishonour" the Nightmare king said calmly.
"Please do not judge them all for the actions of a few" the Princess pleaded. "So I should give your father more armed warriors to make my defeat easier, is that it? Apparently, you are no different from your father. None of you care about the fate of the Nightmare Realm. All you care about is your precious Realm Of Dreams filled with happiness yet you forget that it is the Nightmares that make the Dream World a reality" the Nightmare King said as he turned his back to the Princess.
"I do care and that is why I'm here. It is actually my wish to ensure that the Realms of Dreams and Nightmares co-exist peacefully" the Princess said.
"Are you serious? Do you really mean it or are you just saying that to get on my good side. If that is the case, then you are wasting your time for I have no good side" the Nightmare king said with a mischievous grin.
"I know that you have a good heart because…you saved me" the Princess said.
"It would have made no difference whether I showed up or not because your spirit is poison to the wraiths" the Nightmare king said coldly.
"But you were there. If you hadn't come, I probably would have died of cold" the Princess argued.
"Probably" the Nightmare king said indifferently.
"I really do wish for peace between the two realms" the Princess said.
"Well, there is only one way to find that out. Dream Banes!" the Nightmare king called and many servants lined up before him within a matter of minutes.
All of them looked human.
"Show her your true forms" the Nightmare king ordered and one after the other, the servants began to transform into Nightmarish creatures of all sorts.
Some were crowbats, others were evil bunnies, minotaurs, wolfbanes, bloodhounds and the like. The Princess found their various forms fascinating rather than frightening. She began to giggle. Then she noticed that one minotaur had hurt its leg. She walked to it.
"Poor creature. Let me take care of that" she said as she stretched her hand over the leg of the minotaur. A faint golden light ebbed from her hand and soon after, the minotaur was fully healed.
"My lord, she healed me!" the minotaur exclaimed joyfully.
The Nightmare king smiled.
"It looks like you truly appreciate Nightmares. I'm just a little convinced but if you wish to convince me enough to release the hostages from the dark damp dungeons I've placed them in, you will stay here with me for a few days" the Nightmare king said.
"I would if only I could send a message to my father informing him of my safety" the Princess said.
"I will let you do that. My falcons can deliver messages in a heartbeat" the Nightmare king said.
"Then I accept your condition" the Princess said.
"I am honoured" the Nightmare king said as he left the Princess.
The Princess wrote a letter to her father telling him that she was safe. She stamped it with the Royal Seal of the Royal House Of Dreams and sent it by falcon. Then she decided to explore the castle of Nightmares. It was so huge that it took her a whole day to explore every nook and cranny. However, the dungeons were restricted. Evening soon arrived. At dinner, the Nightmare king asked the Princess if she had enjoyed the castle sights and she answered positively.
The following day, after breakfast, the Nightmare king took the Princess for a walk around the castle. The Nightmare king seldom spoke so the Princess did most of the talking. The Nightmare king was a keen listener. He paid close attention as the Princess told him about the beauty of the Dream World.
"The human world is a blend of the two realms and it is mostly beautiful" the Nightmare king informed the Princess.
"I'd like to visit the human world one day" the Princess said enthusiastically.
As they walked on, the Princess discovered a fatally wounded dove on the ground. She felt really sorry for it and rushed to its side.
"How horrible! Don't worry little one, I'll heal you" she said as she picked the dove in one arm and stretched her other hand over it but nothing happened. She tried harder but there was no result.
"Why can't I do anything?" she complained.
"It's useless, the dove is dead. You can't do anything for it" the Nightmare king said indifferently.
"How can you be so cold? It's such an innocent creature, so fragile and vulnerable. Why can't you show a little concern? You're acting like…a monster!" the Princess said angrily.
"It's life! People live and they die! So do animals! It doesn't matter whether they are innocent or guilty, it doesn't change anything! The world isn't fair and it's certainly not the fantasy you live in! You can't survive even in the human world if you aren't strong!" the Nightmare king yelled angrily.
The Princess stared at him in disgust.
"You understand so little!" the Princess said as she walked away.
The Nightmare king sighed and crouched on the ground. A scorpion crawled by.
"Come on Master, you can do better than that. She's just a girl and you are not acting like your usual self. I know it hurts you to see the injured dove and it hurts you even more to see this girl hurt" the scorpion said.
"Shut up or I'll stomp on you" the Nightmare king threatened.
"Well what do I know? I'm just a scorpion" the scorpion said and crawled away.
The Nightmare king sighed and walked to where the Princess stood. She was still grieving for the dead dove.
"Do you still appreciate Nightmares even after seeing what happened to this dove?" he asked.
The Princess remained silent. She didn't even look at him.
"Without darkness, no one would appreciate the light.
Without winter, no one would appreciate the spring.
Without sorrow, no one would appreciate joy…"
The Nightmare king said as he collected the dove and placed his hand over it.
"And without death, no one would appreciate the gift of life" he said as a brilliant flash of light enveloped the dove.
After the light disappeared, the dove got up, flapped its wings and flew away. The Princess smiled and began to laugh happily.
"There is a relationship between Dreams and Nightmares, fear and courage. Without fear, without Nightmares, humans could not have courage and without courage dreams remain dreams. It takes fear to experience courage and it takes courage to turn a dream into a reality. Thus Nightmares are just as important as Dreams" the Nightmare king explained.
"I understand" the Princess said as she took the Nightmare king's hand in hers. "I also now understand that you are not an evil person. Your duty in this world is to help humans find their courage" the Princess said with a smile.
"Now you also understand why sorrow and pain are important" the Nightmare king said.
"Yes, without sorrow, it would be difficult to have compassion for others.
Understanding one another would be almost impossible" the Princess said.
"You will be a wise queen in the future. Just make sure to pass that wisdom to your children" the Nightmare king said.
"I'll pass it on to my father as well" the Princess promised.
Time passed from then on and the friendship between the Princess Of Dreams and the Nightmare King grew stronger and stronger till it was time for the Princess to leave. The Nightmare king was saddened by the fact that the Princess had to leave but he didn't argue for a promise is a promise and his promise must be kept. The Nightmare king freed all the captured Dream Knights but as it turned out, he hadn't really locked them in dungeons. In fact, they were happy with their time in the castle. The Princess greeted her friends cheerfully. Then she turned to the Nightmare king.
"You've done so much for me and I've never even seen your face" the Princess said sadly.
"I don't want you to see my face" the Nightmare king said for he didn't want the Princess to see that he was weeping.
"Please let me see your face. At least…just this once because…I may never see you again" the Princess said sadly.
The Nightmare King sighed heavily.
"Very well" he said as the shadow lifted from his face.
Beneath the shadow was a handsome but very sad face. The sorrow in the Nightmare King's eyes pierced the heart of the Princess so much that she couldn't help shedding tears as she left with the Knights.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
The Princess returned to the Realm Of Dreams and was welcomed by her father, the Dream King. She was praised and loved by her people more and more each day. Her knights respected her even more now than they ever had. However, it was not long before her happiness began to fade away. She couldn't stop thinking of the Nightmare King's sorrow and his kindness. Most of the time, she was lost in a state of mind, dream folk usually referred to as 'dream beyond dreams'. In human terms, that meant she was caught in a state of feeling 'bittersweet love'.
The Dream King soon realized that his daughter had fallen in love with the Nightmare king and it enraged him. He had always hated Nightmares for the simple fact that his ancestor, the first and righteous king of the Dream world had lost his life to Zanfar's malice. Thus the Dream king called a meeting of the highest order of Dream Knights and proposed a plan to get rid of the Nightmare king for good. However, two young knights who were also very much in love with each other, Ryuuji Kirisawa and Saito Kusanagi, understood the pain and imbalance the death of the Nightmare King would cause both realms so they secretly warned the Princess of the Dream Realm.
PRESENTLY
"Wait a minute! Ryuuji Kirisawa and Saito Kusanagi?! That's mom and dad!" Ayumi exclaimed in surprise.
"Wow, it looks like your parents were really great people. They even helped my dad and mom" I said.
"Zan! Keep reading! I want to know it ended" Ayumi said excitedly.
"Okay, I'll keep reading but no more interruptions till I'm done okay?" I requested.
"I'm sorry. I won't interrupt again" Ayumi promised.
"Okay, so here's what happened next…"
TWENTY YEARS AGO…
The Nightmare king received an urgent letter from the Dream king saying that the Princess was in danger and had been kidnapped by wraiths. The wraiths were supposedly leading her to the Mirror Gate to sacrifice her to Zanfar. The
Nightmare king, enraged by this news set out immediately to rescue the
Princess. Unbeknownst to him, it was a trap laid by the Dream king. The Princess after finding out this trap from Sir Ryuuji and Lady Saito immediately left the castle for the Mirror Gate. Sir Ryuuji and Lady Saito went with her to protect her.
The Nightmare King had meanwhile arrived at the Mirror Gate only to discover an ambush.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS DREAM KING?!" the Nightmare king exclaimed in anger.
"I don't know what sort of charm you used on my daughter but I will not allow you to win her heart. You only plan to bear a Dreamweaver and you very well know the legends. 'The next Dreamweaver born nine hundred and ninety three and a thousand revolutions from the time of Zanfar's sealing will bear the will of the Dark lord and by his hand shall endless darkness envelope both the realm of humans and Dreams.' I will not let that happen!" the Dream king declared.
"So you set this cowardly trap! It is your pride that will give Zanfar new life!" the Nightmare king declared.
"Let's see how you will survive the attacks of my strongest Dream Knights!" the Dream king roared and ordered his Knights to attack the Nightmare King.
The Nightmare king fought back and he was easily overpowering the Dream knights. However, after knocking off the helmet of one Dream Knight and seeing the terrified expression on that Dream Knight's face, he remembered the kind princess and lost his will to fight. In that single moment of kindness in which he decided to spare the Dream Knight's life, he was stabbed by the Dream King's sigil, the Nightbane whose sole purpose was to slay Nightmares thus the stab was fatal to the Nightmare king. It was at that moment that the Princess arrived.
"Father! What have you done?!" she screamed in horror and rushed to the Nightmare king's side.
The Nightmare king lay dying on the ground.
"Ariel, you came back to me" he said weakly.
"How could I do anything else…my love" the Princess said sorrowfully.
She had realized her love for the Nightmare king.
"Love? I have waited so long to be loved. It's…unnhh…a pity I have to die just when I found it" the Nightmare king said as he lost his breath of life and died.
"It's not fair. Why did a kind person like you have to be hated by everyone just because of your role in this world" the Princess wept.
"Ariel! Let us return to the castle now!" the Dream king ordered, disgusted by the Princess' love for the Nightmare king.
"I'm not going back with you father. I'm staying with my love" the Princess said.
"You're coming with me now!" the Dream king ordered as he walked towards his daughter but Saito and Ryuuji blocked his path.
"What are you so scared of Dream King? Are you so scared of Zanfar that you've forgotten to care about your own daughter's happiness? If that is the person I'm fighting for, then I quit. Better to serve a loving Nightmare king than a bitter Dream king!" Ryuuji declared.
"So do I! And all of you Dream Knights are pathetic if you've so soon forgotten the Nightmare king's kindness. He personally tended all our wounds and revived our broken spirits. If you've all forgotten so soon how to be kind, then Zanfar has already been unsealed. He is within all of you!" Saito said.
"It doesn't matter now that the Nightmare king is dead" the Dream king said.
"Fenrir, do you agree with this?" Ryuuji asked his best friend.
"Our personal feelings have nothing to do with this. Our vow as Dream Knights was sacred" Fenrir said seriously.
"Arlene, do you agree with this?" Saito asked her best friend.
"You know the prophecy" Arlene said, unsure of herself.
"I think you are all looking at the dark side of the prophecy! Have you forgotten the final part that says, 'though the union of Light and Darkness will bring forth an incarnation of disaster…'" Ryuuji began to say.
The Princess was still weeping for her lost love. Her tears fell into his wounds. "The tears of true love shed by the Princess Of Dreams will give the incarnation a choice" Saito continued.
At that moment, a bright light engulfed the Princess and the Nightmare king. There was a flow of epic music as though the gates of destiny had been unlocked and when the light faded, the Nightmare king was standing beside the Princess.
"Impossible! Can't you just die?!" the Dream king roared and pounced on the Nightmare king, stabbing him repeatedly with the Nightbane but the Nightbane simply phased through the Nightmare king.
"Look who is acting more like a Nightmare. The Nightbane can no longer harm me. Your daughter's kindness and love and her tears restored my love and now
I have been chosen by God to be the Sentinel of the Mirror Gate. Your Nightbane will have no effect on me since your daughter's tears now flow within me" the Nightmare king said.
"Ariel! Come with me!" the Dream king pleaded.
"No father, I'm leaving with the man I love. I'm getting married to him and we will indeed have a Dreamweaver but…he will become an incarnation of hope, not disaster" the Princess said confidently.
"We will come with you" Saito and Ryuuji volunteered and the four of them left together.
"Why did you choose to come with me?" the Nightmare king asked.
"Two reasons; firstly it's not because I'm siding with you against my father but because our union can bring peace to both realms and secondly, I love you…silly" the Princess teased the Nightmare king. "So what is your real name? It's not Nightmare king is it?" the Princess asked.
"You're marrying me though you don't know my real name? You must be really naïve" the Nightmare king teased the Princess.
"Please tell me your name?" the Princess pleaded.
"My name is…Sanziri. It means, 'Destroyer Of Lies'. You can simply call me San" the Nightmare king introduced himself.
"And I suppose that's the 'Destroyer' part" the Princess joked.
"Heh! Precisely!" the Nightmare king said with a smirk.
The Nightmare king and the Princess married some time later and in the nine hundred and ninety third and a thousandth revolution from Zanfar's sealing, the Princess became pregnant with a son. During that time, there was constant battle between the two realms. The Nightmare king realizing that if their son was born in such turbulent times, he will indeed grow to carry the will of Zanfar, suggested to the Princess that it would be better to cast their son into the human realm after his birth where he would have a better life and grow to be a kind person. Thus, they journeyed to the human realm to find a suitable guardian for the child.
In the human realm, they met a man called Wanye. He was a poor man but always happy and more than that, he was kind. They didn't tell Wanye where they were from but they talked with him and found out that he had no children yet he loved them with a passion. San and Wanye seemed to get along really well. Wanye showed them around Dream City which San thought had an intriguing name. The couple met Wanye's friends and decided that he was the best person to raise their son.
Soon after their son was born, the Nightmare king's castle was raided by Dream knights who sought to kill the child but how could they kill you Zan? You were so cute so the Nightmare king entrusted them with the mission to cast you into the human world. They managed to reach the Eternal Mirror Gate but the child was so close to the gate that he began to resonate with Zanfar's evil energy within the gate. To stop a disaster from occurring, the Dream Knights separated the elemental stones from the gate thus cutting off the resonance. However, by doing that, they inadvertently unsealed the seven souls of evil. Though they realized their mistake, there was not much they could do so they cast the child through the Mirror Gate and thus began your life and journey in the human world.
PRESENTLY
"That's it" I said.
"So my Dad and Mom actually saved the Nightmare king's life and worked for him" Ayumi said in surprise.
"Are you disappointed?" I asked her.
"No, on the contrary, I just don't understand why they didn't tell me and why the Nightmare king later cursed my mom and Ai" Ayumi said worriedly.
"Even I can't understand my father's actions but there seems to be a purpose to everything he does" I said.
At that moment, Mr Kirisawa came out with Ai, Face and Victoria.
"Ditching the party?! That's rude of you two!" Victoria accused us.
"Yeah! It took us a lot of time to set this all up and we're waiting for you to blow out the candles on your birthday cake and make a wish!" Ai complained.
"I'm sorry guys, let's go" I said as I went back in with Ai, Face and Victoria.
Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa remained alone outside. Ayumi was finding it difficult to face her father since she had always blamed him for her mother's death.
"Ayumi? Is anything the matter?" Mr Kirisawa asked her.
Ayumi broke down in tears.
"I'm sorry Dad. All this time, I blamed you for everything. I'm really sorry" she said as she ran into his arms.
"Sorry for what Ayu?" he asked.
"I always blamed you for Mom's death. I never realized what a great father you are. I'm proud of you" Ayumi said happily.
Mr Kirisawa was surprised at first but then, he smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that" Mr Kirisawa said.
"It seems that Zan did not only heal Ai, he also healed this family" Ayumi thought.
"Dad, did the Nightmare king really curse mom?" Ayumi asked.
"What made you think that?" Mr Kirisawa asked.
"Mom's sickness was similar to Ai's" Ayumi said.
"Your mother was indeed cursed in the Dream World however, she was not cursed by the Nightmare king. She was cursed by Zanfar at the moment the seven souls of evil were released. The Nightmare king suppressed the curse and that is why your mom lived a little longer" Mr Kirisawa explained.
"Then why did you say after mom's death that it was the Nightmare king's fault?" Ayumi asked.
"You must have overheard me when I was angry. I said that because the Nightmare King had the power to restore your mother's life but he didn't. He said that life was a gift from God and should not be toyed with by mortals even if they did have power over it" Mr Kirisawa explained.
"That is strange because he restored Face's life" Ayumi said. "Let's go inside before Zan gets offended" Ayumi said with a laugh.
I waited for Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa to enter.
"You guys sure took your time" I intentionally complained.
"You're one to talk!" everyone retorted and then, they began to laugh.
"Go ahead and make a wish" Ayumi said.
I stared at her and smiled.
"Okay" I said as I shut my eyes.
"I wish I will always have the strength of heart to protect Ayumi and everyone else" I thought as I blew out the candles.
Everyone cheered and then they teased me.
"It's obvious what you wished for" they said but Ayumi apparently remained clueless.
I looked around and for a moment, I thought I saw Jesus standing outside with a soccer ball. He saluted me and when I blinked, he was gone. I have to admit that that was the best day of my life. All my friends tried their best to make me happy. They risked their lives and souls and if I had found out that night, I would have slapped them all! You wonder why? Well let me tell you! If any of them or worse, all of them had died, do you think I'd ever celebrate my birthday in my life ever again? But I was really proud of them. And it's still not the reason I'm mad now. By the way, I'm nineteen years old now.