You're In My Mind

2 - This Is Really Happening

~Flashback~

"God! What. Is. Wrong. With. You!"

I winced. I've heard this before, but It still made me practically paralyzed. "I-"

"WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER-"

My head hurt. His screams muffled my pathetic whimpers. My eyes began to sting as I was trying so hard not to cry, you definitely can't let him see you cry. That always ended bad in the stories; he'd take it as more a reason to punish me, simply because he can. I choked on a buried sob that ached for escape within my chest, was this how the rest of my life was going to be? Would I ever go to school? Would I ever see my friends? Why haven't mom and dad come after me?

~                         ~                             ~

I turned around in circles, searching for the voice. That's when I saw him, walking up the vibrant, green hill I had created. I'm not sure what I was expecting, an angel? A ghost? A spirit? Just my Imagination? As the mysterious boy paced up the smooth incline, I couldn't help but stare. He looked just like me, no god or angel. He had messy, dark brown hair and dreamy-like eyes. He looked at me in awe once he was yards away, our gazes in an intimate lock. What is happening right now? He fumbled with his jean jacket in a daze. 

"How---I can't believe this is happening." He said as his eyes flickered back to reality. 

"You tell me. . ."

"No one ever comes here. I thought. . .How are you here?"

"I don't know. .anything, alright? I was crying, and---poof." I wasn't sure how to explain to him my frustrating confusion. I've come to this world before, yet he wasn't there. So why now?

"Could you. . .feel me?" He hesitantly asked.

"What?"

"Like,  could you feel how I was feeling?"

I felt his concern, earlier. "A few minutes ago-"

"Did it start when you close your eyes?"

"Yes! And--and I woke up here."

I could feel his sudden excitement, his longing to know more; his undeniable relief. "I've never met anyone else," He trailed off. "Well, I thought I was  crazy. Being here. But you-"

"Is this really happening? Are you just in my head?" I asked, this is bizarre. 

"I think I'm real," He pinched himself. Literally, pinched himself. "Ow---yup, definitely real."

"Okay. . ."

"I'm Evan, by the way."

"Nice, to umm, meet you."

"Here, I gotta show you something. Have ya seen the cave yet?" He said quickly, gesturing to someplace off in the distance. This is really happening. 

I shook my head. "I thought this was it." I said, motioning a circle around me.

"You have not lived." 

"Sorry-" I began to say, but he cut me off by walking to me, my heart racing. He took me by the arm, and led the way down the other side of the hill. If this were real life, I'd dropkick this stranger for touching me. But, as I tried to register all that was happening, I decided what could possibly happen in a dream? In this perfect paradise? As we walked along side in silence, I tried to place him. If I was here for escape, had he gone through horrible things also? Did this place only reel in the broken, did this mean there were others? As I thought about it, I marveled at the growing beauty that increased every step. We seemed to have ventured into a forest, like the ones you only ever see in the movies. The trees were all sorts of sparkling colors, mystical reds, pinks, turquoise, emerald, and the sunniest of golds. I had to pull myself back to reality when Evan halted us to a stop. We stood in front of a giant opening in the shiny, rock wall. I gaped at its magnificence. As I looked deeper inside, I could almost make out flickering objects further in the darkness. 

I almost jumped back at the sound of his voice. "This is one of my favorite places to come."

I was surprised. "All this beauty outside, and you play in the dark?"

"If only you knew, princess." He snickered.

"Princess?" 

He ignored the question, smirked, and began to enter the oblivion ahead. For a fleeting moment, I forgot what I was doing. "You coming?" He inquired. 

"Yeah, yeah." I playfully rolled my eyes, and followed in behind him. His footsteps were what kept me in line, until he reached for my arm again. I flinched and pulled away, stopping in my tracks. That tingling feeling within me sparked, and just like earlier, I could feel his concern. 

"Sorry, I didn't-"

I stopped him right there. "It's fine. I'm not used---when I was little---never mind," My heart raced and my words jumbled, which happened whenever I tried to talk about it. "it's not your fault."

There it was again, that intimacy. Without any words at all, he knew exactly what I meant. It was like he knew me for years, not minutes. "Uh...umm..." He felt it too. "It's right up here, we're almost there."

I would have to thank him for the change of subject later. Steps through the darkness later, we turned a corner. It finally made sense. There was a transparent lake, shimmering off the thousands of crystals hanging off the ceilings and walls. I had to catch my breath. The deeper you went, the more and more beautiful and intricate this world got. 

"You see now?" He asked in accomplishment. 

"Wow-"

"Here." He handed me a shimmering, smooth stone.

"What's it for?"

"You ever skipped rocks before?" He looked at me with those dreamy-like eyes, a glimmer in them. 

I shook my head. "No, actually."

"Well, prepare to get your world rocked." He held in a laugh.

I smiled, chuckling. "That, was awful." 

He smiled back, "K', I'll go first." He stated, and pulled his arm back, launching the little stone across the water in a perfectly fluent motion. My mouth was open. 

"That---how hard can it be?" I said unconfidently. With that, I tried to replica his form in vain. I threw the rock a whole few feet, and it kerplunked into the depths of the water.

He stood beside me, laughing. 

"You done?"

"That wasn't too bad?" 

"Oh shut up, darlin'." I mocked playfully. 

I ignored him purposely, recreating his smirk from earlier. For the first time in forever, I felt happy. I forgot about trying so hard to fake the smile, I forgot about telling myself I'm alright, I forgot about being a disappointment. I was just the same old Morgan. Here, I could let myself be me. Whatever was happening back in the real world was miles away, and the crushing weight ceased to exist. Evan made me feel different. He didn't look at me with pity. It was just him and I in this perfect little world. How could some stranger I met minutes ago, suddenly mean so much?

It's like we were bonded, our feelings synced, in an almost impossible way; just as reality felt to this magical paradise.

~                                 ~                             ~

Hello, Readers! The Inspiration for the colors in her description of the forest, was taken from the picture at the top. Whoever drew that masterpiece, God bless you. 

Also, I wanted to address the hidden meaning in this chapter. When Morgan is surprised to find that Evan wants to go inside, when there is all this beauty outside, it symbolizes that not all beauty is outwardly. They had to search for the beauty within. <3