The Opalescent Sky

Chapter 4 - Pineapple

          It was dark. Dark and warm. It felt like a gentle breeze was brushing on my face, caressing my cheeks, and moving my body forward, but I saw nothing. Just empty nothingness. I saw a shimmer of light and color move in my peripheral vision, but when I turned to face it, it was gone. Why do you humans desire to see things so much? Does the notion of not seeing what speaks to you frighten you? Said a sly voice I recognized but didn't know yet. I decided to speak with my mouth rather than just let it listen to my mind, "Why do you keep appearing in my dreams? Why do you want to talk to me anyway?" There was a pause, but then I heard them with my ears instead of my mind. Because... it has always been so. Well, that certainly didn't leave me confused or anything. I apologize, but for the safety of your sanity, I can only tell you the truth in increments. Not as a whole. "Can I at least ask for your name?" I asked this with a sudden urgency, as my gut was telling me my time here was short this time. I did not have to wait long for an answer. I have been called many things in the past. I was born before the idea of naming oneself or ones offspring was a common practice. You may call me whatever your heart inclines you to call me. I thought about it for a moment, feeling my time stretching thinner and thinner with the passing seconds. "Well, I don't really know..anything about you." the flicker of bright orange and yellow when this dragon was blurry came to mind. "I guess I could call you.. Pineapple?" Before I heard any response, I was suddenly opening my eyes to Lewis right in my face. I was awake again.

          Dinner was uneventful after Lewis calmed down from me not responding to them trying to wake me up. Apparently they had tried for several minutes and were about to call 911 when I finally woke up. It honestly hadn't even felt like very long, but the house smelled delicious and the food was still decently warm and fresh. Once the drama sorted itself, we all ate and were content. After about an hour or two of eating and laughing, Dan drove a half-asleep Lewis home, and Grandma told me I needed to rest before the next day. I was flabbergasted. "No offense Grandma, but didn't I sleep a lot the past week already?" She looked at me with a smile I had never seen before. Almost mischievous, but also knowing. "Yes dear, but that was a different kind of sleep. That was sleep your body forced you to have because you needed it. I doubt you woke up actually feeling mentally rested, did you?" I hadn't thought about that, but she was right. I knew I had slept a long while, but I felt absolutely no evidence of that. In fact, I actually felt exhausted like I had been running. Not out of breath, but how you feel when you've been doing a lot all at once. Sort of dizzy, but not quite. "Wow, you're right, I'm actually still really tired.." I trailed off as I started walking toward the stairs when she spoke again "Also, dear, I know this past week has been hard, and I wanted to tell you sooner, but you slept so long.. anyways. When you are cleared to go back to school, you will actually be transferring to a different school. It should have happened a long time ago, but until recently I didn't know if it would be right for you." I just stared at her in disbelief.

          Now I knew what the mischievous part of her smile had been about. I was feeling a wave of emotions, and I could feel them all contorting on my face one by one. Before I could speak she said, "I know this is something very sudden to tell you, especially before bed, but I only bring it up right now because we have an appointment to show you around your new school tomorrow. Don't worry, you're not starting until your doctor says you can. But the reason you're going to go there is because it is where both your parents went. Like I said before, You should have been enrolled much earlier, but your...Invitation, so to speak, hadn't shown itself until, well.. rather recently." She left it at that, and didn't make a move to say anything. Up to this point I had thought about exploding, but I wasn't really upset about it. I only had Dan and Lewis for friends, and no real plans for anything past high school. What got me to hold my tongue was what she said about my parents. She almost never spoke about them and I knew virtually nothing about them, not even their names. I will be going to the same school my parents went to... I thought to myself. Yes, and you may yet find information of them your Grandmother withheld from you. That wasn't my own thought.. Pineapple..? Is that you? I thought hesitantly. Indeed, it is. I gave an audible sigh of relief as I climbed the stairs to my room. I neglected to say goodnight to Grandma, but I was a little sour at her for the moment.