Fading Away

Chapter Three

Yay for not having gotten writer's block yet! :) PLEASE comment, even if its to point out mistakes, plot holes, character issues, etc. How else am I going to get better? Thanks for reading.

 Things are getting more interesting. 

 My name is Dream. I am part of a group of creatures who are not of this world. We influence minds.

There are not very many of us. There's me (Dream),Wonders, who is the leader of us all, Eternity, Hope, and Secrets. We do not live in a house like people. We wander. Our current home is deep in a quiet section of forest. I remember a time when we were more focused on the world, and we lived in the very clouds. Things have gotten busier since then, and we've all been overwhelmed. None of us are as focused as we really should be.

Things started to fall apart after the death of one of our own.

I haven't seen the others, apart from the very brief visits from Wonders and Eternity, in about four years.

Needless to say, I'm a little anxious about going home.

I drift after Wonders, looking down at the busy world below. To distract me from my grief I think about the very distant past.

We escaped a burning world. A world full of creatures like us. I was very young. Wonders and Secrets are the only ones who are old enough to remember that day. The one thing I do remember is intense heat, loud noises, and then abrupt silence. Quiet. Peace, and the sheer relief of it. I remember growing up underground. I remember our first encounter with humans, and how they mistook us for ghosts or whatever, and ran scared. We have control of how we appear to the world, to some extent. Some minds are simply unable to see us, while others are very difficult to hide from. We cast no shadow when invisible, we effect nothing.

We arrive at the forest we currently dwell in. It's very different from the busy town I've grown used to.

I land delicately on my feet, on the forest floor. The air smells sweet and fresh. A deer grazes quietly nearby.

"This place is nice," I observe quietly.

"It's just what you need," Wonders says, patting me on the shoulder. His usually stern face is gentle. He really is trying to help me out here. It makes me feel better to know that.

Wonders moves away me to give me some space. I take my time walking, weaving between the trees. I pause at a slow moving river and see my reflection.

What I see shocks me back to reality.

I am not a human. I do not belong with them.

My hair is full of stars.

It's been a long time since I've looked at my reflection. My soft violet eyes are tired and haunted. My hair is longer than its ever been, light blue and dark blue and deep blue, all full of stars. My clothes are ragged. I can't even recognize what I'm wearing anymore.

I turn away from my muddled reflection and keep walking.

I sense the others' presence. They have all gathered for me.

I hope its to welcome me back and not to scold me.

I arrive at an enormous clearing. There is a seemingly unnatural light coming from everywhere at once. It comes from our being gathered.

We truly are powerful beings.

My gaze first settles on Eternity and my heart wrenches in my chest. He doesn't meet my gaze back. His hair has been cut shorter since the last time I saw him. When I do catch a glimpse of his eyes I see they have changed. Instead of brown they swirl in electric blues and greens.

I tear my gaze away from him and get a good look at Wonders. He is the oldest of us all. He has short, white-blonde hair and sharp amber eyes. In some ways he's like a father to all of us.

Hope is, in my opinion, the most beautiful creature in existence and for that I envy her. She's a little younger than me and has wavy red and golden hair that she pulls back to keep out of her face. Her eyes are a gentle green. She watches me with a kind expression.

Then there's Secrets. She stands away from everyone, her arms crossed over her chest. She wears a hooded cloak that shadows her eyes completely. Her hair is the blackest of black and is done in long braids.

Aside from our human like clothes, we couldn't look less out of place in this world.

"Welcome home," Hope says with a smile.

I swallow. "Thanks."

"I'm sure you've noticed some things have changed," Wonders says.

My gaze drifts over Eternity and Secrets. "Yes," I reply. "What's going on?"

"We all have much to discuss," Wonders says, addressing everyone. He sounds tired.

What's been going on?

I'm exhausted, and Wonders takes that into consideration. Hope brings me into our home. We're underground once again, in a rather elaborate network of tunnels and caves. She brings me a black tank top and light gray pants, and I go change into them. They're far more comfortable and in better condition than my old clothes. I find a white sash among a pile of scraps of cloth and tie it around my waist. I put my old dark gray boots on and find myself feeling better already. Hope then brings me a hairbrush.

I sit in front of a mirror and find myself once again bewildered at the appearance of my hair. Cautiously, I begin to run the brush through and find that the stars only grow brighter. When I touch my hair it feels no different. It only looks bizarre, and yet beautiful and familiar.

"We're changing." Hope's hushed voice comes from the doorway. "Becoming more powerful."

I turn to look at her. "What do you mean? What's been happening?"

"Wonders hasn't explained it yet, but we all know he knows. I think Secrets knows too but she obviously won't tell."

"Strange," I murmur, resuming brushing my hair. "I'm beginning to think that's why Wonders wanted me to come back."

"Why were you gone? He said you wanted to take care of someone, or something."

"A child," I sigh, another wave of exhaustion washing over me at the mere thought of Harper. "I was being her imaginary friend. Then she grew up."

"So?"

"She forgot me," I say flatly.

"I doubt that," Hope scoffs. "No one ever forgets their imaginary friends!"

I don't reply. I finish brushing my hair and admire how the stars gleam and shine, and marvel at how they come seemingly from nowhere. Then I stand from the stool and turn.

Eternity stands in the doorway now, watching me with those unfamiliar eyes. "Hey," he says quietly.