Dreamcatcher

22

Aerial hadn't forgotten. She hadn't forgotten Emmi. She hadn't forgotten Chase. She hadn't forgotten her parents, the place she grew up in, the parks, her memories....she remembered it all.

When she woke up a week later, she felt light. She remembered something else too – her dream. What was it? Oh, she dreamed about the stars. She dreamed about butterfly chasing. She dreamed about Venus...

Venus. Where was she? How was she?

Venus. She had manipulated Aerial into remembering all the lost names, all her memories, just to weaken Dream Catcher Aerial. Then she took over her hell, her burdens, her suffering....

Venus. She had loved Chase more than Aerial. Even as a Dream Catcher the young woman wouldn't dare forget the teen's name, his words, his grin, his laugh....

Venus. She was okay with suffering. She was okay with remembering. Her life was already full of it.

That wasn't okay. That wasn't okay.

Where was Venus? How was Venus?

Aerial wildly looked around the room. The walls were a blazing hot-pink. Small stickers and Christmas lights covered each corner and chipped paint spot on the wall. Posters of cartoons and comic-book cats had been lopsidedly taped on.

This wasn't her own room in Chase's house. This wasn't Venus's room. This was...

"She's awake, Kris! She's finally awake!"

"Oh, Aerial, sweetie, w-we found you near Reinfeld—"

"---cold—unconscious—Emmi's gone—"

"Emmi...her mom....door...dreamcatcher..."

Wait, where am I?

"Aerial, thank god you're home! Thank god."

"Any idea of what happened, dear? You were missing for a few hours—"

"--worried sick—thought something bad had happened to you—"

Wait – I know these people. I remember them.

This smell. It's like freshly-baked cookies.

Ah, I remember.

I remember everything.

"Mom, Dad....I've missed you guys so much...."

Years passed as quickly as seasons. Memories overlapped like the winter heated blankets over Aerial's lap as she stared out the frosted window. Every so often she looked out at the park, then back to her laptop. She wrote a few words here and there, then looked back out. Winter was peaceful, especially near Reinfeld Park.

The park itself was bare yet beautiful. Parents still remembered the bad Christmas omen, but a decade ago Aerial had conversed with an elderly couple that hung around the park often, even during the holiday season. They had stopped showing up three years ago, and now the park was simply a snow-covered statue.

Sometimes Aerial felt her heart get heavier as she remembered what happened decades ago with her friend. Sometimes she felt confused as to what happened, often angry. But that anger slowly drifted off like the steam of hot cocoa when Aerial remembered somebody, somebody named Venus, somebody named Chase.

She looked out the window again. A woman with long white hair and a thick stack of dreamcatchers underneath her arm made her way through the park. Her breath danced in the winter air, footsteps fighting against the piled-up snow. Yet she kept walking.

Aerial leaned in closer to the window. The woman vanished from her view.

Aerial got up from her seat, quickly scrambling towards the front door as her socks slid across the smooth wooden floor. Her hand reached out towards the knob, anticipating the harsh wind as she opened the door and ran out towards the edge of the porch.

The dreamcatcher behind her blew around wildly as she stared out into the barren snow-covered park. The woman had vanished entirely, her footsteps already covered by snowfall.

Where had the woman gone? Something about her seemed familiar, but Aerial couldn't seem to pinpoint what–-

Ah...I remember now.

I remember everything.