I woke up with a splitting headache, unsure of where I was or how I got there. I looked up from the forest and I knew from the moment I looked up that something was wrong. I gazed at the sky for a moment, that was a very odd color of sickly red and green, with no stars or sun or moon or sign of life among the thick black trees of the forest. There was black ooze coming off of the trees, and very pretty but eerie strings of light that were also hanging off of the leaves in place of vines and moss. I looked at my backpack- manual and materials and everything I supposedly needed, and then the memories all came flooding back to me.
I remembered my sister and my boyfriend were left in the Sun Dimension with those awful creatures, and it just all happened so quickly for me.
I have to find a way out. My sister and boyfriend are more important to me than even saving several thousand dimensions. I will help them at any cost. If the whole universe were to go up in flames, having them by my side would make it all worth it.
All I had to look at was my manual, and remembering the instructions that Mrs Sobre told me previously.
She did say something rather strange to me, however, and no matter how hard I tried to forget it, the words wriggled violently in my head like a poisonous ear worm. It felt even more gruesome than I could ever describe it.
"But can the wishes go haywire?" I asked my mentor earnestly.
"You can only control your end," she warned. "Just because you know how to wish for something specific doesn't mean he knows. Also, sometimes the wishes can still be dishonest. You must be very careful, for your sake and his."
"So how do I protect him?"
"You don't. This is going to be a hit or miss. Good luck. Take the manual with you. If it's meant to be, he will stick by you no matter what, and you will feel destiny on your side. If it's not meant to be, your efforts will always be in vain and it will forever seem one-sided. The wish stones, despite the heinous challenges they bring, are known to reveal the loyalty and true intentions of those we care about.
"The people who we think are meant to be with us and the people who are actually meant to be with us couldn't be more different, and it can really be quite spontaneous and unpredictable."
It was good advice, but when I heard it, it made me question everything with Blake. Nothing should be wrong, because he has been nothing but perfect to me ever since we got together. Yet, when she said that I began to question it for the first time and I did not maintain my confidence. Rather than being thankful for this advice, I was bitter.
Everything was perfect until she made me think about it. I was happy when I was ignorant and oblivious but because she made me observe and face myself now I have to doubt everything. I was perfectly happy until she had to say something. In fact, I was perfect, period. Why did she have to do that to me?
I read the manual trying to focus but over and over again I couldn't get my mentor's words out of my head.
I know he loves me for real. We're going to get married and have three children together.
Even when I thought this I didn't fully believe it. Something felt off, but I pushed it to the side for the time being.
I kept walking around Twilight Forest, because there was nowhere to go but forward and I still didn't trust that whole magical taxi thing just yet. The forest, I noticed grew dimmer and dimmer the deeper I went in it. It was very beautiful, but very ominous at the same time.
There were still strings of light, but they seemed to get dimmer and dimmer, and eventually the lights hanging from the trees were all off, leaving me shrouded in heavy darkness, almost like a shadow cast over the entire forest.
There was a solar eclipse now, so the wind grew very cold and violent.
It wasn't like stormy weather, but the temperature did not get any warmer, and the winds did not get any less aggressive. I turned on my flashlight, but the thickness of the dark seemed too heavy to let the light shine anywhere, or do any good. It got to a point where I could no longer see where I was going, and once again, I grew very tired and woozy.
There were little specks of light now, as I continued on and my eyes grew heavier. Or... were they?
They were glowing blue almond-shaped specks of light that I saw, like a turquoise, almost, and very faint. The closer I got, the more they looked like they were watching me.
I want to say I blacked out, but there was no difference between when I closed my eyes and when I opened them...
