𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐬𝐲 (𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨!𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐱 F!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝er)

*-*Chapter 1*-*

  It started when you were four.

   It happened without warning- one minute, you're out walking with your mom to go get dinner ingredients.

   You could remember that day perfectly: you were out of onions that your mom needed for the soup, so you went shopping with her to get some. She couldn't leave you alone, after all. You were only four. You could recall every detail of that walk. The lady in the blue dress. The man with a bushy mustache, dragging his wailing child away from the candy store. Two ladies with strong perfumes on, sticking their noses up at everyone and everything. The bright sun, shining down on you, and the warm air breezing by as you walked. You remembered the feeling of comfort, the feeling that you were safe and sound and perfectly happy.

   You were walking, and then you weren't.

   Everything felt like a dream. You were standing there on the street alone, with bright colors flashing around you. The buildings, the street, the sky- they were all filled with different colors. Someone was still holding your hand, but you couldn't move. You could only stare blindingly at the bright colors, your eyes burning. There was the feeling of the hand holding yours letting go, and then you were all alone. The colors shifted all around you slowly, a rainbow and yet an eyesore. You still couldn't move, unable to do anything there but breathe and blink every now and then. They seemed to grow brighter and brighter, more vibrant and violent, watermelon reds fading in to bright scarlets. Dark greens vibrating until they turned to a neon lime green, ocean blue and dull purples becoming harsher and more defined.

   And then it all went black.

   The colors shut down immediately. One minute they were there, and then they weren't. By the time you woke up, half a day had passed. You were laying in a hospital bed, a thin hospital gown replacing your old clothes. Your father was talking with a doctor, you mother listening in from a chair next to your bed. You opened your mouth to say something but found you couldn't, your mouth dry and your tongue feeling foreign in your mouth. The most you could do was let out a small whimper. Your mother whipped her head towards your bed and, upon seeing you awake, spontaneously combusted into tears.

   "(Y/nnnnn)!" She wailed, grabbing your tiny hand and squeezing it.

   "Welcome back to the living world, (Y/n)." The doctor, who was previously talking with your dad, turns to you. He had narrow blue eyes, shaggy hair that hung around his face like a mop, and was built like a stick, bony hands and all. His most defining features, however, were the large eye bags that adorned his face like jewelry. Despite all that, however, he looked kind- his eyes reminding you sort of like your grandfather's, from what little you remembered of him.

   You would soon get to know this doctor as Doctor Koji, a doctor who worked with people who had insomnia, sleep apnea, and, in your case, narcolepsy, as you found out you had. Your father had been discussing treatments as you woke up, and your mother was devastated when she found out there was no cure. You had always been a highly active child, but fell asleep rather quickly, although she hadn't thought anything of it before. Now, you found it was going to become a problem, just like what had happened today.

   "Narcolepsy is a condition where your brain can't control your ability to sleep or stay awake," Doctor Koji went on to explain. "With care and precautions, you can usually learn to adapt to it as you go."

   "So- what's going to happen to my child?" Your mother tearfully asked.

   The doctor sighed. "Well, there's usually about four things narcolepsy causes, which may include but not be limited to the following: excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden muscle weakness, sleep-related hallucinations, and sleep paralysis."