Dream Lantern (A Collab Story)

4

Chapter 4~ Nightmares Don’t Come True Unless You Make it True
{Flashback}
On a dark rainy night in spring 2004, thunderstorms were present in every region of Japan. Lying on the cold sofa in the living room, I watched the weather forecast on TV with my sister, Leaf, seeing there are a ton of damage this storm can do to our country.

“Hey mom, what happens if this apartment collapses?” I asked my mother who was packing stuff…for some reason.

“What did you say honey?” She said, turning her head in my direction.

“What happens if the apartment collapses?” I asked again.

“We would evacuate by then, can you pass me that keychain?” She gestured to the keychain on the table in front of me.

I grabbed it and handed it to my mom, then went back to the couch to find Leaf fast asleep. I looked at her peacefully sleeping then returned to watch the TV.

“Honey, you’re big enough to take care of your sister, right?” My mom once said.

“Yes, yes mom, but why would you ask me that?” Little me had said, not understanding why she would ask that kind of question.

“Mommy has to leave for work, I’m putting you in charge of Leaf for awhile.” She told me.

“But, mom, I can’t do anything without you, what am I going to do??” I asked her, hot tears started streaming down my face.

“I trust you Ash, you can keep this place safe and keep Leaf safe.” She replied, wiping the tears away.

I kept on crying, thinking what will I do without her while she stood beside me, wiping the tears away but failing since they kept on pouring down.

“M-mom,” I started saying, “I will love you, a-as much as I can, I pr-promise I will take care of Leaf until you come back.”

“I knew I could trust you. Make me proud Ash, I'm going to leave tomorrow morning, I’ll sleep with you and Leaf tonight.” She said, patting me on the head.

She left tomorrow first thing in the morning, putting me in charge of the apartment and Leaf. You may ask how does a 10 year old kid look after a house and sibling by himself and how has people not found out. Well, to answer that, my mom lied about how my dad will visit us often and said he will take care of us, while in the grocery store I have to lie saying “I’m in training of buying things myself” to strangers who ask me why I’m doing the shopping, all my mom’s friends help, that’s how Dawn became my best friend, how May got to know me, how I survived till 15, in the present day, I will keep on living like this until 18.

But, I broke an important promise, I cannot forgive myself no matter how much good I do in life. Leaf, I’m sorry.

~Sometimes a Bad Consequence Can Turn Into Something Good~

Itomori Japan, January 29th, 2009
[Serena’s POV]
{Back into their present day}
I screamed out in horror and pain on the white hospital bed, screamed until I couldn’t anymore. The intense pain in my chest, my heart, is trying to kill me. I still wanted to live and see the life ahead of me, see Ash play his piano, watch my friends succeed.

Do I allow myself to die this easily? No. No, Serena, you’re not gonna die this easily. You’re a strong girl who got into a fight with an abusive Calem the day before, you will be okay.

I managed to endure the pain but kept screaming. I think I saw someone at the door but after a few minutes of trying to squint, a doctor walked in and stabbed me with an EpiPen right on my left thigh. Instantly I felt a little bit better, the intense stinging was gone and I felt tired.