More Greek Times

The Long Nightmare

"Aria..." a voice called out.

I found myself in a strange gray room full of strange crystals. No furniture, no doors or windows, no people. Just crystals in an empty space. I didn't know where I was. It didn't look like any room in the Underworld, but then again, I haven't seen a lot of the rooms there either. And I've been there for almost two years. My searching was stopped when I finally saw someone: A tall woman with dark brown hair and olive skin wearing a white dress. Her familiar face is what I knew the most.

"Mom!" I cheered.

I was so happy to see her alive again a month after her death. I ran to her with arms outstretched for a hug. Happy tears came streaming down my face.

"I missed you so much!" I told her as I kept running.

"Then why did you let me die?" my mom said in a deadpan, almost robotic tone.

I stopped running and put my arms down in shock.

"W-what?" I stammered.

Mom's expression was deader than she was as I started backing away from her in fear and shock. I didn't let her die. I wanted to save her, but the tumor she had -well- it had already done its damage. She said so herself. No matter what I could've done, she wouldn't have lived much longer. It wouldn't have been right to bring her back to life. I knew that, and so did she. So, why was she doing this to me?

"You could've saved me, but you let me die." my mom told me again.

"No..." I softly spoke as saddened tears came down my face. "That's not true."

Dark blue smoke started to form out of the crystals as they changed from a pure white to a dark purple, as if they were becoming corrupted with every ounce of fear and sadness I was feeling and was filling the area until there was nothing but thick fog everywhere. I couldn't see my mom. I tried to call her out, but just before I did, a large image of her face appeared in the smoke. Her eyes were now pitch black, as if her pupils had dilated so much, they took over her vision. It was horrific.

"Why did you do it?!" Mom roared.

I tried putting my hands over my ears as she kept repeating that stupid question. I didn't need to hear this. I didn't let her die.

"It's not true!" I finally yelled.

I woke up screaming. I looked around in fear to try to see those images again, but there was nothing. I was still in my room in the Underworld. I checked the time on my phone and saw that it was only thirty minutes until my 7:00 alarm was supposed to go off. All that madness was just a nightmare? That was impossible, how could something that horrible be a nightmare? That felt all too real to be a nightmare. But then again, dark crystals don't just pop out of nowhere while your dead mom yells at you.

I gave a heavy sigh as I held my head in my hands. "Hades and Miss Kore are right. I put this grief way too hard on myself."

I then decided that since I woke up so early before my alarm, I might as well get ready for school. So, I got out of bed, got myself dressed, and went downstairs to the kitchen to make myself some breakfast and tea to calm my mind and keep me up. It kept me up, but it did nothing to calm my mind. I just couldn't stop thinking about what my dream-mom kept yelling at me. I know that Hades, Miss Kore, and the imps all said that Mom's death wasn't my fault, they've spent the last month reminding me, but why did it feel like it still was? Even after all the progress I've made with Miss Kore?

In the midst of my too early thought, I saw Hades enter the kitchen wearing his nightrobes. He stopped mid-yawn when he saw that I had already woken up.