The Dreamer: The Book of Godspells

CHAPTER SIX

I reluctantly made my way back to the Olympus house, not sure how long I'd been at the graveyard. Falling asleep against the fence had become a blur. I was late, and dusk was settling in as I hurried to meet my curfew.

Sneaking through the back door to avoid Penelope and Allen's corridors, I froze at the whispers behind the door.

"She's not home yet," Penelope's voice murmured.

"She's late, but she'll come back. She always does," Allen replied.

"But why defy us? She knows the curfew. What's so unbearable about this place?" Penelope asked, frustration evident.

"She's just a teenager, Penelope. They all find home stifling. It's inevitable," Allen tried to reassure her, but I could sense Penelope's unease.

"No wonder she feels lost. Look at what we've done to her," Penelope said slowly. A knot formed in my throat. What did she mean?

"We've kept her safe."

"So many secrets for someone so young," Penelope lamented.

"It's for her own good. She's fragile. Mrs. Snyker's notes made that clear. How can we let her go at 16?"

"Allen..." Penelope's voice wavered.

"Penelope, she doesn't need to know she was purposefully abandoned."

"Abandoned? Her mother died, her father left. Like many here," Penelope replied.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Penelope pressed when Allen stayed silent.

"This isn't the time for more revelations."

"The fire..." Penelope began.

"Coincidental. Remember her broken arm?"

"Yes, you told me... I was out of town. And then the fire happened."

"Accidents happen."

"But why bring that up?" Penelope's nervousness was palpable.

"Penelope, how can we tell Piper she started the fire?" Allen's words hit me like a punch.

"I still don't..." Penelope's voice rose and fell into silence.

"There are truths more damaging than keeping secrets," Allen insisted.

"She's just a child."

"I want to protect her too..." Allen's voice trailed off.

"But why do I feel you know more about her than I do? Allen, I raised her. I deserve to know everything." Penelope's tone sharpened.

My body felt heavy against the wall, ready to collapse, but my mind was clear. I had to know.

"I never told you her father didn't want her. He never even laid eyes on her when she was born," Allen admitted, breathless. Penelope gasped.

"Oh, Allen... how do you know this?"

"Because I told him to leave."

"What do you mean you told him to leave?"

"He couldn't bear to see Piper after her mother died giving birth. The hatred in his eyes... I decided she'd be better off without him."

"So, you're saying... Piper is her own secret."

"Yes, a secret we must keep until she's 16. Then she can choose to know."

"But why is she a secret?" Penelope asked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but it all made sense. The commitment to staying at Olympus House, the money paid to Mrs. Snyker...

"Because if..." Allen started, but the door slammed shut.

I pressed tighter against the wall, hiding from the window. My heart raced as I heard children's chatter and Penelope and Allen's footsteps fading away.

I was glued to the stone wall, its unevenness pressing into my back. Within the Olympus house grounds, I didn't feel safe at all. My legs gave out, and I slid down into a fetal position, feeling more like a child than ever. My face went white, and I closed my eyes, fighting tears. I clutched the Book of Godspells tightly.

I am dreaming. I am in another world. I am not here. This world is not real.

I wanted to leave this world, to escape... and I wanted to do it now. Body still, eyes drifting, the weight of my heart paralyzed me.

I am not here. I am there. In the dreamworld.

*

Suddenly, I found myself staring into a mirror, but it wasn't my face looking back. The reflection was of something—or someone—sinister, with piercing red eyes and a dark, indistinct face.

Behind me in the reflection, a white swan appeared, gracefully lifting its head, stretching its neck, and flapping its wings. But as I watched, its wings beat faster, harder, and its feathers turned black, spreading like ink across its body. The swan's neck twisted toward the mirror, its eyes now as dark as night.

"You..." The voice came from the figure with the red eyes, but I felt my own lips moving. In a heartbeat, the black swan vanished.

Chains rattled ominously, and a searing heat flooded my body. My eyes burned, my lungs tightened as if they were collapsing. Dust swirled around me, falling like ashes from a dying fire. The world seemed to ignite around me, and my red eyes were the spark that set it ablaze.

I screamed.

*

I woke with a gasp, struggling for air.

That dream—nightmare—was different. The red eyes. It wasn't as if I were looking at the monster.

This time, I was the monster with the red eyes.