If I Just Dreamed

Prologue

"Lost in the darkness, silence surrounds you. Once there was morning. Now, and last night." -(Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical.)

It was cold, but Niah liked the rain.

If she were to be more specific though - She loathed the idea that there are individuals that prefer the sunny days. Many assumed their likeness to her own, and that mentality made her grow a subtle distaste for the weather. The storms presented a breath of fresh air, brewing over the corn fields, slicking the roads - a melody in it's own right. The wind would tassel her hair, sending a chill down her back. Rain was a want to her. Not a need, and good things came with rain. Puddles filled potholes, men would speak in harsh; seething tenor while they stood huddled; smoking.

Today though, was no good day.

Pallbearer hoisted the casket into the hearse, a slated black to challenge the downpour and grey skies that made the scenery around everyone appear to be a depressing aesthetic. The tombstone was simple.

The skies didn't clear.

~_____/\_____~

"You've been in here for hours..." a female and familiar voice carried through the small storage room.

"I know." Niah chuckles while taping off a box. "All I have is the rest of the books and most of the damn loose paper. I don't know why the hell he thought it was a good idea to lay things around." Niah had undressed and changed into something slightly more comfortable, a pair of leggings and a ragged shirt. Normal for rummaging through storage. But the seemingly endless amount of loose paper that had almost flooded the desk in the corner was a battle hardly won. She supposed even mere weeks before her father's recent passing - he could never find the opportunity to write of serene and wholesome interest, instead they had both realized not after too long, Andre's preference in subjects to record where derived from old text and conviction. Quite frankly it was a tough subject to describe.

"I mean, c'mon. Folders aren't there just to ogle at."

Lucy laughed, and let her eyes wander. Books were still scattered along the bookshelves, never properly placed as they should be. Andre worked akin to the fact his life was shorter than most. Even from a young age, he never had the inhibition to take a break and enjoy life a little. Andre had carried the same ethic to his death bed.

"You never cease to amaze me." Lucy sat next to Niah. Glancing over but not losing her focus, Niah chuckles. "-You're taking this well. I guess I shouldn't expect anything different from either of you."

Niah shrugs with a smile, "I guess you're right."

A few long moments passed, leisurely taping the same box. But she couldn't get out of her own head. The vociferous screams and the meticulous chance that she might be able to redo her life fluttered into her brain like an avalanche. It wasn't her fault though. She was instructed to run, and she did. It wasn't her that made the mistake of leering past what was meant to be leered at. Niah let her conscious back away for a moment. The shelves reflect the bare room, previously filled with knick-knacks and other small toys. Hobbies thrown askew and words never ending, she would laugh if the energy hadn't vanished suddenly along with her own amusement.

"I have something for you." Muttered Lucy after the small silence. When Niah dragged her attention from the box, the light in her step-mother's eyes were blunt, a little distant. But it had that small glimmer of hope.

She stood, wiping herself of the dust - she left the room for a few moments. It wasn't a long wait, although for a moment Niah did worry she had been forgotten about. But she returned with... a box.

"When your father and I got together, I remember you finding solitude in this. It took some digging and finding, but I found it in the basement."

Niah didn't touch it. She couldn't recall much from her childhood, but from what she did remember, they were not great memories. There can't be anything in the world that could be the cure to her ailment - grieve - it was a tragedy, and nothing could help that but peace and healing.