Dreams of Perfection

Beginning of the Dream

   At 24 years old, Claire Abigail had already learned that the most precious things in life weren't material possessions or fleeting moments of success, but rather the bonds that held her family together. For as long as she could remember, her family had been her anchor, the one constant in a world that was often unpredictable and chaotic. They were her source of strength, love, and unwavering support—a family she cherished more than anything else. It was the kind of bond that she dreamed would last forever, a connection that transcended time and distance, and one that she would hold onto no matter where life took her.

  Claire Abigail is a beautiful woman with long brown hair and black eyes. She has a slender figure with a tall, elegant build. Claire Abigail is a woman who has no expectations in her life. She was just fixated on what she was doing step by step, what's in front of her. She is a woman with motto "Living life is like water, where it flows upstream to who knows where the end."

  There is a Claire who sits alone in front of her house. She stared blankly at the road, watching the endless stream of passing vehicles, much like the thoughts racing through her mind. Regret and useless memories swirled in her head, each one louder than the last. Lost in the noise of her own thoughts, she barely noticed when a voice suddenly called out, pulling her back to reality and urging her to come inside.

"Claire, get in. It's getting late. It's not good to sit in front like that." Her mother voice woke her up from her day dream.

"Umm... Just a second. The sky is still beautiful." Claire said while looking at the orange sky.

'Umm?? Since when have I been sitting here? I felt like I was just in my room,' Clara thought.

"Come in, just quickly close the door. Don't stay outside for long." Her mother kept forcing her and waiting for her to enter the house. Finally, Claire came in and immediately closed the door to her house and closed the window curtains.

"Mom, you don't go to papa, ey today? Usually, mama and Nara go to papa on Thursdays. Why you don't go today?" Claire asks her mother while playing with her cell phone in the living room.

"Well, why are Mama and Nara going to Papa? It is far, expensive, and it is tiring. After this, your father will call. Just look." Her mother's words surprised Claire.

"Dad's gone, right? How can it be far? And it's close to home, just walk to get there." Claire looked at her mother strangely.

"Hah? That's impossible. Look, your dad is calling me right now." Claire, who saw her mother's phone turn on with her father's ringing, it felt strange. She rushed to her room.

  From her knowledge, her father had died 2 years ago due to complications. After looking around of her room, she realized that the room she entered was very different from the room she shared with her sister. In the room she entered there was only one king size bed with many achievements on display, and there were many novels on the shelves.

  On one of the walls there is also a photo displayed containing her in her graduation gown, her father, her mother, her older brother, her sister-in-law, her nephew, and also her older sister. Which according to Claire, it was strange. She, herself, hadn't graduated from college yet, her older sister wasn't that close enough to take a photo with her older brother. And the most important this is there is no way her father was able to come to her graduation. Everything in her room was not familiar to her. It's all weird. When she looked at her cell phone, it was already Thursday, May 8th. But all the things in her room were very strange.

 Claire came out of her room and looked for her mother. Who turned out to be still in the living room and playing on the phone.

"Mom, whose room is that? Why there are so many charters?" Her mother, who received this question, looked at Claire strangely.

"It's your room. Nara already has her own room upstairs. It's been a long time since you slept alone in your room."

"But there are so many trophies in the room. I've never competed in anything—there's no way they're mine," Claire said, sitting down next to her mother.

"When you were in college, you were always competing—debates, archery, you name it. If they're not yours, whose would they be? Nara graduated years ago, and Nuka graduated from college a long, long time ago" her mother replied, glancing at Claire.

"You're weird today. Did something happen?" said Claire's mother with worry in her eyes. She rushed to her daughter while stroking Claire head. Claire's parents still pampered her, even though she was already of a mature age.

"Hmm? Nothing, maybe I just got too caught up with my daydream." That is the first event that Claire felt strange about her life.

"That's why I told you not to..." Her mother's voice trailed off, fading into the background as Claire slipped back into her daydream. The words barely registered as her mind drifted away once again, lost in the haze of her thoughts.