Echoes of Time

Chapter 3 - The Nightmare

Adeline tossed and turned that night, unable to shake the strange encounter with Keith earlier in the day. Her mind raced with questions, her imagination doing what it always did—filling in the gaps with impossible ideas, drawing from the many books she had devoured over the years. She thought of Keith's hourglass, the way its sands had shimmered as if alive, and how he had reacted with such intensity, as though he were protecting something. But what?

As sleep finally took her, the line between reality and fantasy blurred, and she was swept into a vivid dream—one that felt far too real to simply be her imagination.

In her dream, Adeline found herself standing in the middle of a vast, empty field. The sky above was dark, swirling with clouds that moved too quickly, as though time was speeding by in a way it shouldn't. There was no sun, no moon, just a strange, unearthly glow that seemed to come from the air itself. The wind howled, tugging at her hair and clothes, but there was no one else in sight. It was as if she had been dropped into a forgotten, shifting world where nothing stayed the same for long.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice sounding small and distant, swallowed up by the eerie landscape. She turned in circles, searching for something—anything—that made sense. The field stretched on endlessly, broken only by the occasional, twisted tree, its branches clawing at the sky like skeletal fingers.

A shiver ran down her spine. Something wasn't right.

Suddenly, the wind stilled, and in the distance, Adeline saw a figure emerge from the shadows. An old man, hunched and frail, yet moving with surprising purpose. His clothes were tattered, like the remnants of a time long gone, and his face was mostly hidden beneath a hood. But what drew her attention most was the object he held in his hands.

It glowed—a bright, searing light that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Adeline squinted, trying to make out what it was, but the light was too intense, blinding her whenever she looked directly at it.

"Who are you?" Adeline asked, taking a cautious step forward. "What... what is that?"

The old man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood still, his hands cradling the glowing object as if it were something precious, something dangerous. His eyes, barely visible beneath the hood, gleamed with an intensity that sent a chill through Adeline's bones.

"You need to move," the old man said suddenly, his voice rasping like dried leaves caught in the wind. "Move from this place, girl. It is not safe."

Adeline's heart began to race. "Move? Where? What are you talking about?"

The old man lifted the object slightly, and the light flared, casting long, twisted shadows across the field. "The water," he continued, his voice low and cryptic. "The water is dangerous. It's coming for you. For all of you."

"What do you mean?" Adeline took another step forward, her confusion deepening. "What water? What's coming for me?"

But the old man shook his head, his features unreadable. "You don't understand yet. You will. But by then, it might be too late."

The dream seemed to shift, the ground beneath her feet trembling. Adeline's pulse quickened as the sky above darkened even further, the clouds churning like a storm about to break. "Wait! Please!" she cried, desperation creeping into her voice. "I don't understand! What am I supposed to do?"

"You need to leave," the old man repeated, his voice growing more distant as the light from the object intensified, blinding her. "Before it's too late..."

Adeline woke with a start, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She sat up in bed, her heart pounding against her ribs, the dream still clinging to her mind like fog. The darkness of her room was a stark contrast to the blinding light of the old man's warning.

She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm herself. It had felt so real. Too real.

Oreo, who had been sleeping at the foot of her bed, lifted his head and let out a soft whine, sensing her distress. Adeline reached out, stroking his fur absentmindedly as she tried to make sense of the dream. What had the old man meant? Move? The water is dangerous? It didn't make any sense.

But the fear in his voice, the urgency—it had felt like more than just a figment of her imagination. And that light... she could still feel the heat of it on her skin, as though it had been right there with her.

She got up, unable to stay in bed any longer, and padded quietly down the hallway to her grandmother's room. The old house was silent, save for the occasional creak of the floorboards beneath her feet. Adeline hesitated for a moment before knocking softly on the door.

"Grandma?" she whispered, pushing the door open slightly. The soft glow of the bedside lamp cast a warm, comforting light over the room, and Keira, half-awake, turned her head toward Adeline.

"What is it, dear?" Keira asked, her voice groggy with sleep. She sat up slowly, her silver hair tousled.

"I had a nightmare," Adeline said, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "It felt... different."

Keira's brow furrowed, her eyes suddenly more alert. "Different? How so?"

Adeline sat on the edge of the bed, twisting her hands in her lap. "There was an old man... he told me I had to leave. He said something about water being dangerous. And he was holding this thing—it was glowing so brightly, I couldn't even see what it was."

For a moment, Keira was silent, her gaze thoughtful. Then she patted the space next to her, motioning for Adeline to sit closer. "Tell me more," she said gently.

Adeline recounted the dream in as much detail as she could remember—the vast, empty field, the swirling sky, the old man's cryptic words. As she spoke, a strange sensation settled over her, as though the dream had been more than just her mind playing tricks on her.

"I don't know what it means," Adeline finished, her voice quieter now. "But it felt... like a warning. And I can't stop thinking about it."

Keira remained quiet for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, with a sigh, she reached out and took Adeline's hand in hers. "Dreams can be powerful things, Adeline. Sometimes they're just dreams, and sometimes... they're something more."

"But what does it mean?" Adeline asked, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "What does the old man want from me?"

"I wish I had the answers," Keira said softly, her thumb brushing over Adeline's knuckles. "But if there's one thing I've learned in my years, it's that sometimes, the truth reveals itself when we're ready to see it."

Adeline frowned, unsatisfied with the vagueness of her grandmother's response. "So I'm just supposed to wait? For what? For some old man to come back in another dream and tell me to run?"

Keira smiled gently. "No, sweetheart. You don't have to wait for anything. But maybe this is your mind telling you to stay alert. Dreams can reflect what we're feeling deep down, even if we don't realize it."

Adeline let out a frustrated sigh, pulling her hand away. "But I don't feel like I'm in danger! At least... I didn't before. Now, I don't even know what to think."

Keira leaned back against her pillows, her gaze soft and thoughtful. "Just keep your eyes open, Adeline. Pay attention to the world around you. Maybe the dream is trying to tell you something about what's happening in your life now."

Adeline stood, feeling a surge of confusion and impatience. She didn't know what she had expected—maybe some kind of solution, some explanation that would make everything make sense. But instead, all she had was more uncertainty.

"I'll try," she muttered, turning to leave the room.

"And Adeline," Keira called after her. Adeline paused, glancing back over her shoulder. "Sometimes, the things that seem the most confusing are the things that lead us where we need to go. Don't be afraid to follow the mystery."

Back in her room, Adeline lay awake for hours, staring at the ceiling as the words of the old man echoed in her mind. Move... The water is dangerous... None of it made sense. But deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that it had something to do with Keith. Something connected to that strange hourglass.

As she finally drifted back into an uneasysleep, she knew one thing for sure: this was only the beginning. Something wascoming, something bigger than she had ever imagined. And whether she understoodit or not, she was a part of it now.