Bundle O' Stories

Story 1: Dream of Remembrance

QUICK DISCLAIMER: death, blood - Challenge Generated by AI (Not written by AI though)

Dancing across a field of pink flowers – a sweet and light aroma tickling my nose – I felt free. It stretched as far as my eyes could see, whatever worries I had were hidden behind the horizon line. Sometimes, I was even accompanied by important figures in my life. Father, Mother, my first love, that one crush I had at my job... It was a land full of bliss where I could forget whatever I would need to wake up for.

...

Except that time, when I arrived in this dreamland, it was barren. I even took a glass of warm milk to ensure the quality of my sleep. Warm blankets hugged me to sleep, and my comfy mattress felt like a cloud on my tired back. Yet, there was nothing I expected there to be. In fact, there was someone, no, something I had never witnessed before.

A shadowy figure which transcended space. It was so close, yet it blended with the horizon. Chills ran down my spine, I was stuck in place. Except I was the only one. It looked at me with glowing red eyes. Its mouth curled into a smile, whispering something unintelligible to me.

It was a bad omen.

...

My eyes were heavy, I couldn't feel my numb arms which I slept upon, and my back felt like a concrete beam. I had a hard time moving. I tried rolling left and right. There was no use – my body didn't obey. My heart began racing. My thoughts were flowing like a river breaking a dam. Questions upon questions built a monument of fear in my mind.

Then I realized. The tapestry was so old the blue color had lost its shine, and flower motifs made me all nostalgic. All over the room were wooden toys, some of which brought a tear to my eye. The curtains which always let a string of light past them, the rock bands posters... It was my childhood room.

I couldn't remember. Was I on a trip to meet Mom? Perhaps it was Dad who called me over to help? I was so excited and happy to see them again after... What again?

Ten minutes or so had passed. I managed to move my body after realizing where I was. Each time I took a sniff, my nose was filled with an iron smell. It reminded me of so many things, I was about to puke from happiness.

As I reached for the door, I noticed an old drawing of mine. There was me, Mom, Dad and... some erased lines. I felt cold as I noticed this detail. My instincts yelled to look behind me. Nothing. Except the toys... Weren't they wooden? One of them was a plastic car with a broken window. I shuddered, then left my room.

The leaving room was as cozy as I remembered it. Mom had prepared breakfast, four plates full of good things. Dad and I sat next to each other. He had a big scar on his face. It was quite ominous, yet it never scared me, I loved my dad. Mom had a twisted arm, from when she... My gaze fell upon portraits on the sideboard. It was weird, it looked like their eyes moved... And they weren't injured. Optical illusions were such a fun thing!

It looked at me. The family cat, Pablo. It was hungry.

"He must be hungry for revenge!" Dad jokingly said.

"What did you say?" I wasn't sure I heard correctly.

"You know that one cat feed brand?" He dismissed.

Ah yes, of course it'd be that I was quite air-headed today. I walked toward the kitchen to grab his favorite food, yet I couldn't find it. It was such a mess in there... Knives and forks everywhere, broken marble here and there. I didn't remember such things.

"What happened in the kitchen, it's such a mess!" I asked Mom.

No answer came. Some cold wind caressed my cheek, and a chill ran down my spine. They all left the table. Only the unoccupied seat had a plate remaining.

Why was it here? We had a friend over. Oh, that explains the kitchen, Mom cooked her famous chicken dish! I breathed a sigh of relief and turned toward the mess.

Everything was clean. I could see my face in the shiny clean marble from the cupboard.

It wasn't my face. Wait, I think I remember. How could I forget?

"Finally. You stopped fleeing." It laughed from somewhere I couldn't see.

"I know that voice, you're..." I didn't want to remember. Please, please, I wanted to wake up.

"Me. Or in other words, you." A child's voice rang, it was mine.

The cat morphed into my kid self. The iron smell... The mess...

"We let them die."

"We fled."

"We shouldn't have invited that friend."

I cried. I shook my head in denial. I didn't want to remember. I screamed and ran toward my room. I jumped the stairs two by two, never reaching the first floor. When it stopped, I was in front of the kitchen. I fell to my knee.

"Why would you!" I screamed in pure anger.

"Stop fleeing. Avenge them. Avenge us."

Mom and Dad were lying on the tiled floor, amidst a puddle of blood. They had fought all they could. They protected me from the stranger I thought was my friend. I trusted someone I didn't know, a psychopathic murderer. He laughed as he bled to death before me. It still rings in my ears. I puked my imaginary breakfast.

I never dreamed of a flower field again in my life.