Entwined Destinies - Morpheus/Sandman Part 1

18 / Bound by Shadows

Morpheus moved silently through the Dreaming, the orb of swirling memories pulsing softly in his grasp. The Valley of Forgotten Dreams, with its eerie stillness and fragments of lost time, lingered in his mind like a distant echo. But as he journeyed back through the shifting realm, a subtle, disquieting change began to ripple across the Dreaming. Invisible waves disrupted the delicate balance of the realm, the once-stable fabric trembling with an unsettling energy.

He paused, his eyes narrowing as the disturbance grew with each step. The orb in his hand, though quiet, pulsed in harmony with the fluctuations, as if it had become a catalyst for something unforeseen. Morpheus's senses sharpened. The memories it held—of Emma, of her life, and the forces that had shaped it—seemed to extend beyond the orb itself. They resonated outward, intertwining with the very essence of the Dreaming, stirring echoes of something ancient, something long hidden beneath the surface.

With each pulse, the Dreaming shifted, its form subtly reshaping, as if the echoes of forgotten time were awakening. Morpheus had long known the Dreaming was sensitive to powerful remnants of the past, but this... this was different. The intensity of the disturbances hinted at something deeper, buried within the very core of the realm. It was as if the threads of the Dreaming itself were beginning to unravel.

Meanwhile, in the waking world, night had settled over the landscape, casting long shadows and stillness. Selena slept deeply, but her dreams had changed since the day she received the bracelet. They had become sharper, more vivid—so intense they seemed to blur the line between reality and dream. And tonight, she found herself in a dream that felt different—more real, more immediate.

She stood in a meadow, familiar yet distant in her memory, bathed in the golden light of a setting sun. The warmth was tangible on her skin, the soft breeze stirring strands of her hair. It felt so real, so undeniably present, that for a moment she forgot she was dreaming. As her eyes scanned the horizon, she noticed a figure in the distance, partially obscured by the light.

Her heart stilled for a beat, then raced as the figure turned toward her. A voice, soft and warm, drifted across the meadow—one she hadn't heard in years, yet instantly recognized. "Selena?" The figure moved closer, and as they stepped into the light, Selena's breath caught in her throat.

"Mum?" she whispered, her voice trembling, tears already welling in her eyes. The figure approached, and there, in the glow of the fading sun, stood Emma, her mother. Alive, radiant, as though time had never touched her.

"Oh, my darling!" Emma cried, rushing forward with open arms, her voice filled with an overwhelming joy.

Selena remained frozen in place, disbelief and longing clashing within her. She wanted to reach out, but the sheer emotion of seeing her mother again made her hesitate. "Is... is this real? Are you real?" she asked, her voice trembling with a fragile hope, as if she feared the answer would shatter her.

"Yes, my daughter! Yes, I'm real! I'm here!" Emma's voice cracked with emotion, tears streaming down her face as she pulled Selena into a tight embrace.

They embraced tightly, both mother and daughter collapsing into each other's arms as sobs wracked their bodies. The warmth of Emma's hug, the familiar scent of her hair—it all felt so painfully real that Selena's heart ached with the intensity of it. She had longed for this moment, dreamed of it, and now that it was happening, the emotions were almost too much to bear.

As they pulled back slightly, Selena stared into her mother's eyes, her breath catching as disbelief mingled with the fragile hope she dared to hold. "What happened to you?" Her voice trembled with the weight of all the unanswered questions. "Why did you leave me? Why did you make everyone forget?"