Over the years nightmares have been a frequent friend in the Hopper house. Chills and a scream lodged in the back of her throat is the only way that Christine Hopper knows how to wake up. Her father tries hard to believe his daughter has a handle on...
"They hide in the light, so you can't see their fears..."
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June 29th, 1985
Hawkins, Indiana
The night brimmed with adventure as Steve and Chris eagerly accomplished everything they planned. Swimming in the quarry, gazing up at the vast, sparkling stars, unexpectedly sharing a dance in the glow of Steve's headlights. Each moment pure magic. As the night drew on, they found themselves parked near Lover's Lake, hearts full, spirits soaring. Steve prepared the backseat to make it as cozy as possible, and soon they drifted into sleep around two in the morning. Chris, with a tender smile, wove a dream where she and Steve were ice skating hand in hand across the shimmering lake. The weather was perfect, the moment outstanding, and that dream felt like pure paradise. Steve reveled in how Chris's dreamwalking brought them into their own enchanted world, where time stood still and their connection only deepened.
Just as the two of them are climbing through the snow to a cabin, Chris is pulled from the dream. The world fades from her view, and she can't seem to control what is going on. She loses Steve in the dream. He is nowhere to be found, even when she knows he has his arms wrapped around her in the real, waking world, in the backseat of his BMW.
Chris straightens her shoulders, her heart pounding with a mixture of expectation and dread, convinced she is about to step into the chaos of the Upside Down. But she isn't. Instead, she finds herself standing quietly near a gravesite. A heavy frown creases her brow as she squints, trying to grasp what's unfolding before her. On the other side of the grave, her loved ones stand united, their presence both comforting and heartbreaking. Her father, Eleven, Steve, her friends, the party, their families, classmates, and a ton of others. Even her mother, Diane, step-father, Bill, and her half-sister, two-year-old Darcy. Steve has tears in his eyes. In fact, almost everyone is crying, sniffling and holding back tears, or sobbing. Steve steps forward, holding a bundle of red Amaryllis. Hopper, Diane, and Eleven are holding white Amaryllis flowers.
"Steve?" asks Chris.
Steve places the red Amaryllis on top of the coffin that has been placed in the ground. Chris steps toward him, facing the headstone that everyone else is seeing.
CHRISTINE HOPPER Daughter, Sister, & Friend B. November 1st, 1967 D. June 30th, 1985
A ringing suddenly blares in Chris's ears as she struggles to grasp what's unfolding around her. They're all gathered for a funeral—her funeral. She's died, somehow; there's no way to understand what truly happened. Is this just a dream, or a chilling premonition of what's yet to come? She desperately tries to get Steve's attention, but her voice is swallowed by the silence. Jonathan and Dustin are forced to drag Steve away from the grave, where he seems frozen, helpless. It's a kind of grief that Chris prays Steve never has to endure—he's suffering now, right in front of her. Why is this happening?
