Sword of Flames [Book I] - {#Wattys2017}

Chapter 5 - The Above

Chapter 5 - The Above

"What are you talking about? What is 'The Above?'" she asked. The possibility of it being another dream felt impossible after the years of strict nightmares she had. Besides, she had shut her eyes but had not fallen asleep yet. There was no way she had slipped into the dreaming state yet. 

"Please follow me, Levana. We have things to do." The man walked ahead as he ignored the inquiries he received. However, Levana defied such orders. The girl had always learned not to follow strangers, especially the ones who looked too put together to be casual people. Her feet stayed glued to the airy cement below. The man sensed her unruly nerve and stopped in his tracks. His response to her stance called for her to speak as she wished.

"I do not know who you are or where I even am." She attempted to look around for any sort of human or building profile amidst the fog but there was nothing to be seen. "I'm not going to just blindly follow you without any knowledge of where I am going." The teenager scoffed. "What am I saying? This is probably an illusion anyways!" Although she knew better, denial crept into her heart and destroyed the belief in her deduction. There was no such thing as a place like that on Earth, nor the power of teleportation. It could only be a false universe.

"This is no illusion Levana," Endforth persuaded. He walked a few steps towards her and looked up at the girl over a foot taller than him. "You are in The Above, a grand city the resides above the planet of Earth." As Levana opened her mouth once again, Endforth answered her question before it even came out: "And no, this is not where the dead reside. You are still alive."

"But if it's above the Earth why haven't astronomers found it?"

Endforth circled his hands around the scene. "Because it is not visible to the Earthian eye. The telescopes or fancy technologies used will never get close to seeing this city; if one is looking with an eye that had been created on Earth, The Above will never be seen."

The astounded countenance on her face was not enough to express her curiosity. Not even the storybooks she had read as a child were to that extreme. But her mind was at war; although she wanted to believe the little man, her brain had been rather good at making things feel like reality. Waking up screaming was a possibility that would not be unsurprising.

She still did not give up her position. She drew her shoulder blades back and stood with a more confident posture than before. "How am I supposed to believe you?"

"One way I could convince you is if I killed you, but I don't think I'm allowed to do that..." he thought out loud. Levana trembled at the nonchalance in his voice.

"Have you ever had a dream, Levana Ganim?"

The girl suddenly bursted out laughter, scaring Endforth as he watched her eyes water. Have I ever had a dream? She thought to herself. That's like asking if I have ever eaten before! But in the middle of her chuckles she thought about the question. If he had to ask, that means he has nothing to do with the dreams I've been having. So who has been haunting me?

"I will take such a response as a 'yes,'" Endforth mumbled. Levana wiped her eyes and took deep breaths. He continued. "Imagine how your body felt in the midst of the dream. Now fully connect to your body here. Do you not feel a difference?"

Indeed she did. Even when the beast was stabbing its fingers into her stomach there was a hint of uncertainty she felt. But there she smelled the crisp air, tasted the chilling breeze, and felt each and every stitch of her hospital gown. As if she was walking down the streets of her own town, her body felt completely hers. Endforth noticed the realization that had dawned on Levana and smiled.