The Inside Story

A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes

Ella's POV

I woke up in a panic, my eyes opening suddenly. I couldn't stay in my tent any longer, I desperately needed some air. I would have gone to clear my head near the campfire but Katie and Jacob were busy talking about her mom. I stepped out in only my t-shirt and pajama pants, slipping on my converse hastily as I continued down a known path. There was a river nearby that would be the perfect place to clear my head after the dream I had...different from the last.

I didn't even register how I managed to sit down on the grass without collapsing, focusing on the gentle waves of the water flowing. I gripped the rocks on the shore, not caring if my hands were getting dirty. I needed to grasp reality if I was going to calm down after the...dream I had.

I heard a pair of footsteps approaching and I turned, fearing the worst. It was Selena, she was walking in her grey shirt and shorts. She was yawning while stretching her arms out, I quietly thanked the universe for it just being her and not Alejandro.

"Ella? What are you doing here? Shouldn't we be sleeping?" Selena asked as she took a seat right next to me.

"I couldn't sleep. Why are you here?"

"As your fairy godmother," Selena said as she pointed to me sleepily, "I can sense when you're in distress so I know you're lying to me. Why are you really here?"

I sighed, curse my fairytale that allowed a magical being to automatically know how I'm feeling at any given time. "I haven't told anyone this before, it's always been a secret that I've kept to myself. Remember when you used magic to send me to the ball? The gown, the glass slippers, and the pumpkin carriage?"

Selena nodded. "Yes, I made your night. Well, except when I gave you that curfew and you had to interrupt your first date with the prince."

"Magic comes with a price to pay, that's usually the unknown rule of fairytales. When you granted me that magical favor, I was given a curse of some kind," I hesitantly told her. I had never told anyone especially Selena for fear of how she would react if her magic had caused me to be cursed.

"Wait, wait," Selena interjected in order to eye me closely. "You don't look like you're cursed, what could my magic have possibly done to you?"

"It's nothing big obviously, it's not even a curse really. Just a small inconvenience. I...every night I go to sleep, I have to relive the night of the ball over and over again. Day after day, I don't expect a different dream."

Selena blinked, slowly taking a deep breath. "Wow, well, I guess it's not the worst curse that's out there. But if you're so used to it, why did you panic and run to the river?"

"Because something did change, my dream is supposed to be exactly the same but it didn't stay like that. Tonight...it was different, and I don't know what it means," I replied, letting my worry show on my face.

"Look," Selena put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Why don't we go through your dream so we can analyze it together? I'll help you try to understand it as a magic being who knows more than you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You do realize I could easily ask Marina who knows a whole lot more than you?"

Selena scoffed. "What? No, you need someone who knows you better than the sea witch. I'm staying here. Now, I have something that will provide a better way to view your dream than you simply just telling me." She pulled her wand out, tapping my forehead and a black screen popped in front of us.

"Now, start thinking about your dream," Selena instructed me as I tried to understand what was going on.

I did as she said and suddenly the black screen shimmered to show me, stepping out of the carriage with my glass slippers twinkling in the moonlight.