ILLUSION?

Prologue

The boy looked like me. He hovered two feet above water. As usual, I couldn't move my head in a dream like this - they had started a week or so ago, I lost count. The boy's blond hair dropped to his shoulders and he looked like he'd forgotten what a bath felt like. He was wearing a surgical gown which patients wear in hospitals; it covered him till his knees. The gown looked like it was supposed to be of a light blue colour, but it was so faded I could barely distinguish it from the stark blue sky above him.

The water stood still - too still. The sleeves of the gown only covered his shoulders and there were scars visible on his arms and legs, lots of scars. His condition looked quite pitiful.

His eyes were closed as he hovered. Somehow I felt like I knew him, in a tiny part of my mind which was just out of reach. He looked at peace in his sleep, as if sleep or unconsciousness was the only escape from his harsh reality. Then he moved.

At first it was almost unnoticeable like a twitch of his eyelids, and then he really started squirming like he too was having a dream, correction - a nightmare. His brows furrowed, his hands moved towards his chest as if to shield himself and he curled into a fetal position. Then his limbs stretched out which made him look like a star, his expression became sterner and he opened his eyes - striking blue eyes. .

I fell. I splashed into the water but it didn't slow my descent. I plunged into the depths. The water seemed to get darker and deeper every second. It felt like was carrying two elephants on my chest. When I reached such depth that I couldn't see my nose, I woke up.

I awoke with the familiar feeling of falling. My palms and feet were covered with droplets of sweat and so were other places. I tried to move but felt Arya - my Dalmatian - sleeping near my legs. This was bad, I didn't want to wake her up but I had to move. I saw her eyes and realized that she too was awake. She must have smelled my sweat and agitation, dogs can do that. Man, I love this dog, I thought.

I threw off my cover and leapt onto the bedside mat. It was freezing, a feeling which was amplified by the sweat. I quickly took off my shirt and wiped the sweat off with a towel. I donned a fresh new shirt and went back to bed. Arya nuzzled her way into my sheets and started licking my cheeks. I scratched her under the chin, she liked that. "Look what you've done", I said with a childish grin plastered onto my face, "Now I'll have to wipe my face off again".

All she did was lick her nose and tilt her head. She must have been thinking - if he laughed when I licked him, I should lick him more. If that was her mentality, I doubted I was gonna get any sleep. As I tucked myself back in bed and found the perfect position to sleep in, I knew one thing for sure - if Arya was protecting me, I wouldn't have any nightmares.