Elementalist

Dreams

    The swings at the park have never seemed more empty than they were that day. As I sat on a bench at the park, I plugged in my earphones and let the music fill my head, blocking out all other thoughts. I tried to count all the different elements of the song and picture all the words until the chorus was permanently branded into my memory.

A loud noise jolted me back to reality. I looked up but never got to see anything. Something hard came down on my head and the last thing I heard was someone whispering my name, "Alessa." I spiralled into unconsciousness.

I gasped for air, awake in my own room. It might have been a dream but lately, my dreams have been getting more vivid. It was still dark outside. I checked the time on the wall clock above my bed. It was just 2:30 am. I was still tired so I lay down and almost immediately fell asleep. But this time the nightmares didn't spare me.

I was standing in a place all too familiar. The forest had never looked more dense. I looked down to see that I was wearing a black dress. My favourite one when I was five years old. I looked up to see them leading me and Conner towards the place where my life would change. The trees became more lifeless and dull as we trudged along. Then I saw it. The most beautiful grove I'd ever seen. It all happened very fast the older ones charged forward and in a matter of seconds everything was destroyed. I stared ahead in shock and paralysed with fear. Nobody else seemed to mind. Today was the day when all the children our age were shown what they were born to do. Our parents had shown us what we were to become and everyone enjoyed it. Except me. I glanced at my twin brother Conner, the only one who had shown me any sort of affection. His stern expression wavered as I looked at him. The last thing I saw was the fire dancing in their eyes as I ran for my life.