Seeking Daylight - Season 1 - Episode 1

Seeking Daylight - Part I - Chapter 10

CHAPTER X

Moonflower and Primrose

Louis dreamed only of darkness, an odd thing for him. He had dreamed every night of his life, or at least as far back as he could remember. He dreamed vividly, in colors brighter than those in the real world. Those dreams had become like a second life for him, a world that was his and his alone. Many of them returned to him again and again like old friends, or a favorite movie that showed before his eyes. There were some, many, that he already knew the endings to, but enjoyed just the same.

 At Grandpa Andy’s suggestion, Louis had begun a dream journal in the second grade. One particular dream had played in his mind far more nights than the others. That dream had raised some questions. It was of a man, cloaked in black. Louis never could quite make out his face, but he could feel the man watching over him as he was in various states of distress. In one dream, Louis remembered that he was being chased by a pack of dogs, in another he had struggled to keep his head above water as he rushed down a river and toward a raging waterfall. The man never helped Louis, not outright, but his presence in the dreams always made Louis feel safe, no matter what type of trouble he might have found himself in.

He was awake now, he could tell, if only by the dull and pounding ache that he felt in his head. He made a feeble attempt at opening his eyes. They had swollen considerably it seemed. All he could manage was to peel his left lid open, just a tiny crack. He was barely out of that dreamless darkness, conscious just long enough to taste something peculiar in his mouth, like he had eaten a handful of grass, or a strange weed. Then everything went black once again.

This time, when Louis awoke, his headache felt a bit better, and the ringing in his ears had all but disappeared. His eyes were still swollen though, and his head still groggy. He strained his eyes open as best he could; he wanted to see if Sophie and Owen were all right. But lifting his head was impossible, as was speaking. As he lay there, he could just barely see what was directly in front of him. At the moment, his view was of the flowing stream some ten or so feet away. Wretched poison.

From behind him, he felt footsteps. They made their way around front of him until suddenly, standing just before his eyes, he made out what appeared to be a pair of bright orange shoes. He wanted to scream out to the others, but again he found himself all but mute. He felt something being shoved into his mouth, just between his gum and cheek. There was that taste of grass again. Darkness.

This time Louis did dream. In fact, he dreamed what had seemed to be every dream he had ever had, or could remember having, one right after the other, all as if in a continuous movie reel flickering on the backs of his eyes. The dreams helped him to keep track of the time…sort of. He knew only for sure that he certainly had never been asleep for so long in his life.

When his eyes finally opened this time, he felt no pain in his head, no ringing in his ears, and he slowly was able to sit himself upright onto the dirt floor.

“There he is!” a cheerful voice said from behind him. Before he could turn to see who it was, Owen’s big hands reached under his arms and helped him to his feet. Louis struggled to stay upright, his legs wobbling like a newborn fawn standing for the very first time.

“How long was I out?” Louis asked his friend, who held Louis’ arm to steady him as he gained his footing.

“It’s hard to tell down here, but it’s been days. I’m sure of that.”

“Where’s Sophie? Is she OK?” Louis wobbled a little and was slurring his words. Owen stayed by him, holding him up just enough by his arm so that he could regain his stance on his own.