distorted dreams

prolouge;

hi koti
"so, you can make imaginary things real?" a young girl asked, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders as she spoke. she was obviously anticipating something, as her eyes sparkled brightly.

the child opposite of her nodded slowly after a moment. "yeah, watch!" they closed their eyes, thinking of an image in their head. it was some sort of creature, one that was obviously an idea the child had been working on. they swirled their hands in front of them, making circular shapes in the air. The blonde girl watched in awe as a tiny black blob began to form mid-air.

"wow jay.." she whispered, her tone giving away her fascination.

the shape grew, falling to the ground once it was done. it was cat-like, with short fur that fluffed out and made its tiny body structure appear a tad larger. its tail waved behind it, raising upwards in a sort of greeting. it flicked its ears, lifting its head and gazing at the two with friendly eyes.

jay fluttered their own eyes open, smiling triumphantly. they extended their hand towards the little animal. it batted its paw out, its wispy fur brushing up against jay's palm. they giggled softly, glancing up at their friend for a reaction. "see amelia? isn't it so cool!"

amelia nodded, reaching out to stroke the tiny creature. she smiled, patting its head gingerly, then paused for a split second, her gaze snapping back up to jay.

amelia gasped, getting a little idea in her head. "can you make something bigger?" she asked quickly, scooting towards jay. the expression on her face made it hard for jay to decline.

"well i don't know..it'd make me awfully tired and-" they were cut off as amelia glared at them, though it was in sort of in a playful manner.

"c'mon Jay-" she whined, frowning in a disappointed way. "can't you do it for your best friend?"

jay felt a strange feeling pool up in their stomach. they knew it could be dangerous to overuse their powers, but perhaps this time it'd be okay. " i mean, i can try. but only because you're my best friend."

amelia smiled, proud of herself, and leaned back to watch jay. they knew there was no turning back now, so they closed their eyes and began to imagine.

the creature this time was tall, towering above both children by at least two feet. its limbs were lanky, and its hands were big. It reminded jay of their dad, which they supposed was a good thing.

the creature's eyes were big and round, shining like the moon would on a clear night. it smiled at jay, but the smile was lopsided and something about it sent shivers down their spine. before they could fix the detail though, they felt the ground begin to shake slightly. the creature was beginning to emerge.

jay flashed their eyes open, immediately getting a bad feeling about this. they watched as disproportionally large hands rose up from the ground, long skinny arms following. soon the whole body had emerged, thin and black. jay glanced at amelia, who's smile had begun to falter.

the legs began to appear, even longer than jay had imagined. the creature stood and, as predicted, towered over the two. it's eyes still shone, but they gave off more of a horror movie vibe now. and that smile, it seemed even more sinister.

amelia scrambled backwards, trying to propel herself as far away from the thing as possible. jay did the same, their breathing quickening as they examined the monster before them. to say the two were terrified would be an understatement.

the creature reached out a lanky black arm, its fingers stretching in amelia's direction, causing the girl to tremble in fear. "j-jay-" she started to stutter.

before either of them could react, the creature scooped amelia up in its arms. the smile on its face grew, revealing a set of crooked teeth. amelia started to appear more angered than scared at this point. "what have you done jay?! don't let it kill me!" she shouted.

jay stared in horror as the creature began to sink into the ground. amelia shouted in terror, swinging her limbs out in an attempt to break-free. the monster held tight though, its claw-like fingers digging into amelia's side.

jay fell on the ground, their eyes wide as they watched the scene. they tried to muster a call for help, but the words got caught in their throat. the chaos calmed, and the clearing was silent. amelia was gone, and jay didn't know what they were expected to do.

they looked at the ground, watching clouds of dirt breeze by. the area was dead quiet, only adding to the chilling atmosphere. they stumbled up to their feet, tripping on their untied shoelaces. jay's heart pounded in their chest as they began to walk home, dragging their feet over the ground.

amelia's mom came over sometime later, frantic about her missing child. jay couldn't answer any of her questions, they just felt entirely numb. they were sent to their room after about an hour of interrogation, but they couldn't sleep.

they kept seeing that creature, lurking over their bed. they imagined amelia, scared and alone in some hellish reality, and the emotions began to kick in. they began to cry, putting their head in their hands. they sobbed throughout the night, and this continued for days.

a few months later, when the search ended, jay was still upset. they knew it was their fault that amelia's family would never see their daughter again, and they silently took the blame for it all. She was eventually reported as dead by the police.

when the funeral came around, it was hard for jay to go. they stared at the casket, which didn't even contain a body, and trembled with sorrow and fear. amelia's family had decided that, instead of putting amelia's body in the coffin, they'd put her favorite things in there.

jay stepped up, hands shaking, as they stared at all the little gifts that'd been left behind. hair bows, necklaces, books. they picked up a particular pen, one that was bright blue and had glitter infused in the ink, and remembered how much amelia had loved that pen.

jay sighed, setting it back down. they placed her gift into the casket- a little notebook covered in silver stars. they had intended on giving it to amelia on her birthday, but that opportunity was long gone. they stepped away from the gifts, sniffling.

the funeral service was long and quiet. no one spoke, and they scarcely seemed to move. jay stared at their feet the entire time. once it was finally over, they held their mother's hand as they walked away.

every day at school was a nightmare without amelia. jay refused to talk to anyone, not wanting to replace their long-lost best friend. they didn't eat lunch, or go out to recess. they worked alone in the classroom, and everyone seemed fine with that. after a month or so, they left jay alone.

this continued throughout the rest of elementary school and into middle school, though the kids there just thought jay was a freak. when jay started high school, it was even worse in their mind. it was a bigger environment, and it was getting harder to ignore the stares and questions.

the constant fear of their own consciousness never really stopped, it always had a way of lingering in jay's mind. the creatures never exited their mindscape again, and jay made sure of it. they knew they were dangerous, so they shoved them down where no one could see.

but you can't bottle things up forever.