A New World

Chapter 1 - Hayato

That same dream again...that makes three times this month Hayato thought, abruptly waking up in a cold sweat. He gazed at the carpeted floor near his bed to see the book he was reading lay on the ground. The cover read Dreams: Manifestations of the Subconscious. "I probably pushed it off in my sleep," he mumbled to himself as he  rubbed his eyes.

Starting about a year ago, he began having vivid and graphic dreams concerning a world vastly different from his own. At first he ignored them believing they were strange manifestations from his own personal thoughts but as they became more frequent, he began to question the nature of the dreams.

Are these truly random or do they hold a deeper meaning than what he currently believed? What purpose were they intended to serve besides robbing him of several hours of sound sleep and his sanity? Such questions started Hayato on a path a few months ago to learn more, not only about these dreams but about the world he lived in which they may tie into. Until now, he's treaded cautiously and has chosen to only tell his close friend - Rouge - about the dreams.

Still groggy from his long nap, he sat up to scan his room as an attempt to remind himself he was still in his own home. His bed was in the right corner of the room, tucked in to align next to the wall. In front of it was his half opened closet revealing several neatly hung clothes, shoes, and a small backpack. Near the closet was his personal bathroom. To the left of his bed was a large bookshelf, the majority of his book collection containing his life's greatest interests: nature and technology.

From a young age, he's always found solace in digging into a good book and has often enjoyed spending time in a library. His collection has recently been shifting to history and the supernatural as his study in these areas progress. At the opposite end of his room was his desk where the majority of his studies, brainstorming, and journaling occurs. With each new dream, he's typed out his thoughts and details in his tablet. "Looks like everything's as it should be" he thought to himself.

With the thoughts of the dream still lingering in his mind, he got out of bed and walked into his bathroom to wash up. He waved his hand to the left signally to his sink's motion sensor to release the cold water from the faucet. He cupped his hands to allow the ice cold water to gather between his palms before dipping his face into the water. If the cool water couldn't jolt him to his senses, nothing else would.

After wiping his face dry he stared at the reflection looking back at him in the mirror. He couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle seeing how unkept he was; his disheveled short black hair and vaguely dark circles surrounding his dark brown eyes - all signs of the physical toll he was beginning to experience due to the dreams.

"Hayato! Hayato! I've called you several times now. Lunch is ready!" yelled Hayato's mom - Grace.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Hayato's mom was an easy going person that often doted on her son, but despite their great mother-son relationship,  Hayato still knew better than to keep his mom waiting when she called for him. Neither did she ever hold back from scolding him if he crossed the line.

He grabbed his tablet off of his desk and small sling backpack out of his closet as he raced down the stairs into the dining room to see the frown on his mom's face. Seeing her empty plate, he knew she decided to eat without him rather than wait, which wasn't a good sign. He could feel a lecture coming. "Sorry mom, I only heard you call me once. I accidentally fell asleep reading and just woke up," he said through a yawn.

Grace looked at the clock and shook her head. "At noon on a Monday? I'm not surprised with the way you look." She gently held her son's face in her hands to take a closer look. Hayato would've normally tried to hide his exhaustion from his mom, but nothing could get past her. "Haven't I told you to quit staying up so late to read? You look exhausted!"