Lethe's Lament

Chapter 3: Homecoming

Out of breath once again, Lily collapsed at her own doorstep, which she had only left some 90 minutes ago. Her mind was racing, random ideas crashing into her train of thought with every beat of her frantically pumping heart. She knew she should pull herself together, but she couldn't find the energy for it. Confused and trembling, she managed to open the door, slam it shut behind her and race to her room, throwing her bag on the floor somewhere in the process. She dropped onto her bed with a sob, which became muffled halfway through as her face sank into her pillow. Lily was already done dealing with the world for today, so she halfheartedly peeled off her clothes and wrapped herself in her blanket. Soon, she felt herself falling asleep again, and she welcomed it gladly.

Her dreams were shallow and meaningless, coming and going like waves, leaving behind nothing of interest of value. Lily calmly let herself drift across them, peacefully sleeping on, until the waves brought her ashore. She was gently set on dry land, and opened her eyes. She found herself again in the foul smelling darkness of her last dream, but now it didn't scare her. The rocky landscape didn't feel hostile at all. She calmly stood up and took in her surroundings. Beside her was the silvery river, which calmly streamed on through the desolate, rocky landscape that was all around her. The river glowed brightly, and lit up the red rocks in a ghostly, but strangely comforting manner. As she admired the beauty of the water, a voice came to her, like a whisper from far away. It was a deep, but smooth voice that washed over her like a warm shower.

"The second river flows through my lands," the voice spoke.

"Awaken, Lethe."

As gently as Lily had entered the rocky barrens, she was swept away again, and she opened her eyes calmly. An insistent buzzing noise was the only thing breaking the silence in her room. Her windows were still closed, since she hadn't opened them in her rush that morning. She had no idea what time it was, but she didn't feel any strong urge to check. A strange serenity had washed over her, like she'd just had the best sleep of her life.
Her phone buzzed again, and this time her curiosity won her over. She reached down to the floor to grab her hoodie, and fished her phone out of the right pocket. The sharp, blue light hit her eyes unfiltered, and she flinched. When her eyes had slightly gotten used to it, she was met with a worrying sight: 3 missed calls and 5 new messages from Aaron. Subconsciously biting her lip, she unlocked her phone and checked the messages.

"Hey"
"Noticed you weren't in History this morning"
"You alright?"
"You're not answering your phone, so I guess you might be ill and asleep or something"
"Anyway, call or text if you can"

Lily frowned intensely. She was still a bit drowsy from having just woken up, but she remembered the history lesson, and Aaron and mister Ramone acting weird, and... silver tears? It all seemed a bit vague and surreal... Had it been a dream after all? 

Behind her, she heard her door click and creak, and she spun around with a start to see her mom in the doorway, bathed in gentle daylight.

"Lily? What are you still doing in bed?"

Lily wasn't quite sure what to say. If it had  been a dream, which seemed quite likely, all things considered, she could get in trouble for skipping school, and if it hadn't been a dream, she could get in trouble for... well, all sorts of things. She didn't even know if she was supposed to be home yet. She decided quickly that she could afford to take a glance at the time before answering.

15:11

Shit. School wasn't out yet. She was about to make something up on the fly when her mother spoke again.

"And I didn't see you this morning either... Have you seriously been sleeping all day?"

Lily realised that if neither her mom nor Aaron had seen her today, she really must have just woken up. She sighed deeply, and was immediately compelled to yawn. Wow... She probably hadn't slept that much since she was a baby.

"I... think I fell back asleep after turning off my alarm?"

Her mother frowned worriedly and sat down on the edge of her bed. She gently pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. The hand felt nice and cool, and cleared her mind a little.

"Well, I don't think you have a fever, but maybe you just needed a rest... No more staying up after midnight for homework, okay? I know it's important, but you need to give your body a break sometimes."

Lily nodded quietly. She didn't intentionally stay up late, but if she was working on something big, she could easily become totally engrossed in her work, and hardly notice hours passing by.

"I'll call your school to say you were ill this time... take care of yourself, okay?"

She closed the door behind her, and Lily found herself in the dark once more. Now, with her mind cleared, her thoughts went back to her odd dreams. First the one where she drowned in the silver river, then the disastrous history lesson, and finally that voice... Most of the dream had faded a bit, and remembering it felt like peering through thick mist. But the one voice sliced through the mist. 

"Lethe, awaken"

Was she supposed to be Lethe? And what did that mean, anyway? She vaguely recalled hearing the name somewhere before, but...

Her phone buzzed again. It was another message from Aaron.

"Hey, I drew this thing earlier today that I thought you might like"

The next message was an image. It was a picture of a pencil drawing.

A portrait, a nearly perfect one.

A portrait of Lily.