Innocence

Prologue

It wasn't the chills up my arm that got me, it was the eerie silence. The silence that was surrounding me and the darkness that was threatening to choke me.

The nightmare was so real, like all of them. It was the same girl screaming, her frightened voice echoing around me. I couldn't figure out where the source of the voice was, just that it was somewhere in the empty meadow I was always standing in.

It was always night and the moon was always hidden behind dark storm clouds, threatening a downpour. I could hear the thunder in the distance and I always stood alone, yet I felt the presence of many more beside me.

Whenever the dream ended, I always woke with such a strong feeling of disappointment that I usually began crying. I'd let the girl down, I hadn't been able to help her. The screaming echoed around me faintly and I prayed I wasn't in another nightmare within a nightmare.

Yes, that happened too.

"Crystal..."

I flinched as I heard my name, grabbing my covers as if they'd protect me from whoever spoke. Maybe if I ignored them, they'd just go aw-

"Crystal, help me!"

I started to sob softly as I recognized the girl's voice. I shove my head under my pillow, whispering reassurances to myself. I'm sorry that I can't help you!

"Crystal, help!"

The scream grew more frantic and I was surprised our neighbour's lights didn't turn on. How could they not hear those screams? How could they not hear them? I wailed mentally.

"Crystal?"

I gasped, staring at the doorframe to my room. There was someone there. A silhouette. It was the girl. I leapt backwards off my bed and crouched against my wall and screamed. How could she be here?

"Crystal! It's me, it's your mother, stop!" I paused, eyes still wide and my body still trembling. I saw the figure. It wasn't short like a young girl would be. It was an adult.

"Mum?" I asked nervously, my voice shaking.

"Crystal, what's wrong sweetie?" My mother came into the room and sat down beside me, pulling me in for a much needed hug. I started to cry harder and she kissed my forehead in attempt to comfort me. She knew that I had vivid nightmares. She cared.

My father obviously didn't. Maybe that's why he left.

"Oh honey, did you have a nightmare?" I didn't answer because I knew that she already knew.

We sat there for a while. I hadn't told my mother exactly what the nightmares were about. I'd told her I had them, and I just forgot what they were about. But the truth was, I never did. I remembered each one in such detail.

I remembered the first nightmare I had. It was when I was eight. I was just in the dark. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. I held a teddy bear that I'd called Puffin, that I used to sleep with. And that was it, I just woke up hearing the echoing of my name.

And that was it really. The next dream I had, I had it when I was ten and it was the exact same nightmare. So I grew a little curious.

Next, when I was eleven, I had them once every month for the whole year and I began to see details, such as I was in a meadow. And that there were storm clouds covering the moon.

And the next year, I had no dreams at all. It really puzzled me after I'd had a dream every month for the past year. The same thing happened when I turned thirteen, not a single dream. I told myself it was nothing and I pushed it away and slept tight.

If only I were still in those days. I'd kill for a good night of sleep. All I get now are scary voices and people whispering my name outside my room.

I was seventeen now. And I got them every single night of every single month, of every single year.

It was agony.

"Are you alright? Do you want me to sit with you until you fall asleep?" my mother asked gently, stroking my hair in a comforting way.

Yeah, I'm not going back to sleep...

"Nah," I told her, not wanting to be a complete nuisance. "I... I think I'll be alright."

My mother looked at me, a disbelieving look in her dark eyes, but she didn't argue.

"Okay, but call out if you need anything," she said, hugging me one more time before exiting the room. I heard her footsteps fade down the hall.

And then the voices started again. But that wasn't all.

There was a knock on the door.

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A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please leave a comment at the bottom about how I went. This is my first story on Wattpad and I'm a little nervous. I don't know whether I'll continue this, I just wanted to post the first bit I wrote. If you think I should continue this, let me know in the comments :)