A World Of Treason and Tides

Chapter 6: Just a dream

"Did you fall in love with Ryan yet?" Lin asked as soon as I entered my room.

"What are you doing in my room?" I went to the closet to change.

"Nothing. Just waiting for you and going through your things...you know, in case you keep a journal or something."

"Even if I did, I would not have kept it within your reach," I flashed a sweet smile at her.

She returned a much less sweet version of the smile to me. "So, how was the lair of the devil?"

I laughed at her perfect choice of words. "Just outside the lair of devil is the lair of angels with beautiful flowers and trees. I think I'll paint it." I said as I sank into my bed, though I decided not tell her about my visit to the garden.

"Mom never said anything about such a lair of angels, but she did mention you were fascinated with a dirty, dry land and really wanted to go there." Lindsey laughed.

"The dirty, dry land is not what it seems," I sighed loudly.

"Or maybe you are saying that because we all know you have a thing for nature and colours and magic and an obsession to look into things more than they should be looked at. But I am really looking forward to see your painting."

"Me too. And maybe you are right. But I am pretty sure it was not an illusion. Who knows, right?"

Lindsey shrugged.

***

The place was bewitching yet dangerous—with huge castles and towers that soared up to the sky—no—the towers were soaring up to the water level. The place was located underwater. Everything was surrounded by cold, black water extending till infinity. It would have been fascinating if everything was not so black and if there had been something living inside the waters.

I woke up, panting. Where could that place be? That place underwater was so fancy but at the same time, so lonely and devoid of any living beings. I tried not to think about the creepy dream I just had and washed my face. It was almost 4 in the morning. So, I gave up on sleep altogether and studied a bit. It was really hard to concentrate when the images from that dream refused to leave my mind. After one hour of studying, I gave up and finished a novel I had started reading two days before. But those disturbing images from my dream never left my mind.

***

"You are awfully quiet, today. Did something happen?" Emma asked me in the hallway.

"No. Just the after effects of a bad dream."

"You worry too much. It's just a dream, Venus." Emma said wrapping her hands around my shoulder.

"Yeah...maybe," I said without really paying attention to her words.

It was already lunch break and all day I thought about that place underwater. You need to focus on studies and stop thinking about a dream, I repeatedly told myself, yet I was unable to do so.

Going to the washroom in order to freshen up, I splashed some water across my face,but as soon as I did so, those images—the castle, the deep, black waters floated infront of me. I blinked vigorously but it seemed the images were trying to engulf me. My head was spinning—I was hallucinating. Everything was turning black, as black as the waters from my dream. I was drowning- drowning- drowning till I was fully absorbed by the blackness.

"Are you okay? You blacked out," mom said messaging my palms.

"How long?"

"Almost three hours. Emma informed the nurse as soon as she found out. I was allowed to bring you home. What happened?"

"Nothing. I really don't know." I sighed.

"You take rest. I am bringing you tea," she stood up.

"I guess I'll be staying at home, tomorrow." A day off from school would really help me to focus my mind on the things happening around me.

"Okay," she said and headed towards the kitchen.

***

The dream came again that night. This time I could hear faint voices—someone talking.

"You need to hold the sword at an angle," a deep male voice said.

"I want to become a warrior like you," this time it seemed a child's voice. Someone was giving a child war lessons. I could only hear the voices— other than that everything was still the same— the same castle and black water. Among many other things, one thing I could not understand was why everything was black and white.

"One day, you will be."

The voices became unclear and everything became still for a moment. Then again, I felt like the water was trying to engulf me and once more I woke up feeling breathless. I could not understand the dreams and the images at all and I knew those were not just some common dreams- I knew they meant something. I knew the dream was trying to tell me something. Who was that child from the dream?

I was having those dreams after drinking the water from that pond in that garden, which was exactly outside Ryan's house. Also, he acted so weird when I told him what had I seen in place of the dry land. The moment I saw him I could tell he was bad news and after this, I needed to know more about that guy. I decided to text Emma regarding Ryan, the first thing in the morning.

I checked the time. It was only two in the morning and I had lost my sleep. So, I took out my drawing book and some sketching pencils, then started sketching the garden. I tried to draw as best as I could from only my memory. Generally, I could not draw well unless the subject was infront of me but bringing the garden to colours in my drawing pages was not that much of a problem as I would never forget the unearthly beauty of that garden and the pond.

It was nearly seven when I completed the painting and I must say that I was really satisfied with the result. But I kept that painting hidden in my closet. I was taking that day off from school andafter painting for so long, I was feeling really sleepy, so I refrained from texting Emma and took a brief nap, which was actually, not so brief.

***

"You remember that guy from the paper?" I texted Emma a little after nine in the morning.

"What happened with him?" she replied almost instantly.

"You are again texting during classes."

"How could I not when my best friend who never talks about a guy is finally doing so?" She replied and also wrote how it was my fault to text her during the class.

"I could not wait, sorry. It's really important."

"Okay, tell me what can I do." Now she was being serious.

"Not now. I'll meet you after school at your house."

"Can't wait"

"So...tell me." Emma said as soon as I stepped in her hallway.

"I visited his house with my mother and he was acting really weird, you know. I guess we may see each other more than twice, as Mrs. Waters and my mother seem to be really good friends. So, I was thinking..."

"....to stalk him?" she completed the sentence. Emma's face was propped on her palms and her mouth was stretched into a wide grin.

"No...gross. I just want to know something about him other than his address and name."

"Same thing. So, we need to stalk him and dig up the dirt on him. Perfect." If it was really stalking, then God forbid me. I really hated creepy stalkers and I could not believe I, myself, was being one.

"Yeah. Maybe." I was feeling really bad for not telling her the actual reason of looking up Ryan in the internet. But like Lindsey, she also would not have believed me. Honestly, no one would if they were really unable to see what I saw.

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Hope you all liked CHAPTER 6 of "A World of Treason and Tides". Do vote and comment.😊

I have a question for you all. Do you like Emma?