People were staring.
Music was played.
But Cinder wasn't there.
She was in a world full with quiet and happiness, she was in complete harmony. She was in a world of peace. She was with Kai. He looked down at her, his eyes sparkling with joy.
She couldn't help but smile.
Why not?
This is everything she has ever wanted. A happy life, surrounded by love.
As they finished their dance, Kai kissed her quickly, and then continued to dance.
Cinder stopped and tried to stop Kai, but he went on dancing as if he had a partner. Then she heard a big, loud crash. Cinder jumped with surprise, looking around trying to find the source of the crash, but there wasn't any.
She looked a round the people, none of them seem to hear what she heard. Cinder was beginning to think it was her own imagination, but the loud crashes continued; and it wasn't just crashing anymore. There were gunshots too. They all were too loud for Cinder to believe it was her own imagination.
She tried yelling at the people to stop, but they didn't listen. She wasn't sure if they could even hear her. Everything was playing on fast, really fast. The crashes continued, and everything around her moved fast.
Cinder started to lose her balance, and just as she was about to hit the floor, she jolted up in her bed, gasping for air. Only then she realized she had yet another nightmare.
After Cinder relaxed a bit, she flopped down back on her bed. She heard a muffled sound, and turned to her left. Cinder smiled at her sleeping husband. It's been almost two years since she married Kai, and she couldn't ask for a better life to live.
"You had another dream?" Kai asked in a tired voice.
She sighed and said,
"Yeah." She looked down at her hands.
"Hey, it's okay. It's not real." He said, and then pulled her down into his embrace; she offered no resistance.
"It just feels so real. Like I'm living in the dream." She said.
And it was true.
Every time she had a night terror, it felt so real. But she couldn't think straight. It was like she was in her body, but not in her own mind.
"But you're here right now, and that's what matters." Kai said, drawing circles on her back.
"I guess you're right. I'm sorry I waked you up though. You're not supposed to be up for another 30 minutes." Cinder said.
"Believe me I prefer loosing 30 minutes of my sleeping time the knowing you needed me and I wasn't there." Kai said.
Cinder kissed his neck and said,
"I love you, you know that, right?"
"No. You never told me that. I'm glad you do though." He said sarcastically.
"Aren't you hilarious?" Cinder said, with the same amount of sarcasm.
Kai chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"Do you want to try and catch some sleep?" He asked her. But she knew she couldn't possibly go back to sleep; she never could.
"No, I'm fine. But you should try to sleep, we have a meeting at 8:30." Cinder said.
"I'll be fine. Let's just stay here for a few moments."
"I am not resisting." She said.
They lay in bed for 20 minutes until Kai's alarm clock went off. He reached a hand and turned it off. There was a moment of silence before Cinder got up to the bathroom.
"Come on Kai, you can't stay there forever." She said.
"Who says?" He asked mockingly.
"You and me, now get up." Cinder said and walked into the bathroom.
They both got ready and began their day.
Just another normal day at her not so normal life.
