JOTH PROLOGUE CHAPTER 2

Journey of the Heart

Prologue Chapter 2

_______________________________________

Family Bonds

“I-I-I-I’m fine, Dad! Nothing’s wrong! Really!”  I shuttered, still not willing to tell him about my dreams.

“Really?” Dad continued to look at me suspiciously.  “Because that’s not what *cough* Mr. Boring told me in the holo-call.”  When he said my teacher’s name, he almost sounded like he was trying not to laugh, but he soon composed himself.

 When he mentioned Mr. Boring calling him, I immediately looked down at my feet.  At that moment, I knew I couldn’t keep saying that I was alright, that nothing was bothering me.  Because that was a complete lie.  But I didn’t want to tell Dad about the problem.  I couldn’t relive the nightmares in my head…

I continued to look down at the floor until I felt a finger lifting up my chin, causing me to look at Dad’s concerned eyes.

“Sakura…” Dad said in a gentle voice.  “This is the fifth time this had happened.  What is going on?”

I hesitated for a moment before I let out a sigh. ‘Well…no point in hiding now.’

“It…started about five days ago.” I began.  “When I’ve been having these…bad dreams.”

“What’s been happening in these bad dreams?”  He asked as he led me to the couch and we both sat down.

“Well…” Slowly, my dream came back in a flash in my mind.  I could see them clearly, like I just all of them at once.  I hesitated a couple of moments before sighing and started to continue.  “I was in a dark room.  I couldn’t see anything.  Everything felt eerie.  I felt…scared and…alone.  After a moment, I heard a voice speaking to me.  I couldn’t understand what it was saying.  But it sounded vicious and…sinister.  Then…I saw red eyes staring at me as I heard menacing laughter all around me.  After that, I woke up, sweating shaking.”  I felt my body trembling for I felt like I was reliving the first nightmare.  “After that dream, whenever I fall asleep, my dreams kept on getting worse.”

I wiped eyes a little from the tears that were coming out before I looked up at Dad.  He looked like he was thinking with a worried look in his eyes before he said to me.  “Does your mother or John or anyone else know about this?”

“No.”  I answered him as I looked back down.  “I haven’t told anyone about them.  The dreams…”  I started to feel new tears form in my eyes.  “…they’re…just…too scary…to relive in my mind.  I don’t understand any of them.  Daddy…”  I look back to him.  “I don’t know why…but…I feel like…something bad is going to happen.”

“Sakura…” Dad whispered in a gentle voice.  He then pulled me in a gentle hug as he rubbed my back.  “They’re all just dreams. Nothing bad will happen.  And even if they did, know that you’ll always have me, your mother and your brothers to be there by your side.”  He lets go of me a little and looks down at me.  “Now…why do you get something to eat and then go straight to bed.  We’ll work on your homework tomorrow morning.”

“But Dad…”  I hesitated, fear rising up inside of me.  “What if I get another one of those bad dreams?”

He puts a hand on my shoulder.  “Then I’ll be sure to wake you up from it.”

With his reassuring smile, I smiled right back for I knew I got his word.  I quickly hugged him before heading into the kitchen for the sweet smell of spaghetti!

“Oh Sakura, before I forget…”

I popped my head out of the kitchen.  “Yes Daddy?”

“After you teacher called, I got another holo-call from an old friend.  He said that he and some of his companions will be here in about a week and he would like to meet you.”  Dad said.

That got me baffled.  ‘Meet me?’

 “Am I in trouble, Dad?” I asked him, nervously.

He shook his head.  “No.  Far from it, really.”  I sighed in relief.  He continued on.  “Let’s just say for now they took a special interest in you.”

“Ummm…okay.  Thanks for letting me know.” Still confused, I went back into the kitchen and gather up my dinner.

 As I ate, I couldn’t help but pounder on what Dad told me earlier.  People wanting to meet me?  Why would they want to me?  I mean, there are other people in this household that have more special qualities that could grab the interest of other people.  Like John, who is smart and a very skilled swordsman, and he are very good at playing the violin.  And then there’s Lee, best known for grabbing items in a blink of an eye and very acrobatic.  Not to mention he can play the drums (and he’s very good at it). As for me, I couldn’t see anything special about me.  I mean, I could play the guitar a little, but I can’t play in front of a crowd without fainting or throwing up.  And then there’s my ability to talk to animals, but no one else knows about it expect for John, Lee and Mikey (but it’s only because they found out).  So why would these people that are coming here want to meet me?  But I guess I’ll just find out when they come by.

After I was done, I heard some humming, like propellers, right behind me. I sighed, for I knew who was making that humming sound.

“Hey Vincent.” I said, turning to floating robot.

Vincent had a short of round body, with a bottle cap-like hat on top with his head all reddish-orange. He had a pair of white squares with a dot in each, making up his “eyes”.  The body had different buttons and contraptions on it, like a claw-like grippers, a small screen in the middle, an input/output jack, and I’ve noticed some retractable lasers on the “arms”. At the bottom of the body, which I guess were his “feet”, were round like balls that allowed him to hover above the ground.  On the “chest”, in orange letterings, was the robot’s name, ‘V.I.N.Cent’.

“*beep* Good evening, Miss Barrix.” Vincent said, just hovering above the kitchen table.  “How was school?”

“It was okay, I guess.”  I quietly replied, drying my plate with a towel. Then I started to hear mechanical beep and wheels turning from him for a moment before he replied.

“*beep* Judging by your rate of low blood pressure and how much bags you got under your eyes, I would say you got into trouble again by your History teacher. Did you fall asleep again?”  I was tempted to sigh in annoyance for his nosiness.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that he’s just looking out for me.  But still, it feels like I’m dealing with a fussy mother (not that my mother doesn’t get fussy).

If you’re wondering about Vincent, he’s technically my father’s robot.  Vincent has been with my dad since his pirateer days.  He’s very good at navigating, detecting things, and gathering facts (especially quotes on famous philosophers).    Now a days, Vincent mostly helps my dad with the shop, but sometimes he would watch over me and Lee (and maybe on very few occasion, John).  He would tutor me on some of my homework (which mostly ends up with me falling asleep). I guess you could say he’s our helper robot, but he’ll always be part of our family.  I mean, he is a pretty loyal companion.

I hesitated a bit before answering.  “Yes I did.  And this time he…umm…made me run 100 laps.”

Vincent shook his head. “I’m amazed you could do that many. Especially in your state.”

“Yeah, I even surprised myself.” I lightly laugh.   I then thought about what Dad told me about people coming here to meet me tomorrow.  “Say Vincent…”

“*beep* Yes, Miss Barrix?” He said.

“Do you have any idea on whose coming here next week?” I asked him.

He made a couple of beeping sounds before answering.  “Sorry, Miss Barrix. But I’m not authorized to tell you about them.”

“Oh, never mind then.”  I said, slightly disappointed.

Vincent then said, “Well, Captain-I mean Mr. Barrix insists that you get some sleep tonight.  You’ll have a bit of a day tomorrow.”

“Right…” I said as I put away the plate and started to follow him.  But then, I felt a cold breeze rush through me that I stopped in my tracks.  My head started to spin and I could barely stand on my feet.  I could faintly hear Vincent call my name, but every sound around me became nothing more than echoes.  Then slowly, everything went black.

*********

When the darkness began to clear, I saw Father, Mother, John, Lee, Mikey and Vincent at a distance.  As soon as I saw them, I began to run toward them, but as I tried to get closer, they kept on getting farther and farther away from me. 

Then, I felt something cold grab me at my ankles, pulled me to the ground and began to drag me back.  When I looked at what exactly grabbed me, I immediately regretted it.  What grabbed me were dark hands that were coming out of this dark vortex.  Whatever it was that grabbed me, it was dragging me in with it.

I screamed for help to my family, but what I saw what happened to was something I deeply wish wouldn’t happen.

Mother and Father were being consumed by flames of blackness. Hands appeared underneath Lee, grabbed his legs and dragged him and Mikey down into a dark void. Vincent was turning into dust. Their screams pieced through my ears as they slowly faded away.

When I looked back at the vortex, red eyes appeared and the creature that was in the vortex was now showing its pointed teeth as it pulled me further and further in. 

I screamed for John, but then another dark vortex appeared behind him.  He slowing looked behind him and began to walk towards it.  My eyes widened and I screamed even louder for him.  I continue to yell out his name until he finally looked back at me and when he did was what really scared me.  

His eyes were now blood red and he was giving a cold look, like he didn't care on what was happening to me. He turned back to the vortex and continued walking to it until he also faded away.  I screamed out his name one more time until the darkness began to consume me and blacking everything out.

As everything became dark, I heard a malicious voice calling out to me.

“Darkness will consume to this world and the next. Soon, everything will cover in darkness! And you, little one, you will lose everything you have ever loved!!”

******

“…Sakura? Sakura! Wake up! Wake up!”

I snapped my eyes open and looked at my surroundings.  I was back in the kitchen (on the floor, no less) with Dad hold me in his arms and Vincent who was floating right beside him.

When I looked up at Dad, I felt tear forming in my eyes.  For he didn’t’ disappear; he’s right there in front of me.

“Dad? Is that you?” I softly said.

He lightly smiles at me. “Yes Sakura.  It’s me.  Are you alright?”

In a rush, I immediately hugged him and I cried uncontrollably.

“It was terrible! You…Mom…John…Lee…everyone ….you disappeared….the darkness…it swallowed me!”  I said in between sobs.  “They…they said…they said I would be left all alone!”

I continued to cry until I felt Dad’s arms wrap around me and started to rock me.

“That will never happen.  No matter what, we’ll always be together as a family.”

*********

After I calmed down, I went upstairs to get ready to in for the day.  After I took a shower and was brushing my teeth, I kept on hearing that menacing voice echoing inside my mind.

“Darkness will consume to this world and the next. Soon, everything will cover in darkness! And you, little one, you will lose everything you have ever loved!!”

That dream that I had…what could it all mean?  What did it meant when it said, ‘the darkness is coming’?  I know it was all a dream, so should I worry about it?  But…what if it’s not just a dream?  What if it is coming, will I really lose my family?  That I will be left all alone?  Just the mere thought of it scared me to death.

I shook out of that thought.  I really shouldn’t worry about that dream.  It’s just a dream.  I mean, I still have my family here.  And as Dad said, ‘we’ll always be together as a family’. And nothings gonna take that from me.

…Will it?

After I was done, I took out a small box from my left pocket.  It was kind of nice: wrapped up in a light blue wrapping paper and tied together with a red ribbon.  Although, the way it was taped together looked like it was done by an armature.  Attached to the red ribbon was a small tag with the words that said:

To: John

From: Your little sis, Sakura

Happy Birthday and Congratulations

Unfortunately, this gift is a couple of days late.  The only reason I couldn’t give it to him on time is because the present that I made for him took longer than I thought to finish. When I didn’t give him a gift on neither on his birthday or his graduation because it was unfinished, I felt so bad that I didn’t have a present for him, even though he told me that it was okay.  Anyway, I hope we’ll like it even though I missed that date.

I walked down the hallway to give the present to John (given if he’s still there), but then I saw Lee and Mikey having their ears against John’s bedroom door, snickering. When I saw them against John’s door, it’s obvious that they’re up to no good.

Sighing, I slowly walked up to them.

“Guys! What are you doing?” I silently scolded them.

Lee puts a finger against his lips and points at the door.  I noticed that Lee was in a different outfit.  He was now wearing a white shirt, a yellow scarf and light brown skinny jeans. Also, he had a huge bandage on his forehead.

“You got to listen to this, Saky.  It’s so funny.”  He silently snickered with Mikey.

“Why would I do that? You know how mad he’ll get when he learns that we’ve been ease dropping on his personal business.”  I quietly said.

“Potato potato.”  Lee waved me off, still having his ear.  “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him.  Besides, don’t you want to know why John was acting weird lately?”

To be honest, I was little curious about John’s behavior.  Besides from earlier in the market place, he was acting all strange from not just this morning, but for the past two weeks. In the mornings, when I would come down the stairs to get breakfast, I would see John there first, pacing the floor and muttering to himself.  And, when he would pick me up from school, he would stare up at the sky with a face that read that was deeply thinking of something and, like earlier today, he would have this soft, dreamy look in his eyes.  Not to mention that, just two days ago, while me, Lee, Mikey and John were hanging out in the backyard, out of the blue, he asked us what we thought of Melissa.  As each of the days passed, I got more and more curious about what was going on with him.  Once, I asked him on why he was acting all strange. But all he said was that he would tell me after Melissa’s party and that was that.  So, when Lee said I should listen to what John was saying, I was really tempted to do what he and Mikey were doing.  But, at the same time, I didn’t want John to get mad.  And, trust me, you don’t want to see him when he gets mad.

After some thinking, I finally said to the two trouble makers.  “Sorry, but I rather not get involved in this.”  And, with that, I began to walk straight to my room.

I only took a few steps from John’s room when Lee said, “Did I mention it involves Meli-gal and a ‘ring’.”

Okay, that got me.  Sighing, I turned around, sat next to Lee and Mikey and pressed my ear against the door.  As I was listening, it sounded like John was talking to someone, or something.

“’Melissa…’” he began.  “’We’ve known each other for eight years and then some.’  No no, that’s not good.” He sighs before speaking again.  “Melissa, we’ve been good friends ever since that day we met at the solar surfing race and we trained together at the Grand Academy and I know we dated for over a week, but now I want to take it to the next step…” He stopped for a moment before sighing.  “Man, that sounded lame and long.”

“I’ll say…” Lee whispered to Mikey as they continued to snicker. I tried to hold back a grunt to prevent from getting caught and continued on to listen in.

“Maybe I should just get right to the point...” He said to himself before he went quiet for a moment and I heard a light thump on the floor.  “Melissa, I would be most honored if you would marry me.” Then he grunts in frustration.  “No! That was too demanding.”

Lee and Mikey quietly chuckle at one another as I silently gasped.

‘So that’s why John’s been acting strange lately!  He’s planning on proposing!’ I thought to myself.

I got out of my thoughts when Lee and Mikey continued to snicker.

“Hey! Don’t be so mean!”  I quietly scolded them.  “This is a big step for him!”

Lee looks at me with an apologetic look as he tried to hold back the laughter.  “Sorry Saky.  But this is priceless! His pick-up lines are horrible!”

“It’s enough to make a hyena laugh!”  Mikey snickered.

“Well, at least he’s trying…”  I gave them a cross look.

“Yeah, but I think he can do better than that!” Lee said. “I mean, his lines for the proposal are just horrible-WHOA!!”

Before he could finish his sentence, we both felt the door open and we fell into John’s room.  I took my face off the ground and first noticed two black shoes with blue lines around it in front of me.  I slowly looked up to John’s miffed look.  He was now wearing different clothes from the last time I saw him in.  He was now in a white muscle shirt, a black vest with multiple pockets and brown khaki shorts also with multiple pockets.  Of course, he was still had on his goggles and the fingerless black gloves on him.

“My ‘pick up’ lines may be horrible, but your respect for people’s businesses is much worse.”  John said, glaring at the three of us.

We quickly got up on our feet and immediately tried to find some way to distract John from his anger.

“Heheheheh...Hey Johnny-bro!” Lee began, chuckling uneasily.  “It’s a really nice night tonight.  And man, you look rip! Right Saky?”

I shuttered for a bit before I responded.

 “Yeah!” I laughed nervously.  “You look really handsome tonight, Big Brother. And might I add you smell nice in that new cologne. Right Mikey?”

“Y-Yep!” Mikey chimed in.  “Really nice. Right Lee?”

“Yeah! Really really nice.” Lee said.

The three of us chuckled nervously for a few moments before John turned to Lee and Mikey with a greater scowl on his face.

“You two… Bed…Now!”

They didn’t need to be told twice. They sprinted right into Lee’s room and quickly slammed the door.  I looked back at John and gulped.  His face soften a bit, but still mad. Oh...I knew I shouldn’t ease drop on him.  Why did I let my curiosity take over me?  Now he’s definitely mad at me.

“I’m really really sorry, John!” I apologized to him as I bowed my head down.  “I shouldn’t have listened into your conversation or something along the lines of it!  It’s just that Lee and Mikey made it sound interesting and I was curious about your behavior back at the market place.  But that’s not an excuse to listen to you practicing your proposal!  So I’m really am sorry!  Don’t be mad! Don’t be mad at me!”

“Sakura! Sakura! Relax!”  John said, putting his hands on my shoulders.  “It’s alright: I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?”  I asked him.

He shook his head.  “Nah. I can never stay mad at you, sis.”  But then he mutters under his breath.  “Although I am upset at the little trouble maker and the fur ball for starting it.”

“I heard that!”  I heard Lee’s muffled voice from his room.

John scratched his head.  “So yeah…I’m planning on proposing to Melissa.”

“So I heard.”  I slightly chuckled at myself for that small comment.  “So that's what your order was back at the Moogle Store?  A ring?”

“Pretty much.” John answered me, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So why didn’t you just tell?”  I asked him.

“Sorry.  I just wanted to leave it as a surprise.  You know, if she says yes or not.”  When he said that, he gulped as a small drop of sweat runs down the side of the face.

Seeing him getting all nervous, I gently grabbed his hand and smiled up at him.  “Hey, don’t get scared, Big Brother.  I’m sure she’ll say yes.  I mean, I’ve seen you two together.  You two are practically a match in heaven.  And, I just want you to be happy, Big Brother.  And, and for whatever reason, she says ‘no’, you know that we’ll be right here to give you support.”

He seemed to relax and gently smiles.  “Thanks Sis.”

He sighs before shaking his shoulders a bit.  “Well, time for me to get going.”  He goes back into his room, straps on his Lionheart on his back and picks up the small, blue box that was on his desk.  And, sighing, he opens up the box (I guess it was just to give him more of a confidence boost).  But, as soon as he did, confetti flew right into his face with a picture of Lee’s face that said ‘Gotcha!’ that bounced up and down like a jack-in-a-box.

“LEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”  John yelled out.

“Ha!  That’s for the water attack, ya big block-head!”  Lee, along with Mikey who were outside of their room, went into a laughing fit.

In a fit of pit of rage, John runs right out of the room and to Lee and Mikey.  With an ‘Uh-oh’, they ran right back into their room and slammed the door shut followed by a click.  As soon as John reached the door, he tries to open up the door, but it was locked-up tight.

“Lee! Open the door!”  John practically yelled.

“No way!  I’m not letting a raging animal in!”  Lee yelled back.

Losing it even more, John shouted back. “Lee!  Give me back the ring right now!”

“I don’t have it, you donkey-head!”  Lee shouted back.

“Funny, I find that hard to believe.”  John muttered.

“It’s true!”  Mikey shouted.

John continued on slamming his fist on the door.  “You give me the ring back or I’ll break down the door!”

“Oh yeah, break down the door and get Mr. and Mrs. B ticked off just like last time you did it.”  Lee mockingly said.

As the two continued on to spat, at the corner of my eye, I noticed something shining in the potted plant.  I went to it and when I picked it up, I gasped.  It was the ring.  It was a beautiful thing, with its gold band with pretty little designs on it.  On top of that laid the small, diamond ring that shined beautifully. Looking at it, it must have cost a fortune.

“I’m counting to three.  You better give it back before hand, you little thief!”  John shouted as he stepped back.

“I’m telling you, I don’t have your ring.  And I’m not little!”  Lee shouted back.

“Ummm, John.”  I said.

“One…”  John said.

“John….” I said, a bit louder.

“Two…” John said.

“I’m telling you again, I don’t have it!”  Lee said.

“John….”  I said, a bit more loudly.

“Just look in the potted plant.”  Lee said.

“Three!” John shouted.

“JOHN!!”  I yelled over the fight.

“What?!”  John yelled, about to kick down Lee’s door.

“I found your ring.”  I said, holding out my palm with the ring in it.  “It was in the potted plant.”

“HaHA! Told you!”  Lee said in triumph, before John slams his fist on the door once more.  “OW!”

John sighs in relief.  “Thank you, sis.” He takes the ring out of my hand puts it back inside the blue box.  “Well, wish me luck.”  He then goes down the stairs.  But then, I remembered something.

“Wait John!” I raced down the stairs and met up with him just at the bottom of it.  He looks up at me with a bit of irritation in his eyes.  I immediately pulled out the small gift out of my pocket.  “It’s for you.  I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you on your graduation or your birthday.  It’s just it took me longer than I thought to finish it.  So…”  I handed out to him.  “Happy Birthday and Congratulations.”

He takes the gift out of my hand and looks at it for a moment, his expression immediately softens before smiling.

“Thanks, sis.”  John said as he was about to open it, but I immediately stop him.  “What is it now?”

“Why don’t you open it after you propose to Melissa?”  I said. “This way, if she says ‘no’, at least when you open it, it may give you some comfort.”

He shakes his head.  “Alright fine. But only because I’m in a hurry.”  He puts it in his many pockets.  “But thanks again.”

When he looks up at me again, his image began to change before my eyes.  His eyes became blood red, his skin began to pale and his teeth became sharp as razors.  Images of the nightmare began flash through my mind, from losing my parents, to Lee, and to John leaving me to be swallowed by the darkness.  As this was happening, I hear the same malicious voice inside my head, repeating those dreadful words at me.

“…Sakura? Sakura?”  John said, shaking my shoulder.

When I snapped out of it, John was back to his normal self.  The images that I was seeing was all in my mind.

“You okay?”  John asked me with concern in his voice.

Not wanting to ruin his day, I immediately shook it off.  “Don’t worry John: I’m fine.  I’m just tired, that’s all.”

He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Well, alright.”  He then heads for the door. “Bye Sakura.”  As he was walking, he walks pass Dad and says bye to him too.

“Bye Big Brother and good luck.”  I waved at him as he went out the door.

As soon as John left, Dad goes up to me and asked, “Mind telling me what was going on up stairs earlier.”

“Don’t worry, Daddy.”  I reassured with a small smile on my face.  “It was just John and Lee having their usual spat.  But they resolved it.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “Of course.”  He then looks at me. “Now Sakura, remember what I told you.  You need to go to bed and get some good shut eye.”

“I know, Dad.”  I said.  I then hugged him quickly before letting go and going up stairs.  “Goodnight, Daddy.”

“Goodnight, sweatie.”  Dad said. “Pleasant dreams.”

*********

After I changed into my purple pajamas, I just laid there on my bed, trying to sleep, which was kind of strange.  I mean, through the whole day, I was tired as a bear ready to sleep for the long winter, but I tried to stay awake.  But now I’m trying to sleep, but I can’t seem to.  Maybe because deep down, I’m still afraid of falling asleep and having more nightmares.  After that nightmare I had in the kitchen and the vision I saw of John, I hate to see what the next dream will be when I sleep.

Not getting anywhere near sleepiness because of the scary thoughts in my mind, I decided to pull out one of my hologram books from the book self.  After looking over the twenty books I had that will help replace the bad memories of the nightmares to dreams, I decided to pull out a book that contains all of my favorite adventure stories.  The first story that was in the book tells the tale of the probably one of the greatest treasure hunts of all time: the search for Treasure Planet.

It’s basically about a young boy named Jim Hawkins and his search for the treasure of the infamous, Captain Nathanial Flint. It’s an amazing adventure.  And I especially loved the characters that Jim meets along his journey, especially John Silver, the cyborg pirate and his god daughter (and not the mention my favorite character in the story), Rebekah Masters.

After I was done, I turned the page that went into my favorite story in the book: Light and Darkness: The Heart of Heroes.

Basically, the story takes place over a hundred years ago, when the galaxy was in one of its darkest times.  Many people in many worlds lived in fear because of the constant attacks of Dark Creatures that appear out of the night.  The one that lead them all, though his name long forgotten, many named him The Lord of Evil. Many brave souls tried to fight The Evil Lord and his army.  Sometimes they win the battle, but most of the time, the darkness seemed to take its victory. When it seemed that light will be slain by the darkness forever, four brave heroes rose up against The Evil Lord and his army and each one wielded the most powerful weapon known the all mortals alike: The Keyblade.  They, along with many of their companions, rose up and fought The Evil Lord’s army in the greatest battle in history of the Etherium.  Though many lives were lost, the light prevailed and the heroes defeated the Darkness once and for all, ending the dark times and bringing in a new age of peace.

As I was reading, the stories soon replaced my fears of my nightmares to dreams of adventures outside of my world.

Ever since I was little, I always wondered what was outside of Hollow Bastion and what would it be like to see the other worlds, to see and experience new things.  But, I felt like it was just a fantasy that I could only dream.  I thought this because…well…the outside worlds is no place for someone who is small and weak like me.  I would never last even day on my own.  And plus, Hollow Bastion is the only home that I know.  I can't imagine leaving it behind.  So, I felt satisfied to only dream of the outside worlds.

As continued to wonder about the other worlds, my thoughts began to go back to the dream I had earlier that day and the voice that spoke of the other worlds being covered in darkness.  As soon as the wondrous thoughts entered my mind, it was quickly replaced with dread of the message the nightmare gave me.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a knock at the door.

“Sakura? May I come in?”  I heard my mother’s voice at the other side of the door.

“Yes, Mom.”  I answered her and she came in, holding a cylinder-shape item that was wrapped up in her hand.

Eyeing the book that was on my lap, Mother sighs and puts her hands on her hips. “I thought your father told you to get some sleep?”

I blush in embarrassment and looked down at the book.   “I’m sorry, Mom.  It’s just that…I can’t seem to sleep.”

Mother than sat on the edge of the bed and looks at me with her gentle eyes.  “Is it because of the nightmares you’ve been having?”

That caught me off guard.  I was gonna ask her how she knew that until she intervene.

“You’re father told me. Which is why I brought this.”  She holds out the item in her hand and unwraps it to reveal…

“A candle?”  I asked, confused.

She nods before placing the candle on the counter next to the bed. “When I was a little girl, whenever I have nightmares, my mother would light a candle in my room to scare away the nightmares.”  She then pulls out a match and lights the candle.  “It is the one thing that all nightmares fear: it is the light.”  But then her eyes seemed to daze off and began to stare into the little flame of the candle.  “It can be the light of day or the lights in the hearts of the bravest souls.”

I didn’t know where that statement came from, but I was glad that my mother was here to give me some comfort.  A bit of the dread that I was having went away.

“Well, thanks for the candle, Mom.”  I said.  “I really appreciate it.”

She seemed to come back from her small little world and gentled smiles at me.  “You’re welcome, Sakura.  And dear,” She puts her hand my shoulder.  “Just know that, even if we’re not right there beside you, your father, your brothers and I will always be with you…”  She then puts a finger on my chest.  “…in here.  And know that I’ll always love you.”

If the statement of the darkness being afraid of the light got me confused, than this one got me really confused.  I didn’t knew where this came from: it couldn’t just because of the nightmares that I’ve been having.

But I pushed this aside and was just thankful for my mother’s words.

“Thanks Mom.”  I said, smiling at her.

She smiles right back.  “And sweetie?”

“Yes?”  I said.

“Next time you start having nightmares, just tell me or your father.  You know we’re here to help you.”  She said.

I started blushing in embarrassment.  “Right.”

She nods before picking up my book and puts it back in the self.  “Now get some sleep, Sakura.”

I yawned, now feeling tired. “Okay.” I got out my stuffed beluga from under the covers and got under to covers.  Mom was just about to exit my room until I called out to her quietly.  “Umm… Mom?”

She turns to me.  “Yes, Sakura?”

“C-C-Can you…” I hesitated for moment, embarrassed to ask this out of her.  “…can you…sing that song you used to sing to me when I was little?  I think I could use it.”

She gently smiles at me.  “Of course.”  She goes back to my bed and sits down on the edge and begins to sing.

I’ll be your candle on the water

My love for you will always burn

I know you’re lost and drifting

But the clouds are lifting

Don’t give up

You have somewhere to turn

I’ll be your candle on the water

Till every wave is warm and bright

My soul is there beside you

Let this candle guide you

Soon you’ll see a golden stream of light

She then lifts the cover and placed them pass my shoulders.

A cold and friendless tide has found you

Don’t let the stormy darkness pull you down

I’ll paint a ray of hope around you

Circling in the air

Lighted by a prayer

She pushes away a strand of hair away from my eyes.

I’ll be your candle on the water

This flame inside of me will grow

Keep holding on

You’ll make it

Here’s my hand, so take it

Look for me reaching out to show

As sure as rivers flow

I’ll never let you go

I’ll never let you go

I softly sang the last line with her.

I’ll never let you go

She gentled kisses my forehead.  “Good night, cherry blossom.”

“Good night, Mom.”  I quietly whispered, feeling the sleepiness taking over.

She quietly walks to the door before turning back to me.  “I love you.”

“Love you too.”  I whispered back before Mother closed the door.

I drifted in a peaceful sleep as the candle continued to flicker a small light in the dark room.

Chapter 2 end