Dreamer, chapter 1.

A story. (this is only the first chapter and it's long, so please
read when you have the time)

The wind blew through the window that was open a crack at the top. It
sent chills through her spine. It was cold for a summer night. It
seemed only yesterday that it was Christmas. Time had flown by. All
thoughts were based on nothing, or simple everyday things she forced
herself to endure. She didn't know what time it was, and nor did she
care. She knew it was late because the room had now got a ghostly feel
to it. Every shadow was slowly becoming darker and more detailed. After
what seemed hours she lifted her head toward the window. She was
surprised to find it was now pitch dark. She had barely noticed. With a
shallow sigh she reached over lazily to turn on her lamp. She squinted
at the new brightness and turned away from it quickly. She noticed her
clock and saw it was half midnight. With a newfound awareness of her
surroundings she forced her hands downward to lift her body off the
ground. Her body felt like lead. Her eyelids where barely open. Feeling
consciousness slip away she climbed into her bed.
The whole world slipped away into an inky blackness and she no longer
felt anything. She liked it this way. In this dark oblivion nothing
could touch her. Time had no meaning. In the real world she constantly
felt the time seep by and she felt like something was always missing in
her life. She had tried to fill it with friends, boyfriends,
schoolwork, pets, family and even television. But nothing even
penetrated the surface. No, she would say to herself. There's something
else. But there never seemed to be anything else. She had felt this way
her whole life. Why should it stop now? Perhaps everyone felt like this
inside. No, no one feels like this. I feel dead inside.
Her dream suddenly changed in atmosphere. This hadn't happened before.
At first she couldn't tell what it was. Then she knew. Her heart
leaped. Someone else was there. In her dream. She didn't know how, or
why. But they were there and within a moment, for the first time in her
life she felt whole. The feeling was incredible. It was like she had
been starved of oxygen all her life and now she was getting pumped with
it. In her dream her body took no solid form so she couldn't go running
toward them. But she fought to get closer. She felt like her soul was
inside her dream and the other person's soul was there too. She could
sense their every feeling, every thought and every memory. It was like
she had known them all her life. She couldn't see them or feel them.
She simply knew.
But it was torn away suddenly and she felt a light forcing its way in.
She fought it. She was being dragged away. She started to feel her
surroundings again and she panicked. Bit by bit her senses returned and
she began to scream. She didn't want to go back. She wanted to stay in
that wonderful place more than anything else in the world. But the
world was taking her back. The world didn't care that for once in her
life she was happy. Suddenly all she could feel was hate. Hate for the
world that had always made her feel empty and useless.
"Nooo! Please I wanna stay! Let me stay let me stay, no no no no
please leave me alone I beg you!"
"Lydia! Lydia you're having a bad dream wake up wake up! Come on Lydia
love wake up love, it's ok, you're home now, it's over." Her mother was
shaking her gently, bending over her bed with a worried expression.
"There. It's okay now." She felt her head and looked concerned. Her
daughter had a blank, glazed expression and her duvet was in a rough
pile on the floor. One pillow was at an angle by the wall and her hair
was in a crumpled mess. It took a while for Lydia to reply to her
mother.
"It's okay... mum. It's okay." She wouldn't say it was a nightmare.
She just couldn't. She was torn away from the only true happiness she
had ever known. So now, she had to keep on living in this world. She
doubted she would ever feel that way again, or visit that place again.
Her mother looked concerned.
"Lydia is anything troubling you love?" her mother whispered, "I've
never seen you like this, what happened in your nightmare? Is it
school? Please tell me... I'm worried."
"It's nothing. I can't remember it now anyway." She looked at her
mother, "Don't looked so worried mum." Her mum looked satisfied.
"Well, come down for breakfast. I'm doing you a fry-up." So she left.
Lydia sat up and looked into space. Her breathing was still erratic but
she was calming. What was that dream, what was going on? She felt
confused and afraid. She was positive someone was there in her dream.
But how was that possible? It wasn't possible, and she knew it. I'm
being stupid, she thought.
Her mum meanwhile was humming faintly to the sound of frying bacon,
eggs, and sausages. The whole kitchen was full of delicious smells that
filled every inch of the air. The anticipation was so strong that her
hums soon changed to words and the food. Every now and then she laughed
at herself, thinking of how silly she must sound. She got the plates
out the cupboard and counting them silently in her mind, she looked out
the window at the road outside. The weather was wonderful. The sun lit
up everything in a gentle white glow while the trees glistened like
there were millions of tiny crystals on every leaf. She sighed lightly.
It was going to be a beautiful summer.
"Hi mum," Lydia chirruped as she waltzed into the kitchen, "that
smells fantastic mum, how longs it going to be? I'm starved. What's on
TV this morning? Usually all those boring morning shows only parents
watch!" she laughed at her mother while turning on the TV. Her mum
stared at Lydia in the shock of this sudden outburst of lively chatter.
Lydia turned to her mum. "What's up? Bacon's burning."
"Oh..." her mum said quickly as she turned to tend to the food
frantically. "What's with all this happiness all of a sudden?" she
murmured while scooping out the bacon.
"Uh... I dunno. Summer holidays, lovely weather for once," she said
towards the window, "and Becky just called, we're going out for a bit
this afternoon. About... twelve. If you call it the afternoon then!"
she laughed as she sat down, "just a little summer shopping. Ah, I'm so
glad schools over, no more homework... well, a little. But I can do
that later on. Maybe the last week of the holidays. It's only the last
section of an essay though. I've done most of it. Maybe I had a little
maths too but I can do that in ten minutes anytime!" Her mum was still
dishing the breakfast up, shocked into silence by Lydia's enthusiastic
words. Lydia had never been like this before. This wasn't normal for
Lydia.
Lydia's mum put the breakfast on the table with the knives and forks.
Lydia was still talking.
"What's up with you today Lid?" her mum whispered.
"I'm fine mum."
"You don't usually have so much to say."
"I'm excited about the holidays mum."
"So you say."
"There's nothing wrong with me," Lydia laughed, "it's the weather, the
sunshine and the no more school thing, that's all!"
Her mum was stumped there. She couldn't exactly complain about her
daughter being so happy. They continued eating in silence. Her mum
sensed she wanted it that way. For what reason, she didn't know.
The rest of the morning pasted uneventfully. After everything was
cleared they both sat and watched television. Lydia's sudden outburst
had suddenly halted and she had once again become overcome with a
million thoughts. But time passed quickly, and before she knew it,
midday was upon them.
"Give me a call when you need picking up love!" Lydia's mum called as
Lydia walked out onto the driveway.
"I will mum! Bye! Love you!" Lydia called. Then she was gone.
The heat was shooting down and Lydia was quickly sweating. The road
seemed to go on forever, even though she only had to go seven houses
down the road. Her sudden chattering that morning was a reaction,
something that had taken over her as if to cover up what she was really
feeling. She hadn't liked it. That dream had triggered something in her
mind that was taking over her senses. It was a strange feeling, a bit
like when you eat a lot of sugar and you have lots of energy for a
while, but then it wears off. It had certainly worn off for Lydia. She
suddenly felt empty again, like her soul had been drained of all
feeling. She arrived at Becky's house in a low mood and Becky saw this
instantly.
"What's the matter Lydia?" Becky said slowly as she walked out her door
carrying a denim bag on her back and wearing a long cream coat with a
fir collar.
"What do you mean Becky?"
"You seem a bit down. Anything wrong?"
"It's nothing," Lydia murmured, wondering if she should confide in her
friend further, "It... it was just..."
"What?" They continued walking down the road slowly while Becky was
starring intently at her friend.
"I," Lydia paused, "it was just a dream, last night, creeped me out a
bit. Nothing to worry about though. And, anyway I can barely remember
it now." She lied.
"What can you remember, Lydia?" Lydia seemed rather uncomfortable at
this point. "What is it? It's obvious you're not telling me
something."
"It was... weird." Lydia said finally.
"What happened?"
"It, seemed like nothing to start with. Promise you won't laugh at
me?"
"I wont."
"Well," she took a deep breath, "it was like someone was there."
"Someone was there?"
"Yes. It was like I knew them. Oh, this sounds crazy doesn't it?"
"Well, a little," Becky said slowly, "have you ever had this dream
before?"
"No, Never. Strange huh?"
"A little," Becky laughed gently, "but everyone has strange dreams
every now and then. Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it?" Lydia whispered. But Becky didn't touch the
subject again.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you!" Becky giggled, "Someone just
moved in across the road. He's our age, or not far off. Apparently he's
turning sixteen in four months. Don't think he's going to our school
though. That's a shame. I spotted him yesterday after school and he's
absolutely gorgeous! He's got jet-black hair and blue eyes, just like
you! Funny huh?"
"Yeah," Lydia said while looking at the pavement. Then she looked up;
looking like she just realised something. Taking a deep breath she
turned towards her friend, "what's his name?"
"Let me think..."
Lydia's breathing was becoming more erratic with every breath. She knew
what was coming before Becky even said it.
"Ah, yeah I remember now. His name is Tom Harman. But his mates call
him Twist. Dunno why. I know all this stuff because my mum knew his
parents way back. Lydia are you okay?"
Lydia looked like she'd seen a ghost. She went paper white and shaky
all over.
"Lydia what's wrong? Please, speak to me." She shook her friend
gently.
"It's him," she breathed.
"What?"
"It's him. I knew it. It was him, last night. In my, dream. I
knew..."
"Lydia you're not making any sense..."
"It was him Becky. He was the person in my dream."
Becky looked slightly taken aback by this, "I still don't understand
you."
"He was the one in my dream Becky. He was there. I know him. I don't
know how, but I know him like I've known him all my life. I already
know that his mates call him Twist, and I know why. There was an
incident in a playground," she paused and closed her eyes very slightly
as if recalling the memory, "on a roundabout. He asked his Dad to spin
it faster and faster, until eventually he fell off. Since then,
everyone calls him twist. He acts like he hates it but secretly he
loves it. He feels like it makes him special."
Becky looked at Lydia strangely. She didn't know what to say. Was her
friend crazy? Or was this true? It certainly sounded unbelievable. But
her friend wasn't the type to go over the top about anything, or the
type to make up stories and play jokes. So she decided to inquire
further. Suddenly, Becky stopped walking and looked backwards.
"Come with me, Lydia. I want you to meet him."
Becky knocked loudly on the big white door. For a while there was no
response. But after a minute or two the door opened to reveal a woman.
She had a warm, cuddly look about her, and wore a pretty yellow dress
with delicate white flowers all over the sleeves. She looked about
forty years old, but had a bright youthful look about her with long,
dark curls framing her face.
"Hello girls. How can I help you?"
"Hello Mrs. Harman. We're new neighbours," Becky said smiling, suddenly
they both felt completely at ease in her presence, "we're wondering if
Tom's in."
"Sorry girls, but Tom has gone out with his Dad for the day. It's a
football match, they're watching..."
"Havana united." Lydia finished. Mrs. Harman looked surprised.
"How did you know they supported Havana?" she questioned.
"Oh..." Lydia looked at Becky for help.
"I told her. I'm Jessica's daughter, Mum likes chatting about old
friends." Becky said quickly.
"Of course! Why don't you come in for a bit dears?" she smiled, "I've
got biscuits and tea going, I could do with some company."
"We'd love to." Becky and Lydia walked in after Mrs. Harman and closed
the door behind them. The house was warm, light, and comfortable. It
clearly had a mother's touch to the place even though they had only
been there a few days. There were still boxes hanging around but this
seemed to make no difference. The house seemed to have the ability of
making everything belong no matter what it was. The girls instantly
liked it.
"Come in here, we just finished getting everything sorted in this room.
I wanted to change the curtains but Jack said he preferred
these."
"It wasn't Jack," Lydia whispered to Becky as Mrs. Harman left the
room, "Tom liked these curtains, they remind him of good times. He told
his Dad about it because he was worried his mum would chuck them out.
Dad covered up for him and talked to his Mum about it. Tom sometimes
gets attached to things like that. He knows it's weird, but he can't
help it."
Becky looked dumb struck, "Are you sure about this Lydia, I'm sorry to
say it but you sound crazy."
"You don't believe me?" Lydia whispered, "I don't blame you. I barely
believe it myself, Becky. Nothing like this has ever happened to m e
before. I know how it sounds, but I swear to you, I'm telling you the
truth." But Becky didn't look convinced.
"I know how this must sound," Becky said gently, "but I want you to
prove it. I admit, you do sound convincing, but what you're saying...
it's impossible."
Lydia looked at the floor for a moment, "Okay. I'll tell you this, when
Tom was five he set fire to a plant in their hallway. Tom screamed, and
ran out into the street shouting 'fire! Fire!' causing all the
neighbours to come running. They called the fire brigade and
everything."
"Here we are!" Mrs. Harman swept in holding a tray with a plate of
biscuits, a tea pot and some sugar and milk. Becky and Lydia jumped,
"Okay girls. Help yourself to sugar and milk. You do like tea don't
you?" she said while pouring hot water into each mug.
"We do Mrs. Harman." Lydia said politely. Mrs. Harman smiled.
"Please, call me Lucy," said Mrs. Harman, "here. Hot water for
all."
Lydia was thinking of a way to turn the conversation. "Mrs... I mean
Lucy," Lydia laughed silently, "what is Tom really like then?"
"Well, he's polite, sweet, truthful and predictable. But I'm his mother
so I guess I would find him predictable. But... well he is a strange
kid." She sighed, "He's always been serious about everything. But I
know that's not the real him. I'm his mother!" she laughed lightly, "I
know him inside and out. Well, I did raise him." Then she sipped her
tea.
Lydia thought for a few moments about how to reply to this. "Has he...
ever been naughty when he was young? I love stories about little kids
doing silly things!" Lucy laughed when she heard this from Lydia.
"Well..." she paused for a moment, "there was a time when he chewed up
a corner of the sofa cover. We had to buy a new one after that because
it was falling to pieces when he was finished with it. It was so funny!
But his father wasn't laughing when I made him clear up the
mess!"
Lydia smiled, "You know, once I set fire to the lounge rug. I was
seven, and didn't know what I was doing. Can't remember how I did it
though."
Lucy grinned, "ah well, Tom had his fair share in that department, he
once set fire to this lovely plant we kept in the hallway. Lovely plant
it was, we'd had it since Tom was born. But that wasn't it; Tom
panicked like he always does and screamed at the top of his voice down
the street. Everyone came running. I lost count of how many people we
had to apologise to, all the neighbours, fire department, police... and
there were people who lived as far as two miles away that came
running."
Becky went white in the face. Lydia gave her a look saying now you
believe me? Becky picked up her tea and took a long sip; Lydia looked
up at Lucy.
"Lucy," Lydia said, "We've got to go now, I got to get to town to meet
someone. Thank you so much for the tea, it was lovely." The girls stood
up slowly.
"Come by again, girls," Lucy said warmly, "maybe you can catch Tom if
you come round again. He doesn't know too many people round here he
could do with some friends."
"That would be nice," Lydia said as she headed towards the door,
"goodbye."
"Goodbye." Lucy said quietly and she closed the door behind them.
Slightly disappointed to lose the company, Lucy sighed slowly and
walked back into the kitchen.
"Alright what's going on here Lydia? This is weird. How did you know
that story?"
"I told you, I know everything about him. I'm scared too you know. This
is freakish."
"Alright. Maybe I do believe you," Becky murmured, "but I know what we
got to do."
"What?"
"We got to find Tom Harman. Maybe he had the same dream about you... oh
no that's crazy I'm being stupid..."
"Maybe he did though!" Lydia gasped, "He was there, you never
know..."
"We're talking about very strange dreams here. Mind to mind
communication..."
"I know how it sounds..."
"I know you know how it sounds, listen. Think about this. You're saying
that both of you were in the same dream, and could read each other's
thoughts at the same time..."
"No, it was like..." Lydia hesitated, "we could see each other's...
souls."
"Let's not talk about this anymore."
"What?"
"I think you're taking this too seriously."
"This is important Becky..."
"Maybe. But, this is crazy. How is it possible? It's unbelievable
Lydia."

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