• His eyes opened slowly, anything but willingly. As soon as they were opened they snapped shut as bright colors assaulted his newly opened eyes. He rolled over feeling the pricking of grass against the bare skin of his back, shoulders and legs. Strange to be outside without clothes on, but he gave it no mind for now.

    Squinting his eyes, he found the light less bright. Not sure of what was behind him that made so much light; he saw forestation and a moon. Oddly though, the night sky was void of any stars. His mind decided questions could wait for later. So he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him to his next dream. And yet, sleep escaped him.

    Irritated he opened his eyes once again. This time to foreground was more distinct, and it was people. People were staring at him, “and rightly so,” his mind told him, no one else was lying in the grass naked. Everyone else wore robes of some kind and pants that looked a mite bit tight. He stared about and they stared back. As the light shone on their faces he noticed that everyone’s eyes were a brownish color.

    The young man decided to risk sitting up. He found himself slightly light-headed, “Sure wish I knew where my mind came up with these dreams,” he muttered to himself. That seemed to cause a stir in the crowd. Some began to whisper amongst themselves and their eyes grew wider. He began to get sick of being the center of attention. He pinched himself, hard; which only ended up hurting.

    Spinning round and round he found himself surrounded by people, and the crowd of people only grew. He came back around to the point where he had been looking beforehand. He saw the forest didn’t seem to have anyone in them. He decided if he was going to be stuck in such a vivid dream he might as well have some fun and explore the world. First though he’d have to get through all these people. Pointing away from where he was planning to run, he screamed, “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?” Some began to panic and run, some spun in terror and confusion. No matter how they reacted though, the juvenile ran through them, pushing and shoving where necessary towards the woods.

    When he arrived within the sanctuary of the wooding he found no one followed him. As he walked a little ways into the forest he could look back and see no one, and when he looked up the canopy of the trees blocked the sky. And yet, something in the woods was ever so slightly luminescent. His eyes began to adjust to the light and he found it comforting. He liked this forest, and to him he felt the forest liked him, all he felt was safe.

    He didn’t know how long he had wandered on and on, but in the distant he saw a bright shimmering light. The shimmering light seemed to belong to a person. The light around them seemed to muffle any noise and made it hard to distinguish a real shape. It seemed to draw him in, ever closer. But the closer he got the further it seemed to get. Becoming frustrated he began to run, but the light moved at the same pace. He yelled and ran harder.

    He ran for what seemed like ages, until he stood on the edge of a cliff, the light was still too far away to reach, floating in the air. “Maybe,” his intoxicated mind said, “if you jump far enough you can reach them,” and it sounded like a good idea. Taking a good number of footsteps back, he ran for it, and jumped into oblivion. His grasping hands found nothing, his arms flailed and he fell into empty sky.

    It was as he fell that he noticed. He hadn’t just been on a cliff; it had been more of a coast line. He had been on the edge of an island; an island in the sky. The other thing he noticed was that in the sky also laid not one; but two moons. Away from the trees, the feeling of euphoria was swept away, only to be replaced by terror. How had this ever been a good idea?

    Unsure of what had just happened he tried to push the fear out of him, but it remained. Trying to remember, all he could recover was the light and the person within. He still felt whoever was inside was reaching out for him. They were important. As if, they were the key to something bigger. Not like it mattered though. This was a dream, “Isn’t it,” he asked out loud, but his words were ripped away by the wind. If it were a dream, he’d wake before he hit the ground.

    He closed his eyes and again tried to fall asleep. And yet again nothing; all he felt was the wind against his unclothed body. Struggling around to look where he was falling, he opened his eyes. And saw, no forestation, only buildings of steel and glass and on the distant horizon nothing but fire. His dream was quickly becoming a nightmare.

    Finally, he succumbed to the terror that had been building in him through the whole fall. Even if it was only a dream, he didn’t want to be wrong. He didn’t want to die. He clawed at the air, and flailed about hoping to slow himself, but to no avail. Panic overcame him. And in that moment, he felt within him a stirring of power and warmth.

    It had no start, it came from everywhere at once, but suddenly, the panic and terror subsided and he felt calm. The strength began to flow through his arms and back. Looking down, his arms were engulfed in twisting golden tattoos and knew what to do. He didn’t know how or why, he just knew. He wished he could fly. And with that came a sudden and awful pain from his shoulders, as if something were growing from himself. The strength that had been within him waned, faded, and disappeared. And with that the panic and terror flooded back into him.

    It was too much for him to handle, but no mattered how much he wished, it wouldn’t stop. He began to cry and curse into the wind. Looking behind him through tears, he saw to his astonishment the withering remains of golden wings. He gasped in disbelief and the wings disappeared. With the disappearance of the wings he felt his body become exhausted and he let gravity take over. Relief engulfed his mind as his eyes began to close and unconsciousness took hold, “at least I won’t know when I die,” he thought.

    But as infinity engulfed him, he felt the soft touch of a hand grab his wrist and bring him upwards. The last thing his closing eyes saw was a girl with dark brown hair and grass green eyes, grasping down for him. She looked just as frightened, but she also looked determined. “My guardian angel,” was his final thought.