Once Upon a Dream : Chapter One - The Sky Falls

The female insomniac takes a glance into her past, before this crisis happened.

Chapter One

The Sky Falls

It was the new day of a new year, but nothing changed. There was still a pale-blue sky that hung gloomily over the cities and the people who inhabited them. There were still blades of grass flowing half-willingly in the breeze. There was still a house that was surrounded by many other houses; all of them belonging to the same exact people. Everything was its normal, boring self - including me.

Now, I never said I was an optimist. You can thank my creator for that. As of now, and as of many months before that day, I only believed in the things that science could explain. I, for one, refuse to trust in possible myths that normal humans describe to be "real". So, by saying that I do not believe in the creator of the universe, it suddenly puts you in mind of Illuminati?

No, no, friend! I just believe in science. I don't trust myself with thinking that there are any gods out there, no; but it does not mean that I worship the demons of the pits of hell below. Basically, I trust in the laws of matter and logic. I'd rather know that something is real rather than making hypothesis' about it.

You can tell that I was human. The greed in my tone, the hopes for my own future. Ha! I was pathetic! Though, I was ignorant then, and I am ignorant now. 

My life is playing forgotten memories in my dreams, one of them consisting of a time exactly like that day and that year. Nothing has changed. I still wake up in the morning to go to rest at night. I still eat my food in order to keep my body working for me. For anyone, and everyone - though the Earth turns 'round completely only one time a year - the "massive changes" that we find are actually easy to expect.

We just spend too much of our time as adults thinking about financial projects and business work. We need to be like the beings that we produce. We need to think outside of the box... wander away from it so you don't even know where it is anymore! Though, I can't say too much. I now grow old, and since I have lost the colorful energy that I had as a young one, I'm living on my imagination's fumes.

As my parents have always said, running around for too long can get you too tired to do anything else for a long, long time.

*     *     *

I was thirteen that morning. Still fresh, still intelligent. Born exactly a millisecond after the New Year's ball was set loose at Dominique Central, I became a popular child quickly. Some called me "Chance." I didn't mind, of course, but I never understood the purpose of naming me after something I'll never have.

Each year, I was forced... I mean... allowed... to come to Dominique Central and drop the New Year's ball. Does that sound like a wonderful honor to you? Try saying that when you are wearing almost nothing but a thin corset dress, standing outside in the bitter-cold air, lifting and throwing down an eighty-pound diamond ball - which actually ends up smashing on the plaza, which makes no sense to me - at twelve o'clock in the morning. You change your mind like lightning. Faster than lightning, the first time, actually.

Though, there's something in particular I don't mind doing at this festivity. I see the smiles of everyone around me, cheering me on like I was some type of rock star. For once, even though I've had a million pounds worth of unneeded attention, I felt like I was loved for who I was. I felt like a superhero. Someone who impacts everyone's life and makes it better each and every year.

That's the only reason I agree to come down to the Central anymore. Seeing these people's smiles is worth the struggle in the cold. This year, however, something did change. Something big. "Chance!"

I turned my head around, my burning amber eyes widening. Everything was destroyed in what seemed like seconds. Buildings were up in flames, people were screaming, and... my mother. My poor, old, small-lipped mother. There she was, lying on her knees on the sidewalk, holding on to her newborn child that lost its life almost as soon as it gained it.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. Her face was as harsh as the air. "Why?!" She cried, as if I was the one who done it. I blinked.

"Mom, I-" She shook her head, giving me the signal to shut up. Whenever she did this, she was basically telling me, "what you've done will take some time to process. I cannot forgive you for what you've done." She gave me this look only one other time, when I accidentally flushed her first husband's wedding ring down the toilet. He died when I turned three.

She still loved him, but she told me that Dad wouldn't want her to miss him so much. So, she remarried, but she was never nearly as happy as she was when she was with my real father. When I got rid of his ring, I got rid of the only thing that connected my mother with him. She still gets angry whenever that topic comes up. My bottom lip trembled so hard that I had to cover my mouth with the palm of my hand in order to keep myself from biting it.

My body heaved uncontrollably. Trying to calm myself down, I looked around Dominique Central to try to take in what had just happened. All of my questions were answered when my eyes reached the sky. Bombs. A foreign fleet of ships had entered the district without being noticed, and they had let loose a whole set of bombs into the city.

I had just realized that I was blasted away from an earlier one, but I had no idea what was going on, so my vision and thoughts became blurry. Everything started to slowly explain itself. A nearby bomb had landed a couple yards away from my family. We were airborne for a few seconds until we hit the ground again. The baby had landed on the sidewalk, and part of its tiny head was busted open.

It took only a moment after figuring this out before I looked back at my mother. Surely enough, she was injured. Blood dripped from her frail arms and from the left side of her waist, and debris was visible all over her body. Something was wrong, though. Something was terribly wrong.

Beside her was a small body - one of a female teen's. She had on a thin corset dress, and her body lay lifeless beside my mother. My vision became blurry again. None of this was making sense. I heard a voice come from behind me.

"You have to take a life in order to save one." The voice was familiar. I've heard it before, but long ago. I turned around. Standing in front of me was my dad - my real dad.

Information jolted into my brain as if I had just inserted a flash-drive full of it. The woman lying beside my mother was me. I was dead, but... alive. No one could see me. The man behind me was my father.  

My mother was actually angry at my father, who had been standing there for who knows how long. Apparently, he had something to do with this attack. I stood back and watched in curiosity. I've never seen my mother so upset towards her husband. She grieved over him, even ten years after his passing.

But he couldn't be dead, could he? He was there, and everyone could see him. Was he a ghost, too? Could everyone see the both of us? I waved my hands in front of my mom to see if she'd react. 

Nothing. I did the same with my father. The same as my mother. Giving up, I accepted the fact that I was the only living dead person there. "You didn't have to take away our children!"

My mother was really upset now. She dropped the newborn and stood up, her legs wobbling weakly as she did so. She might've been even more injured than I expected. "I did," my father said, looking guiltily at his wife. "To protect my actions, I have a confrontation to make.

"You're the one who lied to them in the first place. They thought that, all of this time, their father was long gone." My mother gulped. "I was never gone," he cried, looking at my dead body. "You can see that now, can't you? 

"Chance?" He looked over at the baby. "Donna?" Tears streaked down his cheeks. "You told our children that I was dead, just so you could marry another man for his money."

"It was only to have enough money to raise them!" "I left just to get money for my family, Sarah!" Both of them fell silent and looked at the ground. Numerous bombs were still falling in the background, making whoosh sounds as they dropped. "It isn't safe here," he mumbled.

"We'll continue this talk later. For now, we need to go somewhere safe." My mother nodded in agreement and followed her husband into a damaged building. Taking advantage of my death, I followed them, too. We found an old cellar and locked ourselves inside.

"This is no war, Sarah," my father explained as he placed a lock on the door. A crash sounded from directly above, and dirt crumbled from the ceiling of the cellar. "This is the death of the life we once knew."

Author's Note

If you see a mistake (misspelled words, incorrect grammar, etc), then please tell me. However, I am only a beginner, so please don't ask too much of me if there is something you don't particularly like. ^^"

Reviews

[Crimson Bayonet]

Another interesting and wonderful chapter. I really liked the details; simple, but not too complex to get a understanding from. I enjoyed the spacing now! :D I didn't have to strain my eyes :) Anyway, I liked how you went into detail about the woman's past, but didn't reveal too much; allowing the reader to predict or imagine what comes next.

I also liked the family connection you make between the girl and her family; making me feel very sympathetic to her, or 'Chance', as you named her. I really enjoyed this chapter! Can't wait for more! And the whole bomb part really made me feel excited as to what happened to the girl and her parents. I was also genuinely surprised when the Dad appeared, alive. But for some, that would be predictable; I would suggest to add another twist, but that's up to you. Anyway, enough of me rambling! As I said, another wonderful chapter! Can't wait for more! :D

[iNSOMniAC]

Thank you! :,D (Geez. I get really emotional whenever people compliment my writing for whatever reason. Is that normal? xD)

[Crimson Bayonet]

I suppose! :D We'll make it normal!

[Jadyn E. Lee]

No burning amber eyes, I think, just eyes.

Otherwise, great start! :)>