Chapter 1

The first time you meet the main character, and enter the dream world

Chapter 1

My life was going no where, I could do nothing to save it. The only escape I had was in my dreams.  

My life was a cycle, never changing, nothing new. nothing I could do to help myself. My job was painful, 9 a.m to 5 p.m every day of the week, stuck behind a cubicle, staring at a computer screen, pushing buttons mindlessly.

I would then return home, eat what little I do for dinner with my roommate, Annika, than do what I need to get done; shower and part-time schooling. Then I would lay in my white room, in my white sheets and bed, to mentally prepare for my sleepless night. for years upon years I fail to rest, my mind too preoccupied with too many fantasies of rescue from such a lifeless life.  

Yet one night, I slipped into a real fantasy.

My eyes opened, as if I was awaking. I was no longer in the 4 walled prison I called my room, I was in a cliff- surrounded oasis, a waterfall leading to a crystal blue lagoon, the sun shining so stunningly against such blue water.

I tried to absorb all of this place, circling myself. there was a wooden cabin, place in the back of the circle, the windows open towards the view of the lagoon.

In the window was a shape, as if a person. was I not alone in this paradise oasis?  there was movement in the window, the shape moving away from it... towards the open door...

He steppes out of the shadow, my breath caught in my chest. He was beautiful. He had Bright blonde hair, as if it was the suns ray itself. His eyes were blue, as blue as the lagoon from behind me. He was a tall man, much taller then my short 5'5, maybe a full head.

He was dressed in clothing that was very casual, home wear. A t-shirt that fit him rather flatteringly, plus dark shorts that went just bellow his knee. it made me aware myself that I was currently still in my sleep wear, just a mere t-shirt that was rather larger then my size, and shorts that was barely visible from such a long t-shirt.  

He steppes out more, down the three wooden steps that lead up too the beautiful yet cozy cabin. made of dark wooden logs, it looks like it has been there for centuries.

"Who are you?" He stood in front of me, his eyes wide in wonder, his head slightly tilted in the question. His voice was deep yet romantic, something I could picture singing me to sleep. I was left in silence, gaping at such an awe-strucking man standing in front of me.

"I...I am Susanna... Susanna Elizabeth Maxwell. " I stated my full name after a longer then needed moment of gaping at him.  He looked at me slightly confusingly still, before the look changed to amusement. He took my shaking hand, gently pressing his lips against the top of my hand, while his eyes kept in contact with mine.

It made me feel flushed, That this interesting this...exotic man was watching me, looking at me in a manner of interest.

Everyone in my work place, in my life are the same. I am the same as everyone else. I have auburn hair that is rather long. I was not skinny nor fat, I was not short nor tall. The only difference was that I had eyes of a different color. I had green eyes. No one in my society has seen such a thing, It was rather a rarity.

The men looked similar too. Brown hair, Brown eyes. not skinny nor fat, Not short nor tall. Nothing I had interest in.

Yet this man... He was something I have never laid eyes upon. I was stuck in his piercing gaze. He let go of my hand then stood tall. He was a full head taller.

"I am called Elliot Anderson the third. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please, let me welcome you to my humble abode." He bowed slightly as he waved his hand towards the cabin. He then gently took a hold of my small hands, leading me up those three stairs and into the cabin.

The cabin was how he described it. It was very humble, two doors other than the from one. There was two couches that faces near each other, adjacent to the wall with the small kitchen and dining table... It did have a homely feel to it.

He went to the double burner gas stove, taking a tea kettle off of the left side. he poured the hot water in two cups.

"Tea? sugar?" he asked, looking at me handsomely as the steam was released from the hot water. I just nodded my head in agreeance, unable to speak from my thoughts of him.

He sat down with me on the couch next to mine, the two cups of tea in one hand, the container of sugar in the other. He poured very little into his own, the. offering me it. I flushed as I poured a considerably larger amount of sugar into mine.

His piercing blue eyes watched me with such amusement. "Do you wonder where you are at, Susanna?" He asked, blowing gently into his tea before putting it too his lips, slipping politely.

"I wonder very much... though I question more of who you are...." I managed to say it all out, as I kept my eyes off of him. It allowed the words from my lips be able to get out, not tie my tongue from idle staring... he was so beautiful, exotic, mystical....

"Well, I am not to sure of what this is truthfully, though I do know that this is a dream world....One that is filled with endless possibilities. When I dream, this is were I go. I am granted anything that I ask for. This is how it got to you. I asked for some companion. since it is rather a bore here after so long, alone..." He explained, taking a break in the middle, spacing out slightly. Was I the one who was granted to him?

"Every time you sleep, this is where you go?" My breath sped up. I am unable to even look at him for a short while, It causes my body to react in a way it never has previously.

"Yes. and when we sleep here, we wake up in the world of the living... though after such awhile, real life feels of nothing but a dream. " He ran his hand through his more short hair, as if he was contemplating what this actually was.  

"So I came to this magical place....?" I was very confused. He wished for a companion yet I was the one to show up. Myself, I was a rather boring person, not very much to exclaim for myself.

I was born into a family of normals, Nothing interesting or new about them. They worked 9-5 in an office, making middle wage. We were not rich nor poor. We were just average.

The whites of all the walls, the blacks of all the clothes, without no black we are rendered to be part of the wall, our skin was always so white and pale. There was not any clubs. No parties, no gaming nights, no movies. Everything having anything to do with interest or fun had been banned many years ago.

The ex- president, John Rumthunskin senior, was in office for over 30 years before my birth, then his son, President John Rumthunskin junior, has been president for my entire lifetime of 20 years, with the same views as his father.

No one missed the fun we had 50 years prior, we just live and work. Marriage is normally assigned when you are born, with someone who is born at the same time, so you both equally have a chance to die at that age. it was grim thinking but it seems to work.

I was like everyone else. Everyone was like me. Only my eyes were different. This man....he was completely different. in every way. It made me feel really excited, really... different.

"I guess you were chosen... I'm just... hopping that you are not fake.... I hope that you are real, that you are a real person...that will come here again. " He was staring at me in utter admiration. It made my blood rush to my face in heat, from such an embarrassment. He actually wanted me to be real, not just apart of the dream...  

"W-Why?" I was in utter shock and embarrassment... He could find someone like me out on any street!

"You are just.... so...different from the other... rather beautiful... Your eyes are so radiant, they express a personality and soul that is ready to shine..." He placed his hand gently beneath my chin, tilting my head back slightly. He stared into my eyes...His eyes were so blue, it was as if I was swimming in the lagoon itself.....

We remained like this for a few heart beats longer until he released me. His eyes were slightly wider than before, He looked outside of the windows, as if lost in thought.

I soon started to feel rather tired... though, was I not already asleep? I looked at him through heavy eyelids, uncertainty of this feeling.I had. He turned and faced me, looking even more surprised.

"Do you have troubles staying asleep?" He asked suddenly, moving onto the couch next to me. He allowed me to lean against him, Because I was rather too tired to stay up myself.  

"Mhm..." I mumbled tiredly, unable to keep my eyes open any longer. I felt his hand gently going through my hair.

"I will see you tomorrow, Susanna... " Suddenly I was brought back to the world that I knew and hated, looking at the white ceiling. The moon reflected through my window, it casted shadows of trees upon my walls. I felt a warmth from my heart move its way through my body, through every limb, It warmed me to every aspect of my soul.

I felt like I was... Happy. It is a feeling I do not get. I haven't had since I was just a little child. All I could picture was Elliot. Elliot and the magical place, It caused my heart to pound, my breath to increase... I looked at the time; I had to wake up in 30 minutes anyway.

I thought to shower now, so I would not have to tonight, and get to sleep quicker. So I could see him sooner. the thought caused the warmth to go through my body once more.

When I was preparing to shower, I looked in the mirror. I looked as normal, except something was different. My skin seemed to have gotten slightly tanner than before I had went to sleep. I had no idea how it could, from just the dream alone...

I was smiling. something I haven't done for years... It made my face look radiant, I looked like the models on the Internet.

Models that are here are always the same, everything is the same. Yet on the Internet, there was people from distant places, everyone looked different, no two people the same. every color of the rainbow hair and clothes.

Something I wish I could be. Different. exotic... Though I knew it would never happen.

At my place of work, my cubicle was between a man that I only see, but hear nothing from. Also between a man that I hear ever so often, He had a big booming voice that never failed to get to my ears as he answered the phone.

The day went rather slower than ever before. Even my lunchtime seem to spread for hours and hours, instead of only 45 minutes. I was very anxious to get back to sleep, to see Elliot again. To Try to see if it even was true and not just a dream...

Though I felt it, I felt his fingers in my hair, his hand under my chin, in my hand... I could remember it so vividly, every little detail... How blue the lagoon was, his eyes mirroring that same blue... How his shirt hugged his soft sides and strong chest. How his pants hung at his hips, as if to tease me of what it was hiding...

I was being stared at. I looked across the way to see my neighbors, both sides of them, staring at me as if I was on fire, or something.

I was biting my lip, my face flushed from the thought of him... I just stared right back, my eyes wide.

"What is the problem?" I asked, pretending to be confused at what was the problem. the quiet one just turned away and walked out, returning to his own desk. Yet my other neighbor, I had no idea to his name, continued to look at me strangely.

"I heard you mumbling, and breathing harder. I had thought that you got ill. But I was mistaken, I apologize. " He put his hands up in surrender, returning to his desk. Was I mumbling my mind? That was an embarrassing thought.

There was little time of work remaining, yet it felt like a lifetime.

The bell clanged 5 times, telling everyone that it is time to leave. Normally, I would wait for the others to leave to avoid being in such a large crowd, Yet I placed myself directly into the middle of it. If it meant I could return to my dwelling slightly quicker to finish my work, then so be it.

I was just another member in this black and Brown crowd. We walked in sync down the white halls to the stairs, out onto the dull and grey streets. The sky was dull as always, clouds hanging low. They threatened rain that never came. The trees stripped bare of their leaves, the only colors in sight was white, black, grey, and brown.

All the buildings outsiders were of black walls, all people walked down grey streets, to return to their dull grey apartments.

No colors allowed. no public joy allowed. no difference between people allowed. Everyone lived for simple purposes of working for money as their parents hard, being forcefully married than having children.

I wanted more in my life. I wanted colors! I wanted difference! I wanted Elliot! These thoughts I had was illegal, yet I choose to have them anyway. I was a born native of Greyville, yet I wished for more; I wished to adventure to New parts of the world. Things never seen before by the likeliness of us Grey's!

Yet in the line of people, I felt pushed down, forced to do as I was told. Forced to always step with the right foot first, my bag always in my left hand, my head always horizontal to the world.

Stationed around the streets was guards, guards that are willing and waiting to enforce any rules that are broken. As young children, it is drilled into our heads ever rule that is created, the document of laws, the ordinance of order. All of those branded into our easily molded brains.

I returned home as a normal part of this society, I ate my normal government-issued dinner, with my roommate who returned quickly after. We talked about safe topics, both in fear of being found out. we believed our apartment was bugged, so that our voices were being recorded.

We both had thoughts and dreams of leaving this place. She worked in IT, fixing computers with issues. That is how she found out to get through the proxy that blocked everything not related to greyville, anything that is seemed unnecessary to the well being of Greyville, or anything deemed lude.  

This is how we saw the outside world. the large mountains that surrounded our grey country seemed so small compared to such a large world just waiting to be viewed. things so beautiful, people so beautiful, it took our breaths away.

She luckily erased the entire memory of the computer, and when asked about it from the leaders in her department, she stated it was a technical issue that causes it to change by itself.

I was grinning at her, she would know I had seen or know something from such a simple gesture. She just nodded her head, her eyebrows raised in question towards me.

"I must continue my schoolwork, than resign for the night. well night, Annika. " I left the dishes for her before retreating to my room. I attempted to do my schoolwork, yet my heart was not into it. my heart was left in my dreams, in the cabin...

I laid my head to sleep, yet I was so anxious to sleep, it was quite a challenge. I was going to request being seen by a doctor tomorrow, to get medication to help calm my racing thoughts and sleep. though, I was say that I was distracted not by a colorful possibility and a very beautiful man awaiting me, I would say that it was full of solutions to work and school complications. That would grant me the medication.

It took a rather long time before I was able to finally let go, and slip into a state of rest.

Author's Note

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