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Chapter 8: The dream

Chapter 8: The dream

I spent the rest of that day with Cristopher; we went bowling, we played pool and watched two movies at the cinema. I had a great time, and I think so did Christopher. We got to know each other better. I've to admit that I started to like him, as a friend, as the biggest brother I'd never had.

We met with my mother and David later that evening to have dinner. My mom was smiling, and she seemed so in love. David was pampering her while his eyes shone every time he looked at her. I exchanged a couple of amused glances with Christopher; to be honest, we felt a bit awkward sometimes.

After dinner, David took my mom for drinks; Christopher and I went back to our room. We watched more movies and decided to sleep early, since tomorrow we were going snowboarding again.

That night I didn't have a dreamless sleep. On the contrary, I had the most vivid and terrifying nightmare I've ever seen.

  • I was floating above an opulent mansion; the exterior was made with white marble, and it was decorated with golden details. I admired the luxurious building for a few more moments until a group of men exited the residence and started descending the stairs to reach a parked limousine. The older of them was talking animatedly with a young version of himself, probably his son. They seemed happy, and they were smiling.

One man, who I assumed to be one of their bodyguards, opened the door for them. The young man was about to enter when a huge blast and a piercing sound disturbed the peace of the atmosphere. The limousine was on fire; the older man had moved away, with an inhuman speed. I looked at him better; his pale complexion and empty-looking eyes reminded me of vampires. He was definitely a supernatural.

A scream that looked like 'father' was heard, and I cringed at the immense pain and struggle I could sense in it.

The middle-aged man looked back at the car, and his expression immediately changed from astonished to angry and then sorrow was plastered all over his face. I looked back at the car, and I saw that the younger man was burning alive.

A gasp escaped my lips, and I hurried to his side to help him. Only to find out that I couldn't touch him; I was something like a ghost. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I looked around desperately for help. His father came back, but he was careful not to touch the fire. Of course, he was a vampire; fire could burn him alive and even kill him.

He started barking orders from a safe distance, and soon a few men holding fire extinguishers came and tried to control the fire. Once the fire wasn't consuming the poor man anymore, his father grabbed him and ran away. He stopped, only when he reached a hospital, he placed his son on a stretcher and ordered the doctors to save him, to save his son's life.

"Give him your blood! Your blood will heal him! Your blood can save his life," I screamed at that man, aimlessly. I was a ghost; he couldn't hear me.

I looked back at the stretcher; the being on it reminded me nothing of the handsome young man I saw a few minutes ago. Heart aching screams escaped his lips until he was just whizzing. The doctors were at a loss, not knowing what to do. They sedated him, intubated him, gave him fluids, and tried to access his general condition. A medical degree wasn't necessary to figure out that the man in front of me was about to die.

His father let him die twice, once when he sped alone without grabbing him when the limousine exploded, and now when he didn't give him a few drops of his blood to heal him. Suddenly, everything made sense to me, the boy was about to die, and if he died with vampire's blood in his system, he'd turned, too. His father couldn't change him without the approval of the Senatus de sanguine because that would lead to both of them being sentenced with the death penalty.

A sob escaped my lips, and I couldn't stop crying. I prayed to someone, anyone who is above us, to save that young man. He wasn't supposed to die, not like that, not when he could have been saved. *

I felt two strong arms shake me. My eyes snapped open, and I saw Christopher with an anxious look on his face calling my name.

"Are you okay? Ophelia, are you awake? It was just a dream," he muttered and stroked my hair.

I sat on the bed and wiped the tears that were streaming down my face. "It felt so real," I whispered, and a chill ran down my spine as images of that dream came back to my mind.

"It was a bad dream. Everything is going to be okay. Should I call your mom?" he asked, and I nodded. I needed her; I wanted to tell her what I saw. If that was a vision, then that man was about to die, or even worse, he might have died already.

My mother came to our room, wearing her black silk robe and looking utterly confused and concerned. Chris stayed with David, and I was grateful since I needed some privacy to explain to her what happened. When I finished my narration, her expression was even more solemn, and she was agitated. I tried to convince her that we had to look for these men and see what happened. My mom promised me that we'd contact her parents first thing in the morning, and my grandpa would investigate it. She tried to calm me down, but despite everything that she and Chris told me, I didn't catch any more sleep that night. My mind kept going back.

The next morning, after breakfast, I called my grandpa and described in general what I saw in that dream. An attack against a supernatural, and especially one that humans were killed or injured, was something that we couldn't leave unpunished. My grandfather promised me that he'd look into this case and that he'd updated as soon as we were back home.

We went snowboarding with Chris, and that helped me clear my mind from all the disturbing thoughts. We used the chairlift twice and slid down faster than the first time. The adrenaline and excitement were all I needed to calm my nerves and soothe my inner turmoil. Chris taught me a few easy tricks with the snowboard. My mind got distracted from all the dos and don'ts I tried to follow.

At some point, we met with my mother and David. We went for snacks, and then we went back to skiing or snowboarding together. The sun was setting when we entered our rooms. I took a bath and dressed up, as we'd have dinner again all together. We chatted lightly and laughed. I was happy, but at the same time, I couldn't kick out of my heart the remorse. How can I be joyful when I saw a young man lose his life in front of my eyes.

Once I laid down on my bed, all the feelings I was trying to hide came out. I couldn't sleep, and I kept turning around in my bed, kicking the bedsheets, and punching my pillow. For the first time in my life, I felt entirely useless and powerless.

"You can't sleep?" Chris asked me, startling me.

"I was hoping that after all that we've done today, I'd sleep easily, but I was very mistaken."

"I understand. Would you like to come with me? I want to show you something," he said, and I sensed that he was slightly anxious.

I nodded and got out of my bed. Christopher waited for me outside, so I dressed up. I wore my leggings and a warm sweater. Once I was out of the room, he grabbed my hand and started leading me through many corridors. We climbed a few stairs and passed different areas of the hotel. It was quiet, and there weren't many lights on. We finally reached our destination; it seemed to be something like an attic. Chris left my hand, took some cushions from the sofa, and then laid down on the soft carpet. Since I hadn't any other choice, I lay beside him.

Once I looked up, I realized exactly why he had brought me up here. There was a part of the roof that was made of glass, and the night sky was perfectly visible. We were away for all the bright lights that cities have, and that made the stars spark like billions of small diamonds pinned on a dark velvet canvas.

We stayed there, completely speechless, gazing once again at Nature's wonder. The serenity around us gradually filled my heart and my mind. Finally, I felt at peace. Everything happens for a reason. I couldn't fight fate; I couldn't alter someone's destiny. The only thing I could control was my decisions and my actions; nothing more…

"It's beautiful," I whispered, afraid to break the comforting silence around us.

"It is," Chris muttered.

I turned my head to look at him, only to see him already glancing at me, with a hint of a smile on his lips.

We were so close that I could feel his breath on my cheek. His eyes darted between my eyes and my lips and back. He was waiting for my move, for permission to kiss me…

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