The Yarian Chronicles: Second Life

Chapter 7

As I slept, a new dream came into focus. One I had never seen before. We were in a small study. The room wasn't closed though, on both sides there were long white hallways with columns and openings where you could see the courtyard around us. It had a large desk made of the same white material that the floors and walls were made of, with several trucks filled around it.

Verena and I sat in the middle of the floor; our white dresses sprawled around us. But we were much younger, she looked no older than 10, and I was no older than 6. We were playing with our mother's jewelry. She handed me a pearl-like necklace, and put it over my head. We sat there laughing, trying on all the different baubles. Then our mother came in. Her face was all blurred out, I couldn't see it. But she came and hugged both of us and spun with us in a circle. The laughter rang throughout the hall.

I woke up more gently this time. I had woken up only a couple minutes before my alarm went off, and for the first time in a long time I felt truly rested. I rolled out of bed smiling, and hopped energetically into the shower. I thought about my dream and what had happened the day before. I wondered to myself if yesterday was all a dream itself. I heard my cell phone vibrate on the counter. I grabbed a towel and stepped out onto the cold tile floor. It was a text message from Xan:

Are you alright? How goes dealing with everything?

He asked me a question. He must be trying to practice some restraint in reading my thoughts. I guess it wasn't a dream; either that or I hadn't woken up yet.

' I stared at myself intently in the mirror, looking for something to look different. I touched my face trying to figure out if it had a green tinge to it. I looked at my head and wondered if at some time I had antennae, or if I was going to develop some. The only differences I could see were much more subtly. My midsection had become taut with muscle. My natural curl pattern had tightened into more defined curls, and my eyes seemed slightly more green than I could last remember seeing them. My phone vibrated furiously against the counter again, another text from Xan:

No antennae. I promise. Now stop freaking out and get some clothes on so we can go.

There went his self-restraint. I suddenly remembered that we were expected at Verena's again today, and I began to get excited to start my day, and see what it had in store. I wanted to tell V about my dream, and see if she remembered it too.

I was dressed and ready to go in record time. My parents usually took Saturdays to get some extra work done, and had already left for work a couple of hours before, so I opened my window and called down to Xan. I waved, and signaled for him to meet me at the door. I ran downstairs to meet him and invited him in for breakfast. I opened the door and started making us omelets.

"My, aren't we cheery today." He yawned.

"I slept well last night. Speaking of, you really do need to get some rest. They say people who work night shifts have a shortened lifespan. I can only imagine what they say about people who refuse to sleep at all." I cracked the last egg and began to beat it.

"I do sleep," he yawned again, this time stretching himself out across his chair.

"When?"

"Uhm... well..."

"Yeah, that's just what I thought." I chopped up some peppers and mushrooms to throw in.

"Well I promise, after I talk to Nyes, I'll crash at V's. At least there we're all together. You're safe."

"You know, I've seemed to survive alright without you here for the last seventeen years. You could take a break, and stop the night guard."

"There wasn't any of the activity then, there is now. I can't be sure. I could think of another way to keep you safe," He added staring me up and down with a mischievous look on his face.