N I N E T E E N
Dreams are Kind

WHEN I FIRST opened my eyes and it wasn't the sight of the boathouse or the yacht, I immediately felt betrayed. Red hot fury burned into my vision as I bolted up into a sitting position, eyes darting around just to look. The second thing I noticed was that though I was not in the boathouse, I was also no longer at the carnival.

As evident from the dark skies above me, I knew that it was night time. Stars dotted the heavens for as far as the naked eye could see. Constellations filled the entire span of the dark canvas, glittering like a thousand crystal clear gemstones. I was situated smack in the middle of a forest, one in which I soon recognized as the one at the edges of Riverside Creek.

It was a forest that many adventurers avoided, barricaded away from the park built just in front of it due to the fatal cases. That was because a cliff loomed deep within the forest, sending many unfortunate adventurers to their deaths should they be wandering without proper care. It was also the cliff in which my mother had personally warned me about multiple times. Coincidentally, I was also seated right near the edge.

The trees behind me formed a dark canopy but for now, my view up front was an unblocked art piece of the night sky. From a large distance away, I could see the city lights of a nearby town just softly glimmering. I felt at peace, finally tranquil and safe. Foolishly, I also thought that I had somehow managed to escape the horrors of the boathouse.

Unfortunately, I was wrong yet once more.

"I know I seem to be saying this a lot but I see that you're finally awake." A voice spoke from beside me.

Immediately, I whipped my head over to face the speaker, screams of horror stuck in the base of my throat but never coming out. When I realized that Death wasn't even paying me an ounce of attention, my silent screams died down.

I coughed once, clearing my throat. "I thought you said that you'll see me back in the boathouse. Why am I here? Alone? With you?"

"I don't know." Death shrugged, his posture slackened. He, too, was seated on the floor. His knees were propped up, hands hugging his knees lazily. "You are currently dreaming, in the state of sleep. You were the one that imagined this place with me in it. I should be asking you that question instead."

He turned, facing me. His face was emotionless, completely passive as moonlight reflected in his beautiful storm gray eyes. Half of his face was in the gleaming bright moonlight, enveloped by the ethereal beauty of nature. The other half of his face, however, was darkened by the default shadow. Other than his glistening iris, I could not see his features.

"So, Addison. Why did you want me here?"

Stunned by his question, I blinked once dumbly. I could not answer his question. No words came to my aid as I shrugged. "I don't know. You're just going to kill me, or at least plot to kill me, whenever I run into you."

"I can't kill you in a dream, Addison. I'm not even really here. I am just but a figment of your imagination."

Somewhat eased by this revelation, I sighed, lying back down in the soft grass. From the background, I could hear crickets chirping in the distance. Owls hooted softly further into the trees yet I felt somewhat comforted by the soothing nature. The anxiety that had been instilled in me back in the boathouse was gone, soothed away by the sounds provided by Mother Nature.

"Then there is no reason for you to be here. Go away. Leave me to dream in peace." Waving him away, I shut my eyes, attempting to just simply relax.

I could hear the rustle of the grass before a body hovered over me. The cold from Death's body hit the right side of my body as he laid beside me. When I opened my eyes to glance at him curiously, I realized that he was just lying there as if everything was right with the world. He stared blindly into the night sky, jaw clenched.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, sitting up.

"Trying to relax, baby doll. I need some peace and quiet occasionally too, you know. Not everything is about killing and soul reaping. A man still needs his rest no matter how strong they might appear to be."

Death said the sentence with such peace and serenity, dismissing it as if it were nothing but some sort of free brochure on a topic he had no interest in. I frowned, gently settling back down onto the grass. The whole time, my eyes were fixated on him, observing and examining him to see if there are any signs of sudden movements.

I did not know if this was a dream for sure, so it was always better to be safe than sorry. If it weren't a dream and Death had tried something, I would be dead in a matter of seconds. Nevertheless, I did not will Death away. Some irrational and insane part of me wanted to see the different part of him in which he displayed. Although the real-life version was deadly, this dream version wasn't all too bad.

He seemed human, almost.

"Tell me, Andy. Have you ever fallen in love before?" Death's eyes were closed, hands placed behind his head as a makeshift cushion as I stared blankly at him.

"I thought I did." Pausing, I bit my bottom lip in hesitation. If this was truly a dream, surely there's no harm in reflecting some of my most inner thoughts to himself? "I loved Lucius and I am still wondering if I still do. A love like that doesn't just disappear." Fiddling with my bracelet, I sighed. "He was my best friend before anything else and yet he betrayed me like that. This led me to think that perhaps love doesn't exist after all."

"Love comes in many forms, Addison. It is both pain and bliss, sorrow and longing. It is the very obsession that burns in the pits of your stomach, the aching want and need to be with the person in question. It could be a friend, a family, and maybe someone your heart desires. You can never forget such a love, only ever develop it. Love is an emotion that will never die. Perhaps it can be buried somewhere deep in your heart but the embers of love's flame will never be drowned out by any form of liquid. So tell me, do you really feel such things for him? For Lucius?" Death spat out his name like some sort of poison, making me frown in wonder.

"No, I guess not. What you had just described died the day he chose Porsha over me. I think it's safe to say that I don't even see him as a friend anymore."

"And there you have it." There was a sweet satisfied smile that curved the edges of Death's lips. He looked like he had just won a battle. "So back to my original question. Have you ever fallen in love?"

"In that case, I guess not. Love is elusive, after all. It only exists in fairytales. Or at least the one in which you had described. If what you said was true, I will never be able to love anyone else other than Lucius even after how he had broken me down."

"You can love someone else. It's just that you will never be able to forget your first love. People say that first loves are the ones that will be forever imprinted on your heart like some sort of stamp that could never be erased."

Pursing my lips, I began to study Death, wondering what was it that had made him this way. At that moment, I forgot that there was a possibility of this being a dream of mine and the figure of Death was actually dreamed up. I imagined him as the actual spirit that was out for my life, just somehow able to invade my mind when I am at my most vulnerable – asleep.

"Didn't your mother, sweet darling Jane, teach you that it is rude to stare?" Death asked. I shook my head, laughing for no particular reason. His eyebrows wrinkled, frowning just the slightest as he propped his head up, resting the side of his head on the palm of his hand, elbow on the ground. "Now what's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just that you seem so kind and gentle that it shows an entirely different side to what people believe you are."

"Ah. Don't get too used to it, princess. This isn't the real me, remember?" There was a sparkle hidden in the swirling irises of Death's eyes, making my heart skip a beat in fear. "When you wake up, you'll be thrown back into reality where I am no longer kind. Just don't hold your hopes up. A man never changes, just like how leopards don't ever change their spots."

His eyes were filled with different hidden emotions, pairing perfectly with his words that for certain held an unsaid message. When I raised an eyebrow in questioning, he shook his head lightly.

"You're talking about Lucius, aren't you?" I asked.

Death shrugged, pretending nonchalance and ignorance. "Trust is not something you should give to Lucius again. Both you and I know that you agree no matter what you might say."

"Then why must I trust you?" I asked with a challenging tint to my voice.

A smile curved onto Death's lips.

It was only with our close proximity had I noticed that his gray eyes weren't really silver, even. That color did not do them justice. They were a sharp steel, as gleaming and threatening as the blade of a sharp knife under the moonlight or maybe the tip of needles. There were flecks of iridescence, scattering blues and violets all around the grayish color where it neared the pupils of his eyes. By the edges, there was a ring of shining onyx black to gather everything in, holding all the colors in place instead of releasing it into a firework of colors.

Death's eyes alone were beautiful, much more the rest of him. He was a deadly sort of elegance that would make grown men cower in fear and human beings both men and women faint at the sight of him. His beauty was unerring, rounding in an otherworldly spectral sort of allurement.

For the most part, I feared how I had the ability to memorize Death's features so clearly so as to display it in a dream when in truth, I had only ever seen him once or twice up close.

"You are staring again."

"Oh humor me." I chuckled, tucking a strand of my own golden blonde hair behind my ear. "Not every day do I see such a unique and eye-opening scene of Death being so very passive instead of aggressive."

"You know," Death mused. "I can be really passive as well. Death is not always blood and gore. Sometimes it is the silent passing of old age or the release from a lifetime of pain due to one's sickness. Some people don't actually have the chance to live well and I help them with that in a way. I am not always bad."

"It is still always better to live. To experience each and every day like a breath of fresh air after being dunked into the water for so long. It is unfortunate that some people don't get that chance but for the people that do, I don't understand why they would want to give it away. Life is precious." I argued.

"I agree, actually. Life is precious." Death nodded. "Unfortunately, I did not have a say in who I wanted to be. If I had a choice, I'd much rather just be... me. Not Death but an ordinary guy."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for something in which you had no control of, Addison." Death stood up, placing a cold hand against my cheek, cupping it gently as I stood along with him. "Life will not always go as you had expected. So when it starts to stray away from your desired path, make sure to take the reins and shift it back again."

With that and a final smile, Death disappeared into a puff of eerie pale green and black smoke. He melted into the shadows, and eventually, flinging me back into the world of reality where Death was no longer kind.

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