dream

It has been haunting me for a long time now. It wakes me from my sleep and keeps biting me when I'm awake. It leaves me unable to think clearly, like drink would after a night in the pub with friends. Images that keep repeating before my mind, whether I'm asleep or awake.

Not that dreams bother me much; I've dreamt before and will dream again and I could always let them go rather easily. Not this one though. Strange in origin, it was one that I could swear was not mine, yet I'm featuring in it and I also know the other participants. Maybe a strong fantasy keeps it alive, or just a lack of what I need - I simply don’t know. The images I keep seeing make me blush and wonder. Whose dream is it? Why do I see it now? What is its meaning?

No matter how it’s biting me or making me wonder, I keep in mind that it’s still a dream and nothing more than that. It is one that I dream when I'm awake and when I'm asleep. The biggest question for me would be, "Do the other participants in this dream dream the same? Would they feel the same things I do while watching this dream?" No matter what the case may be, for me the thoughts of this dream make something stir in my stomach. Things that could have been, or fantasies.

But in the end only one thing really matters. It's only a dream.

Miracle

Sand blows around the few buildings, which have seen better days. They tell a tale of a town full of life and people in its high days, and of the tragedy that happend, wich left it in the state it is in now. Surviving signs tell stories of social disintegration, of nature disappearing, leaving nothing but sand. A lost piece of paper blows past an entrance of a square building with boarded up windows and doors. From the entrance, the only door that has been left open, a man looks at the outside world with a nervous look on his face. Behind him in the building, a group of people is busy moving and rearranging furniture.

When a pain-filled scream suddenly arises, everybody jumps a little and gives an anxious glance in the direction of the origin of the scream. Not long after that, a few woman chase out the men who are too close to the screaming. The man who was watching the outside world gives a few orders to those who look a bit uncomfortable with being chased out. Quickly they do as he says to avoid the burning eyes of the others.
On the outside of the building, nothing gives away what is happening inside. The wind calms down a bit, as if the world itself is holding its breath. Inside, the cries grow more intense, and people begin to feel the pressure of not doing anything but listening. Minutes, hours pass, then one last long scream and then a deafening silence. The seconds pass as all now turn their faces inwards and pray.
After a few centuries long seconds, another scream emerges from inside. Together with the people inside, the wind outside the building wind picks up in a collective sigh of relief. People now come back to their senses, continuing with what they were doing with vigour so that they would be done in time.
Meanwhile the scream changes pitch and becomes more of a cry. Some of the people can’t hold back their tears anymore, for they know what the crying means. Everybody stops working for a second time when a woman appears in the hallway, still washing some blood off her hands, but with a tired but happy look on her face. She walks towards the man by the doorway, while fending off questions of the people in regard to the blood on her hands and her smile.
The man gives some orders to give the woman some room to explain and tell her story, but he cannot hide his own concern. She lays her hands on his shoulders and looks him deeply in the eyes. She tells him that he doesn’t need to worry and that everything is alright, with a big smile on her face. She lets him process all this for a moment and then steps back a bit.
Everybody around them listens to her with their breath held, waiting for the big word to come out. She looks around for a moment and then back at the man. As she says the words he has been waiting for, the people around them give way to a loud cheer. In the noise, she comes closer to him again to repeat the words. That he has become the father of a baby girl, and of the first child born in a long time.

The world which has died will become alive once again.

sacred and wild

Did you know that there are areas that are so mysterious that, despite having been explored, they are not? You know what I mean? Places where creatures live that haven't been discovered yet, that defy every explanation you could think of? I have been to such a place, not even very far from here.

How I got there, you ask? It wasn't easy, I can tell you that. What? You want me to take you there? Are you sure? Well then, it seems you’re in luck tonight. It’s one of the few nights we can go.
Why? Well, because of the red moon ,of course. Look at the forest behind you. Notice how big it is? Well, we have to go in there. Come on, there is nothing to be afraid of. Just follow me.
Did you know the trees in this forest are sacred to the locals? They say they hold some sort of power. I guess that you could call the place we are going to the source of that power. Ow, before I forget, you’d do well to remember the way, otherwise you might not find your way back in the dark.
Okay, I think we are here now. Let me see. Ah, yes. Can you see the moon? Yes? How is it? Not nearly at its highest? Okay, I guess we were a bit quicker than I thought; we have to wait a bit. Let me use the time to give you a little warning. Oh no, that wasn't really a warning, well, not in the sense this one is. That one was similiar to "don't step in that turd". This one is a proper warning though.  
There are creatures in this area that look a lot like us humans. They are very beautiful and intelligent, but they are also wild. Wild beyond belief, and they will kill you if you try to come too close. How I know this? Ouh, that is a difficult one to answer without scaring you.
Very well, then. The last time I was here they killed the one that was with me. How is the moon now? Is it at its highest point? Good, let’s move on then. What, you have doubts now? Don’t worry. If you don't get too close, you will be fine. There, do you see a faint shimmering between those trees? No, between the ones hanging towards each other. That’s right. Let’s go, before we are to late.
I will go first. Don’t worry, it feels a bit like you pass a thin screen of water. Nah, you won’t get wet, it’s just the feeling. There you are. Well, what did I tell you? Amazing, isn't it?
How much time we have? Uh, a couple of hours at most, I believe. What? You saw a flash of light? Where? Wait, ah yes, I saw it too this time. That is one of their riding animals. Something like a horse. Magnificent, isn’t it? Wait, don't go after it, you can't catch it anyway. How I know? Because I already tried. See how fast it is?
There, that’s one of the creatures I was talking about before. Yes, she is beautiful. Be still; if she even thinks that you might want to catch her, we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
There to your right, look. Others. I think they are hunting. Try not to move; it seems to me that they are on edge. They have seen us.
Why there are only women? I'm not sure, now you mention that. I think I have never seen a man before. It must be something with their culture. Come on, let’s leave them to their hunt.
What? You want to stay? Are you mad?
You can't. Why? Because this isn't your world. Now come along, the moon is descending. What they are? I like to think that they are the spirits of the forest. Sacred and wild spirits.
What? The moon changed colour? Ah, yes. It seems that we were back just in time. Sure, if you remember the way, you can get back here anytime you want. Just remember my warnings.

Pact

It was about six months ago when I first met her. The sun had just left the sky as I went out to get groceries, standing on the corner of the street. When she saw me, her eyes lit up and a beautiful smile appeared on her face.

"Hi." I just barely heard the word as I walked by and gave a small nod in response. "How are you?" Kind of surprised, I stopped and looked her way. It seemed that she knew me but I couldnt recall her.
"I'm fine," I answered automatically, feeling unsure on how to proceed next.
"I'm doing fine as well. You live here in the street?" She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that I was looking at her with a blank expression, or she simply ignored it altogether. When I noticed that she wasn't taking my hint that I didn't know her, I started walking again without answering her question. The hope that that had been it vanished when I noticed that she started following a few steps behind me. I could hear that she stopped behind me when I did. I was puzzled why she would follow me, so I turned around to face her.
"Who are you? Do I know you?", I asked in a soft voice. She gave another one of her disarming beautiful smiles. "I’m Cristine, and I doubt that you know me." Her answer puzzled me even more. Why would she want to follow a perfect stranger? It made no sense.
"Would you please stop following me, Cristine?" I asked. For some reason I already knew the answer to the question before I asked it, but it was out before I realized it. She didn't reply. I gave her another look. She was small, I think around one-fifty, one-fiftyfive. Deep black hair fell down to her shoulders. I realized to my own surprise that I found her quite the beauty. Probably I only noticed it now and not before because I hadn’t paid much attention to her up until now.
"Look, Cristine. I think you are mistaking me for somebody else," I said, as I turned around again and continued on my way to the store. Behind me, I could hear that she continued aswell. "Nope, I'm not mistaken," she just said.
The longer I talked to the girl, the more confused I was getting. I hoped that if I kept my moth shut and just walked on to the store she would give up, but in front of the store I did and turned around again.
"What do you want?"  I asked, but only got a smile in return and an innocent one at that.
"I want you to become my partner." I couldn't believe my ears. After this, I was convinced that she was completely crazy. I shook my head and walked into the store. Even in the store she followed me around and poeple started giving me wierd looks on the fact that I walked around with the girl constantly two steps behind me, making me feel more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Stop following me. If you keep this up, I will call the police," I said under my breath when I couldn’t take it anymore. Quickly I passed the counter and paid for my groceries to get away from her, but she was faster than I’d thought and was already waiting there for me.
"Are you always so rude to your girlfriend?", she asked with a smile and a voice that was a bit too loud to ignore. I was at a loss for words when she said that. It took me a second before I got my voice back and walked towards her. "Look, we don't have a relationship. You’re at least ten years younger then me," I hissed. People were looking at us and all I could think of was getting away from the store. As I walked out of the store, the girl followed after me still.
Now there is a place close to the store that isn't much used, but it’s a shortcut to my house. When I passed through there, I felt a jerk on my arm that pulled me back and caused me to fall over. As I lay there on the ground, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened, I saw the girl getting on her knees and leaning over me.
"You know that it’s considered rude if you start talking age to a girl? Anyway, I'm not as young as you might think," she said, with her innocent smile still on her face. All I could do is give a moan due to a sharp pain in my head. "Now can we go to your house so that I can explain, or are we going to keep up this act of ours?", she asked. Despite the smile on her face, there was a serious sound to her voice that I could hear that hadn’t been there before. I got the feeling that up until that point, she had just been playing with me, and that she was tired of it now and finally got to the point.
My mind was racing to find a way out of the situation. I was still puzzled why she was so confident that she needed me, but now also intrigued how it was that she was strong enough to pull me to the ground on just my arm. Slowly, I got up and picked up my bag of groceries.
"I don't know you, so why should I take you to my house without an explanation? Especially after you pulled me to the ground like that," I said with an annoyed sigh. I can't be sure, because I couldn't see it, but I was certain she was smiling behind me when she heard me talk.
"Just accept the fact that we are going to your house," she said. I couldn’t help myself when I turned around to her. "Why? What do you want from me?"  I looked at that eternal smile again.
"Thats simple. I want you," was her answer. She said it as if it were like the most normal thing in the world. "I suppose that saying that you need to leave me alone wont work?", I asked and got answered by her shaking her head. I too shook my head when I started walking again.



When we came to my house, I opened the door for her. "Don't you clean this place?", she asked first thing when she came into the living room. I looked at her and was ready to say that she could leave anytime if she didn't like the way my house looked, only to see her smile. "We are here now. Can you please explain why you are my future and why you followed me around?", I said, still a tad annoyed.
She walked around the room, picking up things, looking at them and then laying them down again before she looked at me once more.
"I'm here to make a pact with you," she said like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I probably looked like I felt. "What kind of pact?", I asked suspiciously. At this point, she was starting to really test my patience. When I was done putting away my groceries, I sat down across from her in the room with the table in between of us for some imaginary distance.
"A blood pact. You give me your blood, and in return I will give you something of mine," she said, while looking at me with a straight face. I got the feeling that she was testing me in something, but when she said that, my mouth fell open.
"You want my blood? As in a transfusion?" I asked in disbelief. She shook her head. I could feel the atmosphere change. "I need blood to survive," she said, her face still straight and her voice serious. I couldn't say a word for a while. In the time that I needed to form an answer, she keept looking at me.
"Do you mean you are a vampire?" I finally asked. The nod she gave me confirmed my fears. I let a vampire into my house. Questions were racing through my head. What was she going to do to me if I said no, could she be trusted, was this the end of me? I swallowed my fear away.
"Why me?", was all I could ask. I had already forgotten that she was talking of a pact.
"Because you are special. Or to be more precise, your blood is," she said, while she leaned a bit towards me. Apparently, I had the question "why" written all over my face, because she kept talking. "When a vampire bites someone, that person will turn into a vampire as well if the vampire doesn’t kill them. You on the other hand won’t. Because of something in you, you are immune for some reason."
After hearing that, the only thing I could think of was that she wanted me to be her life supply of food. "So you want me to become your personal blood bank?", I flapped out before I realized what I said. The look on her face changed a bit.  
"If I wanted to do that, I’d just kidnap you and hold you prisoner somewhere. I told you I will give you something in return," was her answer. I still felt uneasy, but she did have a point. If she really wanted only my blood, she could have abducted me. That would have been a lot easier. She pulled out a knife and placed it in the palm of her hand.
"Wait. What are you doing? I haven't said that I agree," I said quickly when I got her intention. I got up to grab the knife from her at the same time. She looked at me.
"Know that if you don't make a pact with me, you will be hunted down by vampires if they find out that you are imune," she said softly while looking away. The tone in which she said it made me stop. It sounded not pleading or friendly, but more like a threat.
"You wouldn't." I stared while I fell back in my seat. She shook her head while taking the knife off her hand. "No, I wouldn’t tell others. But if I can find out, so can they." She looked straight at me at this point with a kind of fire in her eyes. "And they aren't very nice. You will become a slave and your life will be forfeit. But if you make a pact with me, they will leave you alone."
All I could do was hear her words in silence. "What is in it for me?", I only dared ask after a while in a small voice. She swallowed and looked down to the knife that was resting in her lap.
"I will become yours," she whispered. "How do you mean ‘you will be mine’?", I asked, astonished. A light blush appeared on her face.
"It means that you can do with me as you please." Her gaze was still fixed to the knife in her lap. I shook my head, unable to wrap my head around the fact that she was willing to give herself to me.
"Don't get me wrong, but I don't want you. It’s wrong to own someone. Besides, I like my blood where it is."
She gave me a sad look. Before I could do anything, she had picked up the knife from her lap and made a cut in the palm of her hand. Bright red droplets fel on the table as she held out the knife and her injured hand to me. The look on her face didn’t need much force to push me over the edge of reason. While looking at her bleeding hand, I took the knife.
"I won’t turn into a vampire then?", I carefully asked as another droplet fell on the table. "I don't own you, nor do you own me or my blood, but I will let you have some as long as it doesn’t hurt and you don’t kill me," I said, taking the knife from her. I placed it in the palm of my hand and closed my eyes as I foulded my hand around the knife. After a quick jab on the blade, I felt a sharp pain followed by warm liquid spreading through my hand and fingers. Slowly I opened my eyes together with my hand. Blood from my hand was now also falling on the table.
Across from me, Cristine's breathing became heavy when she saw my blood. The most terrifying thing was that the colour of her eyes changed. Before I had a chance to pull back my bleeding hand, she gripped it with hers. The next thing I can only describe as an experience I never want to feel again. First a pain shot through my hand and up my arm, and after that my hand and arm felt numb and I could swear that something was crawling under my skin.
Before I got the nerve to look at my hand to see if something actually was crawling, my entire body tensed up like I was hit by lightning. Cristine fainted and our hands were pulled apart, just after some images featuring her flew past my inner eye. I got my movement back as soon as the connection was broken, and gave my hand a worried look. I expected that it would still be bleeding from the cut, but my entire hand was covered by markings that I had never seen. They went up my arm, where they stopped in a sort of band that went around my arm. As I turned my hand over, the cut that should be there was not. Only a scar.
Across from me, Cristine's breathing got me out of my puzzlement. Quickly, I got up and walked around the table to see if she was alright. The stuff she had told me, and, more importantly, the stuff she hadn't told me were going through my mind as I picked her up and brought her over to my bed.
"Thank you for helping me," she mumbled as I laid her down. As the night progressed and my mind got the time to think abou what had transpired, the fact that I had made a pact with a vampire, a mythical creature of the night, settled down. I have never been a firm believer in god or the devil, good or evil or that kind of thing, but still, this girl, this.... creature didn't seem evil. Still I wondered if i were to become a vampire now as well.
My eyes wandered back to my hand when I heard Cristine move on the bed on the other side of the room. "What is on your mind? Are you still worried that you will become a vampire?", sounded from the bed. Absently, I looked up at her.
"Can you realy blame me?", was the only thing I could think of. She pulled herself up and leaned against the headboard, after which she tapped on the bed next to her. "If you were to turn into a vampire, it would have happened already."
I got up while she said that and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. She picked up my hand and went over the markings with her fingers. She stared explaining what the markings meant, and answered the questions I had in the rest of what was left of the night. When she did, the fact finally settled down in my head and found its spot in my consciousness. I had made a pact for life in blood.