Chihiro's Dream

Chihiro opened her weary eyes, finding herself staring up at greens and yellows remaining at the top canopy of trees. She sat up immediately and wished she hadn't. Hot pain drove through her head like a spike, followed by strong waves of nausea. Veins surging with adrenaline, Chihiro staggered to her feet. Her eyes clouded with dizziness washed over her, and she caught at a nearby tree branch to steady herself. "I will not faint," she told herself grimly.

Something hurtled in front of her, something big, black, and alive. She shouted in terror. Stumbling backward, Chihiro saw the thing more clearly as it paced in front of her. It was a wolf, six feet in length, with a jet-black coat shot through with a single stripe of red.

With a howl the wolf sprang. Chihiro didn't scream. There was no air in her lungs that she could have dragged up to make a sound. She scrambled to her feet and ran for an opening through the trees. She could her the wolf growling behind her, feel its hot breath on the bare soles of her feet. She put on one last burst of speed, flinging herself toward the nearing meadow -

The wolf's jaws closed on her leg, jerking her backward, just before her head struck the leafy ground, plunging her into blackness, she discovered that she did have enough air to scream, after all.


~~~

Chihiro woke up, her bedsheets splayed on the bedroom floor, her sticky hair plastered to her sweaty face. "It was just a nightmare," she tried to reassure herself.
She tried to stand up, but her entire body was sore with no energy. She eventually finished her morning routine and got to school on time.


After 4th period, Chihiro walked slowly to the lunch line. She had no friends, so she wasn't expecting anyone to invite her to sit with them. She spotted a pretty girl a few feet away, with unusual flaming red hair and scarlet eyes. "Am I the only ugly girl here?" Chihiro pulled her red hoodie over her eyes.
A day passed. Just like that. As Chihiro crawled into bed, she felt a weird sensation of memories from her past dream.


~~~


Once again, Chihiro found herself in the burgundy and crimson forest. And standing right in front of her, was the black wolf, its sharp fangs dripping with scarlet blood. She thought she heard it hiss, "You will come to face a choice no other teen will ever face..."
"W-What choice?" Chihiro couldn't believe she was talking to a wolf.
"Don't trust the ones with starlight...live within the shadows..."
Suddenly, an image of the girl she saw yesterday played in Chihiro's mind. The black wolf began to fade away into the forest background.
"Wait!" Chihiro yelled. But it was too late. She woke up to find herself back in her bedroom, the next day already here.
Chihiro stood up with determination. She was going to talk to that girl at school today and find out what her dream meant.



~**Cherie**~