Yume Nikki Chapter 10

You wash your face.

Suddenly, you're aware that the scenery around you has completely changed. You're in some watery place, as if all the snow around you had melted away. The cold water reaches up to your ankles, getting into your shoes. As far as the eye can see, this is a place where a small kid would happily play splashing water everywhere. Even with the water that up, you walk happily. The water splashes, and while it's kinda hard to walk, you move graciously, almost dancing.

Water is life itself. Everyone's body, and even corpses, are mainly made of water. It's the thing you need the most to live, so everyone seeks water instinctively. If you let yourself sink in the warm water of a bath, up to your shoulders, you'd reach peace of mind. You'd relax. In this calm mood, a bright smile arises on your face.

The water is crystal clear, and nothing obstructs your view. It resembles a southern shoal, with clear sand, like a jewel paved road. It draws a unique pattern under your feet, like that of skin's photo zoomed in.

Like a kid's skin covered in sweat after playing around for long, hugging a friend... It gave that feeling of not at all unpleasant dampness. You wipe the drops of water jumping to your face with the back of your hand.

The gentle light reflects on the water's surface, illuminating you. At some point, you had stopped wearing the burial clothes you wore up until before you washed your face, and wore now your usual clothes. Your hair is tidily tied, and your braids bounce cheerfully as you walk. You're walking on a wonderful scenery, like that of a fairy tale, like the world a happy child sees, a magical world of sorts. The water lever is low clear, cleaning your very soul.

Around you, there is a rocky, fragile area, as if it was made of sugar. It's a pure white platform. You reach a place where you can easily climb it, reluctantly step up and shake your head strongly, getting the water off you. You squeeze your braids too. Move away the bangs sticking to your forehead, you take a look around.

This area is somewhat complicated. It looks mostly like a maze. The terrain is shaped in strange ways, in a way that makes walking through here without thinking quite tedious. Even if you wanted just to play around, you'd find a lot of limitations, and this feeling of being blocked was quite frustrating. While you're at a loss, gazing over the overly complicated structure of this place, you notice something hanging at your side. It's a thread. Actually, a balloon. The kind that kids love, with bright colors and a thread hanging from them.

Like any child would, you grasp its thread tightly. And just as you do that, your feet lift off the ground lightly.

You're completely floating, disregarding the laws of physics. You become slightly confused as the balloon guides you to even greater heights. You're escaping from that grotesque maze like structure, flying away from it. You are being taken away.

The balloon begins to flicker unsteadily, becoming unreliable as it keeps going higher. You're being led by the wind around you, but as long as you don't let go, the balloon keeps supporting you. It protects you, it gives you strength, covers for you, and in a way, makes you go forward... In a sense, it's like friendship.

The hesitation from not knowing what to do makes you release the thread, even if only slightly. Before you can even notice, the balloon deflates and loses it's air. But just as that's happening, a new balloon appears right besides you. You grab this new balloon. As the years go by, your friends will pa.s.s by and change. Just like friendship goes away, as the love withers, you part with those balloons. But no matter where you put your hand, there will always be a balloon there. You are betting everything on that fact.

As you keep going higher, the air grows colder. Your breath is frozen, pure white. Your breathing becomes ragged as it becomes harder to take air into your lungs. The last balloon in your hand is so small that it has lost all its buoyancy. As if you were becoming anxious, you begin to move your legs and arms, struggling. You're so high up that you can't even see the ground anymore. If you were to fall, you wouldn't come out unscratched, even if this is a dream. Like a lonely girl in search for someone that would love her, you keep looking around you, frantically.

And you find it. It's close to you. A small, floating island. You struggle with all your might to reach there, to that patch of land that resembles the white, bothersome maze down there. But unlike there, in this place there are what looks like tents. You gather all your courage and let go the balloon, falling down.

Falling from that height, you're unable to land properly, and fall on your a.s.s. Since it's a dream, it doesn't hurt, and you just shake your head in surprise while standing up, nervously. While so high, the air becomes thin and cold. But your struggling allowed you to reach this place.

As if you were suddenly worried about your appearance, or as if you were entering some kind of solemn religious place, like a temple, you squeeze your still wet clothes and slightly arrange your hair. In front of that huge tent.

You gulp down in amazement. The tent was lovely and flashy. It was dazzling, as if a kid had filled it will all the colors he liked. Or like a little girl trying to act all grown up, trying to show off her shiny toy jewels... you walk ahead, hesitant. Like the igloos, it gave off a warm feeling, but it was clearly more extravagant. A happy feeling lingered in the air, as if there was someone pleased by being able to boast off in front of others... You are feeling kinda guilty, like an uninvited guest that arrives without warning. And you peek secretly inside the tent, stepping inside.

What you see there is a place so lovely that you could have never imagined it by looking at the tent outside. It looks as if you could become happy just by staying here, like the place where the princess of a fairytale would live. Like a room filled with all the treasures of a child raised with love. The difference with the dream landscape you've been walking through up until now is obvious. Just as if you'd entered the precious memories of some other person. That's exactly what it looked like. And that may be why you don't seem comfortable, since it's as if you were facing a place filled with the love you seek, meant for someone else.

On the floor lays an expensive looking carpet. Walls decorated with fun and pleasant paintings. A soft and fluffy bed on one corner. A pretty arranged desk and bookshelf with happy, adventurous, lovely books neatly arranged. A place that could make your racing heart calm and heal...

You're overwhelmed by the view of this room for a while. But finally, you notice.

Just in front of you, standing there, who knows for how long... In this small room, there's no place nor room to hide. So obviously...

"Sorry for the messy room".

I talk to you as if you were a friend that came unannounced. I start playing with a lock of hair over my shoulder.

"Let's see... do you need something from me?"

For starters, I'll go with that. You don't react for a while. But your mouth moves, as if you were trying to put your thoughts into a silent voice. You're probably wondering something like this.

Who are you?