Chapter Three
In his dream, Brock could see nothing. He felt cold, almost to the point of freezing. He shuddered and tried to look around, but his eyes saw nothing but black. There was darkness all around him, and yet, his other senses were intact. He could feel the presence of people around him, but he could not see them.
He strained his ears to listen, and he heard familiar sounds. It sounded faintly like a young boy’s voice, followed by a girl, probably Ash and Misty. He frowned. But they sound so upset, he thought to himself. I wonder why? One of them, the girl, Misty, almost sounded like she was crying. What’s going on? He felt a sense of misery and despair wash over him, but it wasn’t coming from him. Is this what they’re feeling? Why do they feel so terrible? WHAT’S GOING ON?!?! Frustrated, he tried harder to hear better, but all he could manage to do was listen to the muffled noises.
He sniffed the air, and smelled an artificial, clean smell to the place. He became more aggravated because this dream was not like any other he had experienced. He tried calling out, "Hello!! Can anyone hear me??" but his voice echoed throughout the dark space and disappeared without a return. He felt alone, and the loneliness scared him terribly. "Hey! Anyone out there?? Please, answer me!" No answer.
The mix of sadness and isolation was more than he could bear. "Let me out of here!!" Brock yelled. "I want out of this crazy dream!!" He closed his eyes tightly. He emptied his mind of all thoughts, and when he did, one resurfaced. The thought of Marian. Marian… I want to go back to Marian…
As soon as he thought that, he felt an intense pain throbbing in his head. He gasped in agony and dropped to his knees. "Aghh…" He held his head, but the pain grew, until, at last, he fell unconscious.
*****
"Brock! Brock!!" Marian’s voice had brought him back. Or so he thought. He opened his eyes, and saw her looking down at him worriedly. She smiled when she saw that he was okay.
"You looked like you were in agony." She paused. "I’ve never seen anyone sleep like that before."
Brock sat up and looked around. He felt his head. The only pain that he had came from his bandaged bruise. "Well, I’ve never had a dream like that before… never." He was silent for a while, and so Marian decided to pipe up.
"Well, while you’re awake, why don’t I show you around?" She helped him up slowly from the soft mattress, and he looked at the room. A simple room of a one story thatched house, the walls were made of a heavy-duty type of woven plant material, yet they looked sturdy enough to survive a difficult storm. The room was decorated with vases full of exotic, wild-colored flowers that he had never seen before, and the sunlight that flowed out of a large window near the mattress was warm and soft.
For a moment, the pleasantness of the room (and Marian) made him forget the terror of the nightmare. She led him to the doorstep of her little home, and they both took a long look outside. Incredible, he thought, Everything’s so wonderful here. Pidgys were chirping high in the tall, long-leafed trees overhead, there was a light breeze ruffling through the bushes, and the forest itself was very calm and peaceful. He couldn’t help but smile.
"It’s beautiful, isn’t it," Marian murmured. Brock turned and glanced at her. He smiled, blushing only a little this time.
"Well, I guess beautiful things exist in beautiful places," he said. Then, embarrassed, he turned away. Marian laughed softly, and took his hand.
"Ha ha, you do have a way with words," she said, glowing. Amazing. She really glows, he thought to himself. Quickly, she yanked his hand playfully and said, "Let’s go for a walk! C’mon Brock! It’s a beautiful day." She skipped off, and he followed close behind, taking a look back at the scenery and the house. He smiled.
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