Ashes of Fire (#1)

Chapter 1: The Fairy Tale

Chapter 1

            I keep my mouth shut after that weird image that flashes through my mind. Alex looks worried after I have that weird ‘seizure’. He drags me out of the coffee shop as I quickly grab my caramel latte.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home. I think you’re sick,” he says, although doubt is all over his tone.

I feel my head aches too after seeing the images. So a rest will be a perfect thing to have at this moment. I groan and start to walk in a slow-pace. The headache gets worse and I see more and more nonsense images. What is actually wrong with my mind? Have I gone mad?

“I guess I am sick. I... felt so.... nauseous,” I finish the sentence while limping and walk uncontrollably. He grabs my left hand and rests it on his shoulder. Girls are staring at me in envy as usual. My head keeps aching until everything just swirls in my eyes.

***

We finally arrive at our apartment—yes, we live in the same apartment. I quickly run over my couch and sink myself on it. He shuffles through the kitchen and come back with warm water on his hand.

“Thanks Al.”

I rest my head and feel Alex examining me as if I’m about to die. I’m about to make a joke about it, but I guess this isn’t the time. After I drink the warm water, I feel so much better and finally have those images slip out of my mind.

“What was that?” he manages to ask with a whisper. I stay silent for a minute as I look at his eyes while searching for words.

“If I tell you the truth, you won’t even believe any word that comes out my mouth. You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“You already are, Es.” I roll my eyes and fold my arms. I guess he just get time for jokes, huh? “No, but, I’m serious. What happened?”

I take a deep, long breath. “Okay. So the moment I open the book, everything went fuzzy and the world just went black. Then there were images flashing everywhere around me—around my mind—I just can’t tell. I wasn’t in the story, I was just seeing images of it, but it looks so... real.” He clears his throat in return; waiting for me to continue. “And there was this girl. She was wearing a dull, filthy, sloppy dress that walked with bare feet. She had some kind of power or something. But the worst part is that she looked like me.”

“What do you mean?”

“She had blonde hair and gold eyes.”

“But you’re a brunette though.”

“Well, now I am. But I used to have blonde hair,” I reminds him. He nods and joins me to sink himself on the couch.

“I guess you’re right. I’d love to believe you, sweetheart, but you sounded like you just came out from a magical world that I didn’t understand,” he says. It’s sad to hear him say that, but at least he gets a point.

“I’ll just go to my room. I need a rest. Do whatever you want,” I shrug. He nods obediently and grabs my cookies-and-cream ice cream out of the fridge. He’s my best friend, so I can care less about it. In a split second, the images come back to my mind; swirling around and eating me slowly. I quickly find the book in my bed, opened somehow.

“What’s the book doing here?” I grunt to myself. I’m about to close it, but what I see has make me even surprise. My heart beats faster as my hands wrap around my head.  

It was my face on the book—on the fairy tale.

I take a few more steps back.

It says: You’re next, you’re next, you’re next. 

A/N: Heyy sorry I didn't update for 5 days 'cause tests are coming and yea. I know this chapter is kinda horror-like. But it's not horror dun worry :p