A Cure for Hiccups

Chapter 8: Memories

"I'll be back soon...On my soul." (Joyce, William. The Sandman and the War of Dreams. Atheneum Books, 2013.)

~🌟~

Sandman and Pitch were flying through the sky, each one using their version of dreamsand. Sandman rode off his golden manta ray while Pitch rode on his Nightmare named Onyx. The female horse kept a good pace with the manta ray.

An awkward silence spread between them. The trip from Venice, Italy to Sandman's island took longer than they first expected and none of them had much to say. Eventually, Pitch asked a question. "Do you remember your life before this?" 'This' was referring to when they came to Earth; when Sandman became a guardian.

Sandman looked over at Pitch. He did remember. It was very long ago, but he could remember. A shooting star appeared above his headland like a movie, slowly a bigger ball appeared. The star crashed into the Earth like a meteor. The scene then changed, and the star formed into an island. The Island of the Sleepy Sands.

"Please," Pitch said, the tone was equal to someone rolling their eyes. "Try to be serious." Sandman was tempted to cross his arms, but didn't. He was telling the truth.

"I have these vague memories," Pitch said, his voice dead cold. Sandman stayed quiet. He had never really listened to Pitch before. Yes, he pitied the man since he knew about his daughter but they were never really close. "Well, I don't even know if they are memories. Sometimes, when I sleep, these images come." Sandman raised an eyebrow and looked at him with more interest.

"It's a girl running in the dark. She yells and there is pain in her voice. I can't understand what she's saying, but I know..." Pitch looked down towards Sandman who wasn't smiling or frowning. Only his full attention on the spirit of fear. "...it's me she's looking for..." Pitch then loping down at Onyx's wild, black hair. "...before she gets lost in the gloom."

"It's like a shadow that lives in the darkness of my soul. Sometimes she smiles at me but her face remains hidden. It doesn't last long because everything always goes dark...when the nightmares come." Pitch seemed to enter his own world as he got lost in his explanation of his dream-like memories. "And they devour everything. Nightmares and horror haunt—"

Pitch stopped.

He seemed to realize who he was talking to. His rival; the man of which he stole dreamsand from, but also the man he promised that he would help.

"Hicc!"

Sandman and Pitch made eye contact, Sandman's eyes widened before he began to fall. Before he could make another dreamsand creation, someone grabbed his hand. Sandman looked up. Pitch was doubled over Onyx and was holding Sandman's hand as right as he could possibly hold him. The two stayed like that. Send an hanging from impending doom and Pitch helping him not fall.

"I think it's better if you stay with me." Pitch pulled him up and allowed the short guardian to ride with him. He moved backward on the horse and allowed Sandman to control the horse with some reins he added just then.

"Lead the way."

~🌟~

Today's question is:
Do you like Sandman and Pitch as characters? Do you think they are interesting? Which one do you like more?