Waiting for Sunrise

Dreaming

I met him when I was eight years old. I remember the way his hair clung to his forehead and the sound his soaked sneakers made as he walked me home that day. Most of all, I remember the way his eyes softened after he rescued me. The first thing he did after pulling me out of the water was bite his wrist. He bit it so hard, blood started to ooze out, but even then he didn't stop. Eventually, he pulled his backpack over his shoulder, gave me his other hand, and brought me back to my parents. I was too young to understand it back then, but that was the first time I met my destined mate. 

*~*~*~

Last night, I woke up gasping for air. I don't remember the last time I had the dream, but it's almost always the same every time. It starts with a stray cat. It's fur was the color of Autumn leaves and it's eyes filled with things that only cats who've lost their homes will ever know. I first saw it walking along the sandy path that lead to the ocean. There had been a weather warning that day and my parents told me I wasn't allowed to go down to the beach, but I was young and foolish. Little did I know, I should have stayed in doors. 

It took me a couple tries to unlock the front door. My parents had gone out earlier that afternoon with a few of their old high school friends and left me at home, trusting that I would stay put. When I finally opened the door, a strong gust of ocean air blew in my face and made me squeeze my eyes shut as my tiny body swayed from its strength. Yet, the weather warning wasn't enough to stop me from venturing outside. It wasn't long before I found the cat wondering by the shoreline. I wasted no time as I quickly ran down to the shoreline. The events after that were always a little harder to recall and my dreams had a funny way of skipping over them as well.

What I can remember is the cat was not nearly as nice as I had hoped. It's sharp claws sliced my palm open before returning to it's walk, like nothing had happened. I remember the pain, but I wasn't sure if I cried or not. I was smart enough to know that I had to rinse my bleeding hand so I walked into the ocean to point where the water just brushed pass my ankles. I didn't know at the time that the weather would affect the tide and the next thing I knew, a wave was crashing over me. It wasn't big enough to pull me under, but it was strong enough to pull me into the current. Suddenly, my bleeding hand was no longer a big deal. 

I cried for help as I scrambled against the current. The water would recede just enough to have me believe I had a fighting chance to escape before swallowing me up whole again. I soon tired and my arms and legs refused to keep moving. I remember as I was thrashing, my eyes locked onto the stray cat. At first it didn't seem so far away. It had stopped walking, when I started screaming. It's eyes latched onto mine and I cried believing it would be the last thing ever saw. Another wave washed over me, but I didn't have the strength to pull myself up. I closed my eyes as I let the ocean water fill my lungs. 

This is usually where my dream ends. But last night was different. Last I also dreamed about how I was rescued. I dreamed about him. And I knew that could only mean one thing. 

He was coming back. 

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Hope you enjoyed this prologue. I know I have a whole bunch of other stories I should be writing, but this one came to me literally in the middle of the night and I had to write something down or I was going to go mad. If you like what I've done so far, let me know by leaving a vote or a comment!