The Fallen Prince

⋇- 20: Dream or Vision? -⋇

"Please don't leave me," said Arisa, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You promised we would see each other again. Please wake up. Please don't go. Zen!"

Arisa woke up, screaming his name.

"Arisa," called Thelma and Caris in unison.

As Arisa breathed heavily and took a seat on her bed, she saw the two girls rushing to her, alarmed. Arisa's heart beat rapidly, feeling heavy. Her chest was so tight that it felt as though she couldn't breathe properly. As she tried to breathe in and out, she rubbed her eyes and saw that her tears wouldn't stop rolling.

"What's wrong?" asked Thelma, caressing Arisa's dark head.

Arisa gazed at the two girls and noticed that they were gazing back at her with worry. Arisa opened her mouth to tell them she was okay, but no words left her lips. Instead, she cried as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Thelma quickly wrapped her arms around her, patting Arisa's back to comfort her.

"He's, he's going to leave me again." Arisa sobbed. "He's going to leave me."

Thelma patted Arisa's back. "Caris, please bring me some water."

Caris nodded quickly and walked across the room, looking for the bags containing bottles of water. Arisa couldn't stop crying as she remembered the dream. Thelma sat by her side, trying to comfort her. 

Arisa expressed her sorrow for a few minutes before she slowly calmed down.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Caris passed Arisa a glass of water. Arisa thanked her and had her drink, feeling the cold freshwater refreshing her.

"Are you feeling better?" asked Thelma, her tone concerned.

Arisa nodded. "Sorry for worrying you and for disturbing your sleep."

"It's alright," said Thelma, smiling at her. "We're friends after all. Friends are always there during happy times and dark times, so don't worry."

As Thelma winked at her, Arisa smiled.

"Your aura seems so heavy," said Caris, looking at her as if she was studying her. "Are you really okay?"

Arisa gazed at Caris, remembering how she could read auras. That dream still made her feel uneasy and deep inside, her sadness hadn't faded. But she didn't want to worry her friends after waking them up in the middle of the night.

"I'm fine," said Arisa, sighing. "I just had the scariest nightmare. But I'm fine now."

Caris tilted her head. "Really?"

Arisa replied with a quick nod. After everything they went through, she didn't want to worry them because of a dream. She felt guilty for disturbing their sleep.

"Well then, we can return to sleep." The bed shook a little as Thelma stood up. "We have an early train to catch tomorrow. I really can't wait to see the land of angels."

Arisa gazed at Thelma in time to see her excitement. She remembered that according to the Earthlings' tale, they saw Celestians as angels because of their wings. Despite telling Thelma that they weren't angels, Thelma told her they were since they used to protect them before Guardians were created.

As Thelma went to the bed that stayed close to the room's door, Caris hesitated to go for a few seconds, looking at Arisa with concern.

"I'm fine," said Arisa with a smile. "Don't worry."

Caris exhaled and walked to the single bed in the middle. As Arisa saw the girls digging themselves in their sheets, Arisa saw that the hotel room they had rented wasn't as big as she first thought. Looking at the television stuck on the dark brown wall that had silver details, Arisa remembered that Thelma was watching a movie before Arisa fell asleep.