I wake up, shuddering and covered in sweat. My eyes skim my surroundings. I see I'm in an open field. The air was cold and sour, the wind whistling slightly by my ears. I look up and see a swing set in front of me and see a figure seated on it. I blink and stand on shaky legs, walking over to the figure, I couldn't make out any features, just that it resembled human shape.
When I reach the swingset I noticed it was making a creaking sound as the wind blew the swings back and forth, although the figure was staying still.
"Hello?" I say to the figure. It turns it's head toward me and I gasp. The face that I saw was... my dad's. It was grinning and had empty red eye sockets.
"Eh?!" I yell out. It starts to giggle.
"I have a secret~" The figure hummed. Then it suddenly got a serious expression. "But I can't tell you or else the thing wearing mommy's skin will get mad." It said in almost a whisper. Then it started to giggle again. Then the face starts to contort and shift, taking the form of a beast before turning into my mother.
I stare in disbelief at the empty eye sockets and crooked grin.
"I never believed monsters existed. But here I am looking at one." She sneered. I'm not a monster. And this thing isn't my mother, what is this? The figure contorted again, taking on the shape of the girl I once had sleepovers with every week. The girl I once used to cry to. Her eyes were empty but these things were starting to get to me. I could feel my sanity being stripped by the second.
"Sage!" I yell happily, about to embrace the creature. I fall right through it onto the other side. It turns it's head around on its neck and stares at me coldly as tears fill my eyes from fear and despair.
"You really shouldn't be so trusting. The world is a misguiding place." She said. And like that, her face, too transformed into a face that I had never seen happy to see me. I was full on sobbing now.
The figure looks down on me, expressionless.
"I want this to be over. Make it stop." I sounded like a child but right now I couldn't care less.
"I want to go home." I sob out.
"And I want to change the past. It isn't gonna happen. Time to accept that." He said. I look up and gasp as the figure started to glow. Soon, the landscape around me started to glow too. Then there was a sharp flash and everything went black.
I open my eyes slowly. I expected tears but my face was dry. I look around to see myself in the same field, although the atmosphere was much warmer and brighter than before.
I look up the see the swing set had two occupied swings now. I slowly and scaredly stand up and walk over. My shoes made the ground crunch slightly and the figures turned around. My eyes widen yet again as I see them.
"Y/n. You're here." Aron said calmly and happily. I blink and turn to the other figure who sat there. He raised his hand and waves.
"Heya Y/n." He said.
"W-What?" I say, referring to everything happening.
'I know you're probably confused. So I will get to the point." Aron said. "One person is only allowed one... I guess you could call it guardian angel... anyway, as you can see, you have two people that cherish your well-being over everything else. But alas, only one of us can stay here and protect you." I nod slightly.
"As much as I hate to leave, I had my chance in this lovely place. I think he deserves a chance too." Aron said.
"Wait! So you're leaving?! You're... moving on..?" I say, panicking. He shakes his head.
"Not like that. As peace-filled as I may seem, I'm still not ready to rest." He said.
"So the-" I start but stop talking when I realized Aron had started to fade away. I gasp.
"Aron!" before he can say anything, he was gone. Oh no. Did he lie? Is he gone?
"Well. You better wake up or something bad might happen." I hear Oliver say. And just like that, the world starts to shift and swirl.