Beginning of the End

My eyes opened to an unfamiliar reality. Of course, for those of us that tend to dream this is fairly common. I was standing on the side of a shore while my feet were softly sinking in the sand. I looked at my reflection in the water and stared at how I always have long golden brown hair when I am dreaming. Maybe that's how I see myself. Well, I could dream to be pretty if I'm not actually pretty.

But unlike my other dreams, it was eerily quiet.

Looking to my left I thought I saw some form of light, so I started walking towards it.

It took me a while to obtain the image of a wrecked ship on the shore.

'This wasn't here five minutes ago' I figured.

The light came from the flames that still burnt the flag on the ship. It seemed to be an eternal flame of some sort.

"She pondered on what could be that is making the flame burn non-stop". A voice echoed on the empty beach. Yet it wasn't mine.

I turned around, but no one was there.

'Odd, I could have sworn I heard something.'

"The girl in the pale blue dress was now going to face the judgment of her decisions"

'Huh?!' I turned around and spun in circles yet the source of the voice was nowhere to be found.

I stopped and asked "Um, is someone there?"

".…"

The voice paused for a minute as if taken aback by my stupidity.

"State your name Girl"

"Mary?"

"How many trials have you cleared Mary?"

"What?! What trials? And why are you talking like that? Did I do something wrong?"

".…"

"Hello?" I spun to look around me once again but gave up and decided to sit down next to the burnt ship.

A few minutes later, I could make out a person who was walking towards me on the beach. They were still too far for me to be able to tell who it could be.

It turned out to be a boy, probably older than me. He made a face that said 'Why am I stuck with this person'. He was taller than most boys, I could say this because I am also taller than most boys, being 170 cm, something that gave me confidence in myself.

The boy just stood next to me judging me from head to toe.

He finally spoke, "Why are you back here again Mary?"

His familiarity caught me off guard, 'why does he speak like he knows me?'

"Ah,... what do you mean?"

"Are you stupid? Do you have amnesia? Wait… Are you… a Masochist?!" he asked with utter disgust.

I could feel the fumes of rage rising, so I stood up and grabbed his collar.

"Excuse me, but I don't even know you! Stop spouting nonsense."

He looked surprised. Then gave a long sigh.

"Do you at least remember how you got here?" he asked in a distant tone.

"Well it's a part of my dream, how else can I get here?"

"....Do you know why that ship is burning?"

I turned to look at the ship and suddenly felt nauseous.

'Huh? What is this? Why is it starting to look familiar again? Why do I feel like I've been here before?' something turned in my stomach.

"Judging from the situation you came in, it seems like you were found by the dream hunter"

"Okay okay, you know what, this is a dream, and I'm just gonna go back now Mister Good Looking" he was surprised by my remark. I'm not a very proactive person, but I could do whatever I want in my dreams right? My intuition was telling me to get away.

I started marching into the ocean water.

Water in my dreams usually woke me up, unless it was a nightmare in which case I would have to look for the exit door.

"Oye, where are you going? You're going to drown"

"I wish you happiness as well" I waved back.

'Weird. This much water should've woken me up by now.' I thought as I was now deep in the water till my torso.

'I have to get up. I don't want to be in this place anymore. I don't want to... remember...'

I slowly let my body sink into the shallow part of the ocean.

'Wake up Mary, Come on! You can do it.'

I suddenly remembered the creepy man from the cafe.

He had said something to me.

"It is time for you to come back" with that creepy smile.

Shivers went down my spine. And before I knew it I couldn't breathe anymore. A hand pulled me from the back of my head till I was out of the water. I gasped for air, spitting out the salty water in my mouth.

"You really are a pain in the ass" the boy from earlier said while pulling strongly on my hair.

"Oww! Oww! Let go! You're hurting me!"

He immediately let go and I fell in the water again.

"Agh! Would it kill you to be nicer?!" I glared at him, coughing out excess water from my lungs.

"It's your fault for being so reckless, now shut up and listen to me for a second."

I couldn't come up with anything smart to say, and feeling embarrassed by my stunt, I just quietly walked back to the shore with him.

We sat together on the beach, he became quiet after his snappy remarks as if trying to make sense of what was happening.

"By the way,.." I broke the silence, "what's your name?" I asked embarrassed by my previous behavior.

He spoke without looking at me "It surely isn't Mr. Good Looking" he said in a sarcastic manner.

'Agh, I knew he would say that.' I cringed.

He saw my expression and laughed.

People with good looks tend to give heart attacks when they smile or laugh, I certainly felt like my chest was aching.

"I don't have a name, I am defined by my very being," he replied calmly, staring back at the shore.

"And that would be..?" I asked, thinking he would say 'Climate activist or World Peace'.

"Narrator", he replied dryly.

"Huh? Narrator? Like a storyteller?" I felt confused.

"I am the narrator assigned to you in this realm. All your dreams, all your thoughts, feelings, and movements, I have seen, written, and narrated" he spoke calmly.

"So… you're basically a stalker?"

Annoyed, he hit my head with his hand mercilessly.

.....

"Anyway. From what it seems, the dream hunter got a hold of you sooner than I expected. He probably dragged you back to take revenge for the decisions you've made in a previous trial."

His green eyes met mine and he suddenly knew I didn't understand anything that he said.

He sighed again.

"For now I'll tell you, you cannot escape this realm until you have finished your three trails. You have to make a choice at the end of each dream. If you get lost, just follow my ballad, you will always find your way."

He smiled and encouraged me. 'Agh, don't smile at me with that face'.

"It's not that hard, so just make sure to come back here after you are done with each trial"

"What do you mean by trials? Does this mean I'm going to be stuck here? Can I not go back home?"

"You will go back as soon as the trails are done"

"Why am I taking these trails anyway? If I fail will I be stuck here for eternity?"

".…I cannot say" he hesitated.

"Why?!"

"The decision is not mine to make" There was suddenly a loud noise echoing on the beach. Like someone was shooting a plane down. He suddenly grasped me into a tight hug.

"I don't have time to explain, for now, just follow my ballad," he said.

Before I could reply, he snapped his fingers and suddenly I was falling into the abyss again.