Discussion:
[story] Aya: Dreaming; standalone short
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emmel
2009-03-27 10:57:14 UTC
Permalink
I had trouble sleeping this night, so whatever would have been
responsible to churning out dreams normally must have leaked into my
wake self or something. I ended up switching on my writing desk /
bedside slight, grabbing my pen and notebook, and started banning this
to paper in the wee hours of morning. It's a standalone short of only
1232 words, so it's about the average length of an ATC instalment. Have
fun. Comments welcome.

*****

"Dreaming"
by Anyara Laeevah Asani


I had this most peculiar dream...

For some reason I was lying on a large slab of stone, one that had
more than just a fleeting similarity to an altar. And for some reason
my cousin was bending over me and fastening my wrists and ankles to
conveniently placed metal rings let into its surface. That should have
made me think, but I trusted Kay. Whatever she did would be all right.
It wasn't until she raised a knife and stared to cut away at my body
that I realised I was in danger, but it was by then it was already too
late. I wasn't strong enough to break free and my life force was
slowly sapping out of me. The last thing I heard was Kay intoning some
ancient conjuration formula, gifting my life to a demonic force in
exchange for the resurrection of her father.

I woke up with my heart beating like a drummer in steroids, but I
quickly calmed down, when I realised it had just been a nightmare.
That was when I heard Kay sobbing. She had climbed into my bed and
snuggled up to me as she sometimes still did, so I simply reached over
to her and gently stroked her head while I asked what was the matter.
She looked at me with her big eyes.
'I love you,' she said, 'and I would never ever hurt you. You
have to believe me that. Even if I could bring my father back.'
That last bit hit me like a wall at twenty kilometres an hour.
Get her father back? That was too much of a coincidence.
'Tell me your dream.' I urged her, and she did. It was the
same one, every little detail except for the point of view. My danger
sense tingled. I believe in a lot of things most people wouldn't and
have learned to accept even more, but shared dreams weren't one of
them. Something was up and it was mu life that was on the line. Not
that Kay would ever do such a thing as long as she had a say in the
matter, but who- or whatever had intruded our dreams would more than
likely have more tricks up their, or its, sleeve.
'I had the same one.' I told Kay, and I could see eyes widen
with fear. She might be my minor by seven years, but she wasn't stupid
and had a much better grasp than me on all things mystical. We both
knew that there was no time to lose, so we headed straight for
grandma's bedroom. Halfway down the hall we met her. She looked
somewhat worried, but the moment she saw us, her face lightened up.
'I just wanted to look after you.' she said. Look after us? In
the middle of night? I got the uneasy feeling I knew exactly why.
'You had a nightmare, didn't you?' I asked her. 'One where Kay
was sacrificing me.'
The expression on her face was answer enough.
'Yes, we hat it, too. Both of us.'
'We have to go see Yavin immediately.' she said.
Yavin was the obvious choice. Not only was he one of the
elders, he also was the designated expert for dreams and the
subconscious in general. Crossing a hundred odd kilometres at night
too see him, was not such an obvious choice, especially since the
remaining glider was struck with engine troubles of late; grandpa had
taken the other one for his trip to the port and wouldn't be back
before the day after tomorrow. [I actually wrote yesterday at this
point, can you believe that?] Did I mention that I didn't believe in
coincidences? Still, we didn't have a choice. Nothing good could come
of a dream like that, and there was no time to lose if I wanted to see
the end of this. The dream had been very clear about that point.
Unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere, the engine of the
glider broke for good. Grandma just managed to do an emergency
landing, but part of the ceiling came loose when we hit the ground and
knocked her out. She was fine physically, as far as I could tell, but
it might have been hours until she came around, and we didn't have
that kind of time. In retrospect, walking through the forest, at
night, wasn't the most clever of ideas, and I'm not talking about the
fact that we were still in out night clothes, complete with fluffy
slippers. It seemed like a good idea then and there, though. I say it
was the nightmare still lingering in the back of my mind. Try and
prove me wrong.
Unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere, the engine of the
glider broke for good. Grandma just managed to do an emergency
landing, but part of the ceiling came loose when we hit the ground and
knocked her out. She was fine physically, as far as I could tell, but
it might have been hours until she came around, and we didn't have
that kind of time. In retrospect, walking through the forest, at
night, wasn't the most clever of ideas, and I'm not talking about the
fact that we were still in our night clothes, complete with fluffy
slippers. It seemed like a good idea then and there, though. I say it
was the nightmare still lingering in the back of my mind. Try and
prove me wrong.
Anyway, after a quarter of an hour or so we found ourselves in
front of a windowless, massive looking building, more a large, dark
brick than anything you would willingly enter, but guess what I did?
Right, I went in. How stupid can one be? The answer is, of course,
very. The first thing you do after dreaming of being sacrificed to
some ancient evil is entering a foreboding, dark building that
positively cries evil temple, and that has, naturally, a large stone
slab sitting in the middle of its single room. That was awfully
familiar...
Then something hot me on the back of my head and the next
thing I remember is lying on a large stone altar with Kay Kay bending
over me and fastening my wrists and ankles to the conveniently placed
metal rings let into its surface. She gave me a sardonic grin, and
then stared cutting away at my body with a large knife made of black
stone. I tried to break free, but to no avail and slowly but surely I
bled to death, my life force leaving my body with the liquid that once
coursed through it.

Which is when I wake up, drenched in sweat and with my heartbeat
rivalling the noise of a jet engine fired up next to you. It takes a
minute or two for me to calm down, then I notice Kay lying next to me
and sobbing uncontrollably.
'I love you,' she says, ' and I would never ever hurt you. You
have to believe me that. Even if I could bring my father back.'
Right...

Sometimes, I just can't help but hate myself. There is only so much
you can chalk down to the in-flight catering, after all. I mean, Kay
loves me like a sister, even like a child a mother at times. She would
never ever hurt me, but there has to be something deep inside me that
could.
--
emmel <the_emmel*you-know-what-that's-for*@gmx.net>
(Don't forget to remove the ** bit)

story archives available at http://ranira.wordpress.com

Official AGC feedback maniac

Proud owner of 1 (one) DISOBEDIENCE point.
Former owner of 1 (one) eating point (eaten, sigh).
Neo
2009-03-30 18:15:23 UTC
Permalink
Post by emmel
I had trouble sleeping this night, so whatever would have been
responsible to churning out dreams normally must have leaked into my
wake self or something. I ended up switching on my writing desk /
bedside slight, grabbing my pen and notebook, and started banning this
to paper in the wee hours of morning. It's a standalone short of only
1232 words, so it's about the average length of an ATC instalment. Have
fun. Comments welcome.
I corrected this, but then I censored myself. I normally don't do that.

Thinking about it from a psychological point of view it is probably
auto-mutilation aka Borderline to the extreme! Since the reader is Aya,
he basically kills himself in this dream.

And you thought shooting through the front windscreen of a car that
doesn't stop at zebra crossings was scary ;-D

Neo
--
Everything that has a beginning has an end.
Neo
2009-04-18 12:25:09 UTC
Permalink
Post by emmel
"Dreaming"
by Anyara Laeevah Asani
I had this most peculiar dream...
For some reason I was lying on a large slab of stone, one that had
more than just a fleeting similarity to an altar. And for some reason
my cousin was bending over me and fastening my wrists and ankles to
conveniently placed metal rings let into its surface. That should have
made me think, but I trusted Kay. Whatever she did would be all right.
It wasn't until she raised a knife and stared to cut away at my body
and started to cut
Post by emmel
that I realised I was in danger, but it was by then it was already too
late. I wasn't strong enough to break free and my life force was
slowly sapping out of me. The last thing I heard was Kay intoning some
ancient conjuration formula, gifting my life to a demonic force in
exchange for the resurrection of her father.
I woke up with my heart beating like a drummer in steroids, but I
on steroids
Post by emmel
quickly calmed down, when I realised it had just been a nightmare.
That was when I heard Kay sobbing. She had climbed into my bed and
snuggled up to me as she sometimes still did, so I simply reached over
to her and gently stroked her head while I asked what was the matter.
She looked at me with her big eyes.
'I love you,' she said, 'and I would never ever hurt you. You
have to believe me that. Even if I could bring my father back.'
Even if I could bring back my father.
Post by emmel
That last bit hit me like a wall at twenty kilometres an hour.
Get her father back? That was too much of a coincidence.
'Tell me your dream.' I urged her, and she did. It was the
same one, every little detail except for the point of view. My danger
sense tingled. I believe in a lot of things most people wouldn't and
I believed in a lot of things
Post by emmel
have learned to accept even more, but shared dreams weren't one of
them. Something was up and it was mu life that was on the line. Not
my life
Post by emmel
that Kay would ever do such a thing as long as she had a say in the
a say on the matter
Post by emmel
matter, but who- or whatever had intruded our dreams would more than
likely have more tricks up their, or its, sleeve.
it's sleeve
Post by emmel
'I had the same one.' I told Kay, and I could see eyes widen
with fear. She might be my minor by seven years, but she wasn't stupid
and had a much better grasp than me on all things mystical. We both
knew that there was no time to lose, so we headed straight for
grandma's bedroom. Halfway down the hall we met her. She looked
somewhat worried, but the moment she saw us, her face lightened up.
'I just wanted to look after you.' she said. Look after us? In
the middle of night? I got the uneasy feeling I knew exactly why.
'You had a nightmare, didn't you?' I asked her. 'One where Kay
was sacrificing me.'
The expression on her face was answer enough.
'Yes, we hat it, too. Both of us.'
we had it too.
Post by emmel
'We have to go see Yavin immediately.' she said.
Yavin was the obvious choice. Not only was he one of the
elders, he also was the designated expert for dreams and the
subconscious in general. Crossing a hundred odd kilometres at night
too see him, was not such an obvious choice, especially since the
remaining glider was struck with engine troubles of late; grandpa had
taken the other one for his trip to the port and wouldn't be back
before the day after tomorrow. [I actually wrote yesterday at this
point, can you believe that?] Did I mention that I didn't believe in
Don't forget to remove these footnotes from the final version.
Post by emmel
coincidences? Still, we didn't have a choice. Nothing good could come
of a dream like that, and there was no time to lose if I wanted to see
the end of this. The dream had been very clear about that point.
[1x]
Post by emmel
Unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere, the engine of the
glider broke for good. Grandma just managed to do an emergency
landing, but part of the ceiling came loose when we hit the ground and
knocked her out. She was fine physically, as far as I could tell, but
it might have been hours until she came around, and we didn't have
that kind of time. In retrospect, walking through the forest, at
night, wasn't the most clever of ideas, and I'm not talking about the
fact that we were still in out night clothes, complete with fluffy
slippers. It seemed like a good idea then and there, though. I say it
was the nightmare still lingering in the back of my mind. Try and
prove me wrong.
[/1x]
[2x]
Post by emmel
Unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere, the engine of the
glider broke for good. Grandma just managed to do an emergency
landing, but part of the ceiling came loose when we hit the ground and
knocked her out. She was fine physically, as far as I could tell, but
it might have been hours until she came around, and we didn't have
that kind of time. In retrospect, walking through the forest, at
night, wasn't the most clever of ideas, and I'm not talking about the
fact that we were still in our night clothes, complete with fluffy
slippers. It seemed like a good idea then and there, though. I say it
was the nightmare still lingering in the back of my mind. Try and
prove me wrong.
[/2x]
Post by emmel
Anyway, after a quarter of an hour or so we found ourselves in
front of a windowless, massive looking building, more a large, dark
brick than anything you would willingly enter, but guess what I did?
Right, I went in. How stupid can one be? The answer is, of course,
very. The first thing you do after dreaming of being sacrificed to
some ancient evil is entering a foreboding, dark building that
positively cries evil temple, and that has, naturally, a large stone
slab sitting in the middle of its single room. That was awfully
familiar...
Then something hot me on the back of my head and the next
something hit me
Post by emmel
thing I remember is lying on a large stone altar with Kay Kay bending
over me and fastening my wrists and ankles to the conveniently placed
metal rings let into its surface. She gave me a sardonic grin, and
then stared cutting away at my body with a large knife made of black
stone. I tried to break free, but to no avail and slowly but surely I
bled to death, my life force leaving my body with the liquid that once
coursed through it.
Which is when I wake up, drenched in sweat and with my heartbeat
when I woke up
Post by emmel
rivalling the noise of a jet engine fired up next to you. It takes a
minute or two for me to calm down, then I notice Kay lying next to me
and sobbing uncontrollably.
'I love you,' she says, ' and I would never ever hurt you. You
have to believe me that. Even if I could bring my father back.'
Right...
Sometimes, I just can't help but hate myself. There is only so much
you can chalk down to the in-flight catering, after all. I mean, Kay
loves me like a sister, even like a child a mother at times. She would
never ever hurt me, but there has to be something deep inside me that
could.
Like I said, this story does a lot to me so forgive the late corrections
on it.

Neo
--
Everything that has a beginning has an end.
emmel
2009-04-18 13:09:57 UTC
Permalink
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
'I love you,' she said, 'and I would never ever hurt you. You
have to believe me that. Even if I could bring my father back.'
Even if I could bring back my father.
Maybe... Not sure.
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
sense tingled. I believe in a lot of things most people wouldn't and
I believed in a lot of things
Nope, she hasn't stopped believing those things. This has to be present
tense.
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
have learned to accept even more, but shared dreams weren't one of
them. Something was up and it was mu life that was on the line. Not
my life
Already fixed that one...
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
that Kay would ever do such a thing as long as she had a say in the
a say on the matter
LEO says 'in' is the correct use.
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
matter, but who- or whatever had intruded our dreams would more than
likely have more tricks up their, or its, sleeve.
it's sleeve
You didn't really write that, did you? Definitely *not* "it's".
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
'Yes, we hat it, too. Both of us.'
we had it too.
Already fixed.
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
before the day after tomorrow. [I actually wrote yesterday at this
point, can you believe that?] Did I mention that I didn't believe in
Don't forget to remove these footnotes from the final version.
I cut them on the site, but I *did* forget to remove them from the text
file... Silly me. Thanks.
Post by Neo
[1x]
Post by emmel
Unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere, the engine of the
<snip>
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
prove me wrong.
[/1x]
[2x]
Post by emmel
Unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere, the engine of the
<snip>
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
prove me wrong.
[/2x]
How the hell did *that* happen. Bad VIM, no cookie for you today.
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
Then something hot me on the back of my head and the next
something hit me
Already fixed...
Post by Neo
Post by emmel
Which is when I wake up, drenched in sweat and with my heartbeat
when I woke up
I don't think so.
Post by Neo
Like I said, this story does a lot to me so forgive the late corrections
on it.
Hey, better late than never. And I can forgive a lot for getting
comments *at* *all*... (So you have a pretty big advantage there ;-)
--
emmel <the_emmel*you-know-what-that's-for*@gmx.net>
(Don't forget to remove the ** bit)

story archives available at http://ranira.wordpress.com

Official AGC feedback maniac

Proud owner of 1 (one) DISOBEDIENCE point.
Former owner of 1 (one) eating point (eaten, sigh).
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