"Dreams: Chapter Five (Incomplete)" by Christina Stratton

Aubrey hugged herself against the cold as she walked down the dark street. It was a moonless night and the streets were empty, giving Aubrey plenty silence to think in. What a fool I am, to think that Bryant wouldn’t try to take advantage of me, I should tell Angelica about this…no. If I do that, she’ll just say ‘I told you so’ and that isn’t what I want to hear right now… Aubrey’s mind wandered back to the Child. She kept thinking that everything was just some stupid joke, but then what about the Child and what the Child did to her…in her?

Aubrey thought about the strange feeling that overcame her when the Child had put her hand to her heart. A strange, powerful feeling that she could not even begin to explain. What if this is all true? That means that the future that I have dreamed about, the career that I want so bad will be nothing but a regret of the past. I can’t just leave Angelica. She is the only true friend that I have. I can’t just leave this world, not even for Bryant. At least, I don’t think I can.

Aubrey let her mind go blank, concentrating on the sound of her feet hitting the pavement, the sound of her breath. When she arrived home, she silently opened the door and tiptoed towards her room. “What took you so long? I was worried, no call, no message, and you just now get home…” Angelica’s voice echoed through the small two bedroom apartment. Aubrey didn’t even look at her and said, “Good night, Angelica.” She continued her slow walk to the bedroom, undressed and dreamt.


A beautiful lady is softly plucking the strings of gorgeous silver harp, creating enchanting music. Deep red and black pillows and cushions everywhere, every few with a handsome man or beautiful woman lounging. Aubrey looks around the room, noting that it is a bathing room. The bath itself is a good size. Many nobles and couple sit lazily, enjoying the soothing motions of the servant hands cleaning and rinsing. The scent of vanilla, lavender, honey, and apples fill the air. Candles burn brightly, elaborately decorated vases hold the most beautiful roses, and a large table is set with a large variety of food. Aubrey realizes that she herself is wearing nothing but a sheer, pink, flowing gown, her arms are decorated with silver bracelets, and a necklace of the most pure sapphire adorns her neck. Strong arms encircle her small waist, she smiles and turns to face the love of her life, Prince Bryaniels. Their heads move closer, their lips anxious to taste, their hearts anxious for love……Then the world goes black. Aubrey is alone in the dark. She walks, slowly at first, with her hands blindly guiding her forward. Then the world changes again. Aubrey is outside, facing a man in a black cloak, her hands glowing a brilliant white. She yells ‘You don’t get it do you? Nestan’jye, I will never love you. I will NEVER bow to you!’. She closes her eyes and allows both bodies to be encompassed by the strange white light. Then she hears the words ‘I’m sorry…’

Aubrey woke up. “What was that? A dream. Only a dream.” Aubrey suddenly remembered the night before and dreaded the day. She knew that she would have to make up her mind, sooner or later. She had the strange feeling that Bryant/Bryaniels would not leave her alone until she answered.

“But how do I answer? I can’t just accept what he says…but I can’t just ignore it either.” Aubrey thought out loud.  

Aubrey left for work, hoping that soon, the skies would clear and her mind would know the answer. Her day passed without any strange occurrences.  A few times, Aubrey thought that she saw Bryant, but then they would turn around, and she would see their face. Not him.

“Is everything okay, A.J.?” Aubrey’s boss, Jan, was worried.

“Huh? Yeah….everything is fine. Hey, can I ask you something?” Aubrey wasn’t sure that asking anything would help her much at the moment…

“Yeah, sure. What is it?” Jan stared at her, curious.

“If you were told that you were someone else, after thinking that you knew who you were, would you believe it right off the bat, or would you just blow it off?” Aubrey’s words tumbled out of her mouth.

“Well, I guess that I would want to know if it was the truth or not. I think that I would check it, see how I felt about it. Why?” Jan was suddenly very interested to know what went on in this young girl’s life.

“Last night, I met with someone that I thought I trusted and loved with all my heart. After a……brief conversation…..he told me that he knows who I really am, that I am not what I grew up to be, that I don’t belong here, but somewhere else. But, in order to find the true me, I have to leave everything that I hold dear to my heart. I can’t do that, I can’t just leave everything behind.” Aubrey could feel the tears begin to form, even before her eyes blurred.

“Child, sometimes in life, you just have to give up certain things for uncertain reasons. Otherwise, you go through life asking yourself ‘what if’,” Jan took one last long hard look at Aubrey, before giving her a fierce hug and leaving the room.

Maybe she is right, maybe I should just try it out, see if it feels right.....I need to talk to Bryant. Aubrey kept that thought in her head for the rest of the day. When her shift was over, she called Angelica. The answering machine picked up: Angelica, it’s me, A.J. I just wanted to tell you that you have been a wonderful friend, but this might be goodbye. I am leaving town with Bryant and I don’t know if I will ever be back. I will miss you and never replace you………..Goodbye.”  Aubrey sighed as she set the phone back on the hook, and headed towards the gazebo in the park.

Once again letting her feet guide her, Aubrey concentrated on trying to calm her erratic heartbeat, hoping that she was making the right decision.

As she neared the pavilion, she could see a dark figure sitting on one of the benches. Her heart still skipped a beat when she saw him.

“Well?” Bryant tilted his head, dark eyes staring hard.

“I have made up my mind.”