Daydream

As I was lifted high, I felt myself slipping, my grip on its arm loosening with each breath, making me cough up blood. My vision blurred, and the pounding of my heart grew louder. The creature holding me seemed to snarl in frustration before dropping me. As I fell, my gaze landed on Emma.

Soon, everything went dark, and I found myself in a surreal memory. A young version of me, which I didn't remember at all, was looking in the mirror. The current me walked beside the young me, who was talking to my mom. I called out, "Mom, mom, mom!"

Her voice, so familiar and comforting, stopped whatever she was doing to focus on me. "Yeah, sweetie?"

"When is Dad coming home? I want a new toy."

Her smile wavered slightly, and a shadow passed over her features. "He'll be home soon, I promise." After saying those words, I saw a tear falling from her cheek, but when I got closer, her face was a blur. "But why don't we get our coats and play outside for a bit? Yeah, you like that idea?"

I nodded eagerly, following her outside. But as we stepped into the yard, I overheard rustling in the nearby field. Suddenly, a pack of wolves emerged, their eyes soulless, their fur falling off, one of them dyed in red.

Before one of them lunged at me, my mother grabbed me and took us back inside, immediately shutting the door. But that didn't stop them; they broke through. We kept circling around the house, trying to get away.

My mother's grip on my hand tightened; she was more fearful than I was. She was trying to protect me, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. The wolves were relentless, their movements erratic.

'Why don't I remember this? What happened this day that was so bad that I suppressed this memory?' I thought, my mind reeling.

We were finally cornered. My mother threw me away from her, her screams echoing through the house as the wolf tore off her arm. Another came and tore off her leg. She cried, telling me to run.

'Wait, my mother has her arm and leg, what is going on?'

Young me heard the agonizing screams of terror. I saw anger in his eyes as he lunged at the wolves, punching one so hard it went crashing through the walls into the neighbor's house. I fought the wolves one by one until they all died, still holding one of them by the neck, clenching as hard as I could.

Then everything paused. My head started throbbing, and I got on my knees for a moment. I went to my younger self and saw his eyes were completely white, blood on his hands. I wanted to know more, to see who my mother was, but there was no face on her, only her lips. The pain was too much, but I pushed on.

"David," my mother said softly while crawling towards me.

But I didn't respond. As soon as I heard her, I turned around and started hitting her over and over again. I saw her tearing up so much that I started crying at the sight, but she kept a smile. She hugged the younger me before the final blow ended her life. I fell to my knees, crying harder. 'Oh God! Why did I do this? Why did this have to happen to me?' I was shaking from the surprise. I didn't know what was more infuriating, the fact that I killed my mother, or the fact that no one told me the truth.

As night fell, my mother lay at my feet, a warm smile on her face, but her features remained blurred. When my father arrived, wearing an ancient robe, my younger self still stood there, fists clenched in anger. My father approached and knocked me unconscious, suppressing the memory with a touch to my head.

Once the younger me was unconscious, my father looked right at me and spoke. "My son, oh how you've grown. It's good to see you."

I got up from my stupor, suspicion clouding my mind. "You can see me? Wait, how are we talking to each other right now?"

"I placed a seal on you for the day you face an opponent that'll beat you to your last breath."

Confusion and frustration bubbled up within me, and I shouted, "Is this my mother? What am I?"

"She is your real mother, but she does not want you to see her right now, and you are my son."

I was so frustrated, so angry he wasn't making any sense. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who are you really?"

"You will become me, and in due time, you will replace me. Such is the fate of this world."

I yelled out, "You're not making any sense! Screw fate and screw you! I've watched as people around me died. I'm weak, I am nothing."

"I'll see you soon. You're waking up," my father said cryptically.

I tried running to him, but I was being pulled back. "What, no wait, wait!"

When I woke up, the creature was on a rampage, killing anyone it caught sight of. I looked over from where I first noticed Emma and saw some blood, immediately assuming the worst. Anger surged through me, and my eyes turned black. I shouted out, screaming at the top of my lungs. When it caught sight of me, I flew at it with mock speed, then everything went blank. I couldn't remember what happened next. All I know is, I or someone killed it.

"So you really don't remember anything else, anything at all," a mysterious woman said.

"No, nothing."

"Very well, David, I'll explain what happened."