1 Chapter 1

Evelyn is sitting with her head rested against the passenger window. It's raining today. It's the only good thing about today. The grass is at the stage where it's not quite dead yet, but not exactly green either. The tree leaves are just starting to turn colors, but they are also in the awkward color mix stage. It's early September, so the weather is chilly.

Evelyn's old school just started a couple weeks ago. She had to drop out last year when her heart condition got critical. That's when Evelyn started going to all these 'specialists'. She calls them 'specialists' because each one was supposed to help, was supposed to know what was going on, but none of them did. None of them had any idea what was happening. Each referred her and her mom to someone else who  might have a better understanding on what's going on and how to help.  All of it was  useless.

Now Evelyn's mom has decided to send her to a top notch heart disease clinic. She says that staying there will help Evelyn get better. The doctors can supervise Evelyn's condition and learn what they can do to help. Except every other doctor hasn't been able to find a way to cure Evelyn's rare heart condition.

There is still hope. It's running through Evelyn's veins. She can feel it there like slight warmth like the sun on a spring day. The hope is there in her viens because she's been having these interesting dreams ever since Evelyn's mom told her about the new clinic two weeks ago.

The hope is not there because she believes these new doctors can save her. She has hope because these dreams have showed her of a place with magic.

It's crazy to believe in this place full of magic and myths, but it gives Evelyn hope and shows her a place where she can have a future. It gives Evelyn the hope of a life without this disease weighing her down.

The dreams are a bit strange though. The first few introduced individuals. There were five different people introduced. Each one of the five was a different creature. The dreams only gave basic information for each.

The rest of the dreams were with the first five together in some way. Sometimes all of them were together, others only one or two of them were together. They seemed to all be friends or at least know each other. The strangest part about these dreams is the narrator.

He always talks to Evelyn. He only ever addresses her and nobody else. The creatures in the dreams don't even hear his voice they keep on doing what they were doing, but Evelyn hears it.

All the driving was making Evelyn tired. She slowly stated to drift into sleep. The car's warmth helped her to fall asleep.

The scenery was vibrant. The fog over their heads cleared up when the conversation started.

"I hope this year's a bit more interesting." the light brown haired boy said.

"I'm not sure anything at this school is interesting." the grumpy girl stated.

"Are you kidding? Last year was epic!" said the dark skinned boy.

"What was so epic about last year?" said the grumpy girl again.

"Don't be mean to him. He could of had a good year last year." said the girl with darker skin.

The group started walking to the shade under a big old willow tree. They usually sat under this tree. It was their spot.

"Oh come on guys, I'm sure this year will be fun and exciting for each of us in our own way." the pale boy said.

"Leave it to you to be the middle guy." the rest of the group said.

They all burst into laughter as the scene started to fog up again. Then a different voice spoke.

"Evelyn, it's time you make your choice." the man who always only spoke to Evelyn said.

"What choice? Who are you?" Evelyn responded back.

"It doesn't matter who I am. Right now I'm giving you a choice. You have the choice to come into this land and find a cure for your heart or go to another clinic and get the same result you have been for months." said the same deep voice.

"What do you mean? How could I possibly go into a dream? That's impossible." She responded.

"Dream? Is that what you think this has been? This is no dream. This is just another world I've showed you in hopes that you would come here and cure your disease." the deep voice chuckled.

"So you're saying that I can live there? I can have a life with my mom and some new friends." Evelyn asked the voice.

"I'm afraid that I can only transport you to this land, but yes you can have a life and be cured." responded the voice.

"I can't just leave my mom behind! That's crazy! Who would I live with if I didn't have my mom." She replied angrily.

"I can see this is a hard decision for you. I will give you until tonight's vision for you to decide. After that, I will not be able to offer you this opportunity again." the voice stated.

Evelyn woke up with a start. She sat up straight in her chair startled. She felt her mom glance at her quickly before turning back to the road. She rested my head in my hands.

Who does he think he is? she thought. How am I supposed to choose between my life here and a possible one in a dream land? That's just ridiculous! Right? she thought while continuing to stare out the window.