When Nightmares Become A Reality

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Years and years later, in a foreign country...

A woman lay in a bed covered in sweat, struggling against the covers wrapped around her. Her arms and feet struck out against the blankets causing her to move closer and closer to the edge of the bed. Her head tossed and turned as her mouth mumbled something that couldn't be made out.

All of a sudden, in distress, tiny droplets of tears started to stream down her face one by one. Abruptly, the woman blinked her eyes open. Then just as quickly, she sat up in bed crying out, "Mother!"

Dazed, Li Qinyang shakily wiped the tears that were spread across her cheeks before she buried her face in her hands and took several shaky breaths.

"Not another one," she groaned into her hands, acknowledging that many more nightmares and dreams were to come. This wasn't the first time for her to wake up in such a state after recalling the awful events that took place many years ago in her childhood.

Deciding she needed some air, she fought to untangle herself from the covers. However, as soon as she managed to untangle herself, she wished she could jump back into the bed.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Li Qinyang mumbled to herself.

She wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep warm as she padded over to the windows in her bedroom. Once she reached the window, she saw that it was still dark outside and was raining. The patter of the rain was a sound that comforted her.

Even though the night sky was gloomier, seeming more ominous from the rain, the moon was present in the sky. The bright glow illuminated the inside of her bedroom through her windows as she slightly opened the curtains. Seeing as it was still dark outside, Li Qinyang wondered how late into the night it was. She glanced over to her bedside table where her alarm clock sat, checking the time.

"It's only one a.m," she sighed to herself as she thought back to how late she went to bed earlier on. "I didn't get much sleep."

She considered going back to bed but knew that she probably wouldn't be able to fall back asleep anytime soon. Instead, she decided to go and get a warm glass of milk from her kitchen. Languidly, she searched for her nightrobe to keep herself warm then proceeded to the kitchen.

She turned on the kitchen lights before taking the milk out of the fridge and found a saucepan. She then warmed some milk in a saucepan over the heat on the stove. When the milk finished heating, she poured it into a cup and sat at the kitchen island taking slow sips of her warm drink.

Whilst sipping her drink, Li Qinyang thought back to the dream she had. She wanted to avoid the bad memories, but she couldn't help the direction her train of thought took.

Hoping to distract herself, she wandered over to the living room in her apartment where she had kept her violin, seeking the comfort of something familiar.

Although Li Qinyang pursued other talents as she got older, she always came back to her instruments, dedicating whatever free time she had to them.

After some quick searching around, she found the violin case in the corner of the room, safely kept to the side. After opening the case, she took out the instrument. She then wandered over to her living room window, hoping that the bright lights of the city down below, the continuous patter of the rain, and the melodic tunes of her instrument would block out the sad memories.

Slowly, a various sequence of notes splayed throughout the room causing a satisfying harmony that could be deeply engraved into one's heart. A wordless lullaby. It continued to spread throughout the room on and off for the next few hours, up until the point that Li Qinyang finally became exhausted, admitting defeat.

She thought that, luckily, the frequent noise in her apartment was able to go unnoticed by her neighbors, blocked out by the weather which had become more chaotic as the night went on. Otherwise, making noise for that long into the night would've caused some problems. Would it not?

Due to her exhaustion, Li Qinyang decided that it was best to go back to bed now as she would probably be able to get at least a few hours of restful sleep in. After settling the violin back into its case and setting it aside securely, she made her way back to her bedroom as she prayed to have a peaceful nap. She knew that she had to be up in not too long since she had a busy day ahead of her tomorrow.

"Or today," she mumbled to herself, remembering that when she had checked the time earlier it was already a new day. "I better hurry up and get some rest."

Rushing faster to her room, she made her way to the bed and fixed the sheets that had been tangled previously before lying down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she breathed in and out slowly hoping that it would calm her racing mind.

Unknowing that she was already slipping into unconsciousness, the exhaustion catching up to her, she wished that she would drift off to sleep soon.

****

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP

The sound of Li Qinyang's alarm clock continued to blare around the bedroom. However, she didn't hear her alarm clock as the sound continued on causing her to sleep in.

An hour later...

Rolling over onto her back in bed, Li Qinyang gazed up at the ceiling above her, breathing in deeply. She still felt a little tired but knew that she had to get up in a minute.

She shifted her head to the side and noticed that the sun was bright up in the sky due to the gap left in her curtains from earlier on in the night. Wondering what the time was, she turned her head in the other direction to look at her alarm clock on the bedside table.

"Oh my gosh!" Li Qinyang shrieked into the silent morning as she quickly sat upright, noticing that the time wasn't what she had set her alarm clock to go off at.

She realized that she was an hour behind the schedule that she had planned for the day. Throwing the covers off of herself, she rushed into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and had a quick five-minute shower. Speedily, she rushed to get dressed. She brushed her hair quickly afterwards deciding it was best to leave it out for the day.

Finally ready, she rushed into the kitchen to have a quick breakfast of bread and a coffee that she hoped would help to keep her awake. With no more time to spare, as soon as she finished the coffee, with the rest of the bread she was eating still in her hand, she rushed towards the front door.

Her bag, keys, and shoes were waiting for her near the door. Slipping her shoes on, with her keys in her hands Li Qinyang exited her apartment. She speedily double-checked to make sure that she locked the door.

She had to make her way to the university, which she normally did by bus as she had gotten used to the bus system in the country, so she continued out of her apartment building, towards the usual bus stop she went to. When she arrived at the bus stop, she quickly checked the bus schedule while hoping for the next scheduled one to arrive quickly. She had planned to meet up with the friends that she had made throughout the years at the university. However, she wasn't sure if she'd arrive on time.

Whilst waiting for the bus, Li Qinyang thought back to how she arrived where she is today, since the end of high school, and the plans she had created for herself. Today was the day when she would finally get her bachelor's degree in Translation Studies.

When Li Qinyang finished her studies in high school, she decided that she wanted to further one of her many talents. She was able to learn many different languages quite efficiently. She had also made this decision based upon the idea of helping out her father with the family business, deciding to be a more filial daughter. She also had the idea that a fresh start would help her to gain her own experiences. Thus, she applied for her top choice of university, which was where she currently was in Country R, and was accepted into one of the top-tier universities abroad.

She knew many and had studied many of the languages that were in high demand in Translation Studies. All of her hard work through her studies would finally be paying off or at least she hoped as today would be the day she got her degree after her years of hard work and dedication to her studies. Yes, she had chosen the study to help her father in their family business as she wanted to make him proud, but she had always genuinely loved, been interested, and enjoyed the exploration of various languages and cultures.

She had gained many new experiences through her years here in Country R.