Visions

"Hey guys. How do I look?" I smiled as I proudly stood in front my family, displaying the outfit I had prepared.

"You look stupid!" ■■■■ giggled, pointing her finger on me.

"Come on, do I really?" I glanced down at myself.

"Don't worry. Your brother looks just amazing." My mom winked at me.

"Yeah, it's not bad. You might want to zip it up down there, though." ■■■■■■ smirked.

"Oh crap." I looked down, but everything was perfectly 'zipped.'

"Gotcha!" ■■■■■■ laughed at me.

"Be nice, ■■■■■■." My mom told my sister.

"Dad, what do you think?"

My dad got up from the couch, where everyone else was sitting, and put his hand on my shoulder and nodded, giving me a thumbs up.

"You go and do us proud, okay?" He brought me in for a hug.

"Of course, Dad. I won't let you down."

Everyone got up, and I gave a hug to all of them before I left the house.

"Make lots of friends, okay? And don't forget about dinner tomorrow! We'll meet at your favorite restaurant at seven! We love you!" My mom called out from inside.

"Got it! Love you guys too!" I shut the door.

I saw my sisters wave at me from the windows as I walked towards the car. I waved back. Living on campus, I would miss them.

"Where to?" The driver asked me.

"The University of ■■■■■■■■, please!" I strapped in the seatbelt.

It was going to be my first day. I kept thinking about how to create a good impression.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm ■■■■■■! What's your name?" I practiced saying in my mind, playing out various scenarios.

New place, new people, new opportunities! I would make friends, get an internship, and maybe a part time job! I felt so excited!

"So you a student there?" The driver inquired.

"Yep!" I told him how it was my first day there.

"That's nice to hear. My son actually goes there."

"Oh really? Your son must be really impressive!" The school was notoriously hard to get accepted into.

"That's right! We had to save up quite a lot, but it'll be worth it. My son's going to make it big." The drivers face beamed with pride.

I couldn't help but grin. It was nice to see this sort of thing for me. After all, it was the same situation for my family. My parents had worked hard to afford the tuition. I would make sure to pay it all back one day. I swore it to myself.

As the car slowed down to a stop at a light, the driver held out his hand.

"By the way, what's your name? I'm ■■■■."

"Nice to meet you, ■■■■." I shook his hand.

"My name's..." I paused. What was my name?

"Uh. Sorry, I just had a brain fart. My name is..." I struggled with my mind.

My name. What was my name? Why couldn't I remember my name?

"Because you don't need it."

~~~

When I woke up, I was still tied to the chair, and my body was in the same state, with the exception of a small hole in my chest. Interestingly, there was no blood. And the pain had completely disappeared.

But what was that? A flashback? But it felt so real. My memories. The events that happened five years ago.

"What did you do to me?" I asked.

"We saved you." The Queen stated it bluntly.

"What about my memories?"

"What about them?"

"I can't remember names. My family's names, my own name." It was incredibly frustrating. It was similar to having them being on the tip of my tongue. I knew them, but every time I tried to remember, they would fade away.

"Do you need to?"

"What?"

Her tone suddenly turned cold. Her previously calm and collected demeanor had vanished.

"Do you need to remember their names? What benefit will that serve but to distract you? If you want to live, you need to-"

She froze, pausing for a second before recovering her composure.

"I... I apologize for the outburst." She had a look that showed genuine shock at herself.

As for me, I felt a sense of uncertainty. There was so much I was unaware of.

"My Queen?" Arkot walked to her side, and whispered something.

"Yes. I know. The gift." The Queen held out her hand. There was a small marble in it, the size of a grape. It was green, with streaks of brown and silver cutting through it.

"Eat this."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just eat it." Arkot's tone was serious. He lifted and dropped it in my mouth. I did as I was told, gulping down the marble.

The aftereffect was instant.

There was this warm sensation inside me, expanding. It was as if my body was slowly being filled with hot water.

"It worked!" Arkot was gleeful, and clapped his hands.

"I was worried. But it seems I can finally rest." The Queen released a breath of relief.

"Thank you."

For what? But if she really wanted to thank me, maybe she could do some more explaining?

"So about the names." Did they do this to me? Was it intentional? Or a side effect of this Lantern thing? I needed to know why I couldn't remember.

"I'm afraid I cannot give you an explanation." This again.

"Then what can you tell me?"

"You were held by your past. You've been suffering from your guilt, weighed down by your conscience. Think of this as an opportunity to break free."

How much did she know about me? About my life? About who I was before, and what had happened? And what gave her the right to judge?

"Start over. Take a new name." She pressed her palm against my forehead.

"You can't just-" She pushed me backward.

Instead of falling backwards onto the ground, I fell straight through.

For a moment, everything was pitch black, until I blinked.

I was floating in space, staring at a planet. It had blue oceans, swirly white clouds, and green lands. But it wasn't Earth. The sight was astonishing. But then I blinked again, and my position changed.

I was free falling across the sky. The sun shone brightly across the clear blue skies, as I plummeted towards the world. I attempted to spin around, until I was facing the ground.

I saw massive mountains in the distance, accompanied by twisting rivers. I could glimpse vast fields and tiny structures. And far below me, there was a forest surrounding an enormous body of water.

I would appreciate the view, except I didn't have a parachute.

'But I'm sure it'll be fine. They wouldn't have gone through all that to just let me die like this.'

While I pondered my situation, I noticed an orange flicker in the corner of my eye. One, then two. They multiplied into hundreds, maybe thousands of tiny orange sparks blinking in and out, enveloping me. Latching onto me, they sizzled and burned away my clothes, and then my skin.

Inexplicably, it didn't just feel painless, it felt refreshing. Like taking a hot bath and washing everything away.

As they ate away at my flesh, images and scenes started flashing through my head. These visions weren't memories or things I saw before.

~

I was standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a boundless desert. I glanced at the sky and there was a comet far off in the distance. It burned brightly through the sky, a streak of fiery orange.

"Could it be?" These words left my mouth, but the voice wasn't mine. It was dry, rough, and a woman's. I turned around and picked up a large wooden staff. I wrapped my cloak tighter around me, and continued on my journey.

My sight blurred and the scenery switched.

~

I was on the balcony of a tall building, watching the sky, focusing on the orange comet heading towards the ground. My hands tightly gripped the railing, as curses left my mouth.

A woman's voice, but this time it had a higher pitch, accompanied by a unique accent I didn't recognize.

There were footsteps approaching me, and as I started to turn around, another vision took over.

~

I was sitting on a throne, as a servant whispered something in my ear. I shouted a command, and a platoon of soldiers appeared before me, filling the room.

This voice was deep and gruff. A man this time.

A new vision.

~

I was in a dark cave, huddled in front of a pool of water, the torch in my hand my only companion.

I muttered something unintelligible and poured a cask full of liquids into the pool. The water shimmered for a moment, until it revealed an image of the orange comet hurtling through the heavens.

There was a grunt, then some coughing.

The location was substituted once again.

~

There were screams and yelling as I fell off of the horse, an arrow lodged in my shoulder.

Two people rushed to my aid, attempting to help lift me up and carry me away, but they were quickly shot down by more arrows.

I rushed off the gravelly road and into the woods. I kept sprinting until I reached a clearing, where I drew my sword and spun around, prepared to make a final stand. As I did so, I caught a glimpse of something above me. It looked like a burning star, an orange flame on its way to obliterate the land. Laughing, I raised my blade and charged forward.

The visions concluded.