Unwanted memories

Smoke filled his vision and dust was everywhere. Bright red flames burned intensely and wildly like a captured beast that had been freed from it's restraints. He turned his head in all directions but the images never changed. The hungry flames ate away at everything and anything they came across.

Daniel was in the midst of his burning home but seemed unharmed and immune to the angry flames. He heard screams coming from every direction even though there wasn't a single soul in all the destruction. The screams were relentless and filled with agony. Daniel just couldn't imagine what amount of torture or pain that could have resulted in such blood curdling screams.

Eventually, to his delight, the screams died down together with the flames and all that was left behind were ashes that slowly settled like like snowfall in winter. Everything came to a standstill without warning. And it was at this moment that Daniel heard a weak voice calling to him from behind. A voice he could easily recognize. A voice so familiar it left him breathless. The soothing, sweet, voice of his mother that would always scold him all the time and would sooth him whenever he got scared.

"Danny."

As if hearing her voice was the trigger, memories came came flooding into his mind as if a barrier had been destroyed. And with the memories came a multitude of emotions that overwhelmed him. Anger, regret, sorrow, agony, loss.

He felt all this as he turned to face his mother who was right behind him. She was just as he remembered seeing her last .Long, wavy, shoulder length, hazel brown hair, pale skin that seemed almost transparent and black eyes with a hint of purple that seemed to hold deep affection as they focused on him.

However Daniel noticed the sword wound in her abdomen and her blood soaked clothes. Slowly ,she brought up her hands to hold Daniel's face and with a deep longing in his eyes ,he moved forward to feel the touch of his mother once more. His mother's dead cold hands were a stark contrast to the bright warm smile that radiated from her face. She moved her lips to talk to Daniel but her words were inaudible and incomprehensible to him. He moved closer to her to listen to her whispers.

"Danny, it's time to wake up. Wake up Danny. Wake up....."

"Wake up you little street rat!!!!!"

The loud and horse shout had forcefully pulled Daniel from amidst his deep sleep and inevitably from his dreams. Disoriented as he was, he could still feel the cold touch of his mother's hands.

The hurricane of emotions within him made his chest constrict so much so that he could feel his eyes begin to water. His hand instinctively went to his neck in search something. He eventually held tightly a pendant, the only thing in his possession and the only reminder of his mother in the world

Before he could recollect himself, he felt a strong kick to the side of his abdomen and heard another shout.

"What are you waiting for. Get out of my sight you stinking mongrel. Your going to scare away all the customers."

Daniel sat up in an awkward manner from the corner of the street where he had miniscule amounts of restless sleep during the night. His joints ached from the hard stone pavement and his sides pained from vicious kick. he looked up to the source of the relentless noises around him.

His long bangs blocked most of his vision hence he had to tilt his head all the way up just to see clearly. A stout, round and plump man was looking down on him with eyes full of contempt. The man was wearing a purple silk woven robe and had a number of ornaments around his neck and a golden ring around his finger, most likely a magic device due to the tiny runes on it's circumference. He appeared to be a merchant from his attire alone.

"I should probably call the Imperial knights to take care of this boy. I'm sick and tired of always finding some other street rat sleeping close to my shops every day." The merchant talked to himself as he was eyeing Daniel.

On hearing the Imperial knights being mentioned, Daniel forced his legs to stand and he made a run for it. He already had enough painful and uncomfortable encounters with the imperial knights to have learned his lesson and know when not to be involved with them. Despite his aching joints and tired muscles, he run as fast as his skinny little legs could take him which was surprisingly fast.

"That's right kid, you better run before the knights get here, and never come back here again."

Daniel heard the merchant's distant shouts as he was making his timely escape. He navigated the streets with a confident gait since he had the map of this backwater city at the back of his head. He made a sharp turn into a dark alley where he was able to rest and reorient himself. The short sprint he made had left him breathless and exhausted. Leaning against the wall, he slowly collapsed to the ground.

Finally, peace and calm. His chest rose and fell in rhythmic movements. The alley was free from the chaos of the busy streets, moving carriages and shouts from the many traders and merchants.

He closed his eyes and was absorbed in the silence of the small alley. His heartbeat slowed down and the adrenaline running in his veins slowly reduced. As he calmed down, his mind drifted back to the dream he had had. He he could vividly remember every detail.

A heavy wave of sadness came crushing down on him when he remembered the loving face of his mother. The soft hands that were once warm to the touch, the smile that was ingrained in his memory since infantry. His hand tightly held the pendant around his neck. The pendant given to him during the last breathe of his mother as she died in his arms.

"Keep this close to you always. It will keep you safe Danny. I will be with you forever."

These were her last word to Daniel as she bled do death in his arms while handing over the pendant to him.

The pendant seemed to be a cheap, dull and ordinary ornament made from poor quality jade that had chipped and wheathered from years of neglect. Daniel had a fear of appraising the pendant itself, unwilling to come to terms with the possibility of the last memento left by his mother being just worthless.

But it wouldn't matter. To him the purple ornament that always reminded him of the last person that actually cared about him was priceless. For all he had right now was himself. No one would care if he died, actually some like the merchant would be ecstatic if he did.

He was alone in this world where the strong survive and the weak are devoured in their wake. And it was through sheer will and a bit of luck that enabled him to stay alive. 

He held onto the pendant tightly trying his best to shove the memories from the nightmare to the back of his mind and forget it. This was his coping mechanism for the frequent nightmares that plagued him. Whenever he remembered that fateful day the blend of emotions within him would always get the better of him. 

His breathing slowed to a halt and his mind became clear once again. He stayed there for what seemed like minutes before he was completely calm.

As this was happening, if one were to observe the pendant held in Daniel's hand, they would most probably see nothing different whatsoever, but if a keen eye to detail and sensitive to motion would peer into the dull, murky interior of the purple pendant, miniscule black tendrils would be seen from within the ornament swirling into the epicenter of the pendant encircling a dark sphere before vanishing without a trace as soon as Daniel was at ease, as if it had never existed.