CHAPTER 7: Dreamscape

What was she doing here? I had to tell Gwen, but first I needed to make sure she was alright. I moved quickly towards her while reaching out at the same time, "Don't touch me, you worthless child!" She said Angrily and I flinched.

What had I done? She had never treated me in such a harsh manner. I was worried but I stayed back to avoid agitating her, "Why drag my sweet granddaughter into your scheme you Banshee!! You have done something abominable and deserve to die!!".

Now, This was extreme and I was hurt by her words. She lifted her left hand and ran for me which gave me a bad feeling, wait was that a knife she was holding?!

I fled for my life convinced now that Grandma Tiana had lost her mind. I hadn't gone more than a few steps when I heard a scream, a heavy thud and a crunching sound. I turned sharply to see what had happened, and the sight made my blood grow cold.

Splayed on the ground in a pool of blood, was Grandma Tiana. I was rooted to that spot trying to process what exactly happened, for a second I was fleeing from her and now she was lying there by the mailbox dead!

I heard someone screaming in the distance though I couldn't see anyone, and then I realized that I was the one screaming. Soon, half the school had congregated around me and the dead woman.

"My goodness, was she run over by a car?" Someone asked "Isn't that Gwen Louis' Grandma?" Another asked too. At the mention of Gwen's name, I snapped to attention and quickly scanned the area for Gwen.

I needed to be there with her when she saw her Grandma's body. Gwen pushed through the crowd and headed for me immediately, "I heard you scream are you alright?" She asked, making my heart break. If there was a way to prevent her from seeing her Grandma's corpse at that moment I would have done it so I wouldn't see her break apart.

"I'm fine Poppy, please hold my hand" I whispered desperately as the voices around us increased, "Miss Louis come with me '' Our principal called out. The ambulance had arrived and the men were starting to carry the body into the car. Gwen turned back to see what was going on and I held my breath while carefully waiting for when she realized who the men were carrying into the vehicle.

I saw it sink in and before I could grab hold of her an earsplitting scream tore through the air. You could hear the pain and anguish in that tormented sound, the school grounds quieted immediately as everyone watched me hold onto my best friend in desperation so she wouldn't harm herself.

"Lena was that Nana?" She asked me, tears running down her, "I'm so sorry Gwen but please can you be strong, you're breaking my heart come I'll give you a hug" I said reaching for her. The principal asked us to follow him to his office, while everyone else went back to class.

After numerous calls and conversations, Gwen was asked to go home since her family had rushed to the hospital to check on Grandma Tiana. I was permitted to take her home too since I was her best friend but I had to report back for questioning since I had narrated the entire story and they couldn't understand how she got into that messy position.

Gwen's mom was at home so I handed her over to her, making sure she was alright before I left. When she had settled in with her favorite snacks and a can of soda, I sat down beside her and held her hand.

"Don't be scared, it'll be alright" I said and she nodded, wiping at her nose.

"Um…Lena"

"Yes poppy, what is it?" I asked

"You said she came at you with a knife?" She asked, I quietly contemplated how to answer her without hurting her, "You can tell me everything I trust you" Gwen said sitting up. I adjusted on the chair and then cleared my throat, "Yes she came at me with a knife, she wanted me dead" I said "I'm sorry Lena" "Sorry? I mean it's not your fault Granny went nuts and it's not like you knew she was coming to kill me" I said smiling.

"That's it, I knew," Gwen said "What?!" I asked, pulling my hand away, shocked by what I heard. Gwen bent her head and started crying "I'm so sorry, when she said she would kill you to prevent you from opening the gates I thought she was just talking so I didn't take her seriously" she said in between hiccups.

I stood up slowly feeling dejected, She was devastated and I couldn't console her because at this point, I needed to take a break from everything that had happened, from my post-18th birthday dreams to meeting Igris and now my best friend's Grandma wants to kill me.

"Sorry Gwen this is too much for me, I need to get going since I've dance classes later," I said smiling stiffly.

"Do you hate me for it?" Gwen asked, pinning me with swollen eyes which were red from crying.

"I do not and will never hate you, I just need to get my thoughts together", I said, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.

"Please I'm so sorry Lena" She begged, "It's fine Poppy, I've got to go," said softly before leaving her room.

I had gone back to my house to ask my Mom to follow me to school and speak with the Principal since Dad was already at work. I explained everything to her on the way so she wouldn't be so shocked when the Principal broke the news to her, not that I did anything wrong though.

They wrote everything off after discovering that I had no idea what happened to Grandma Tiana or why she'd want to kill me. They concluded that she had gone crazy and told me to take the day off as a victim of trauma.

I wasn't in any mood to dance so I called and asked for a permit from my teacher who sympathized with me though I wasn't listening.

With my schedule cleared and it being the mid-day when everyone had gone to work, I was bored and decided to stroll for a bit down Floral Hill which got its name from the abundance of flowers that grew there.

I lay on the grass not too far from the small pond at the base of the hill. The environment was serene and I remembered Igris, did meeting him occur whenever I slept or just at night?

I decided to test my theory, I began counting sheep to lure myself to sleep and before I got to 34 I was fast asleep.

It worked! because I found myself in the arms of the most beautiful man I'd. ever seen, "Igris!" I said with delight hugging him tightly, funny how I had switched from being terrified of him to missing him so much.

"I missed you," I said though my words were muffled since I had my face buried in his robe. I lifted my head after he didn't reply, "Igris?" I said quietly questioning the cold response, "I'm trying to control myself Alleya and yes I missed you too" He said softly before planting a kiss on my forehead.

"What do you mean by controlling yourself, did something happen?" I asked looking up at him, "You wouldn't understand," he replied, "Well you're safe here, I won't dream of anything harmful so you won't be harmed" I promised and he chuckled, making me gasp. I always thought of him as this iceman with frozen emotions but hearing that sound made him feel more realistic to me than ever.

"You still think I'm part of your dreams right?" He asked, I was confused, I mean wasn't he part of my dreams or was I missing something?

"Alleya I exist but seeing you here or in my own Dreamspace is all I'm allowed to do," he said. I pulled away from him and stepped back to study him properly. He stood and watched me watch, probably enjoying the attention, "If you exist, then why aren't you out there but here" I asked

" Because you haven't summoned me" he said, pulling me back into his arms with my back to him.

"Igris, what do you mean by summoning you? How do I do that?" I asked "By calling out to me, if you call my name I'll be granted permission to enter your world" he replied nuzzling my hair, I was perplexed, What was he talking about?

" You do not understand right?" He asked while turning me around to face him, "Yes, you said something about my world and from what I understood so far this isn't a dream too" I said slowly trying to reassemble the information in my head.

"Alleya if this is a dream then why are you aware that you're dreaming" he asked smiling, I got distracted from my train of thoughts briefly as the smile had me melting.

"Wake up and call my name then I'll explain everything," he said before capturing my lips in a kiss that was so tender a kaleidoscope of butterflies erupted in my stomach. I had only been kissed twice all my life, the first was a mistake and the second was a dare so I wasn't an expert in kisses, but I knew within me that no one could ever measure up to him.

That floating feeling again, No! I wasn't ready to go yet. I clutched tightly to his clothes trying to fight it, "Let go Alleya, you can't stay here" he said softly tucking my hair behind my ear, "I don't want to leave, if I go back you won't be there" I cried.

He pulled me away and let go after whispering "Call my name and I'll be there" and swoosh! I was gone and back to reality.