In-Between Ch. 3
A new chapter as I did say, 3 am...but at least it's done.
The story may seem forced, however there is still a long way to go.
Had various modifications to do to this chapter...as well as a small re-write of the original idea.
The chapter may be short, but that's how I intended to keep it as it was only meant to present Axel's dream.
Anyway, enjoy the read and see you next time, hopefully in a few days!
Ace.
** Distracted - Painful memories of a lone wolf**
---------Trail of thoughts! (3rd chapter, things are starting to unveil bit by bit, for now let us preview the land of never-ending possibilities).
The encounter of our duo has been short lived, as the day came to an end and their paths separated soon after. The future can be cruel at times or it can offer numerous possibilities, the choices made just a short while ago could lead to new disasters or things could become more interesting in more ways than we could actually comprehend.
What is meant to be shall be. But each choice we make, will eventually come back to bite us...someone said that, in a place at a certain time.
Thus with a bit of a downed feeling, the wolf arrived home soon after their parting, without as much as a greeting he went up the stairs to his room and sat at his usual spot at the open window gazing at the stars above wishing for a better outcome. The wind blew slowly past him carrying his whispered phrase into eternity, the sky was clear, no traces of clouds; the low murmur of the wind could be heard without the disturbance of the night creatures.
Our friend lowered his gaze and closed the window with a heavy sigh. His legs carried him towards the closed door and without much haste opened it, once outside his room he stared longly at the corridor. For once he felt relieved for not having to see his grandmother's concerned self, as things always end up in a come and go situation, himself ending up in an unappreciated situation and her with that calm, yet judging gaze staring at him as she disapproves of everything he does. However even with such a situation, for once in his life there is one person that, even though does not see eye to eye with him, did not pack her bags and stepped out, like how many others did...a feeling of loneliness washed over him as he stepped within the confines of the bathroom walls. With slow movements he undressed and stepped inside the bath, the cold water gave him a sense of calm even now. A small smile spread across his face as he remembered all those times when he refused to learn how to swim...but as soon as it came upon his face it faded the same instant, the frown from before returning to its owner, so to speak.
The thoughts that followed were but a storm of endless pain and self-torture. The blurred faces of his past still haunted him as they stepped beside the shadows. The few words heard from his father as he was brought to his grandmother so many years ago, the hateful voice he heard from the one he was supposed to call a parent...unwanted, maybe...undesirable, possible. The past is however the past, and cannot be relived, the future, though, might bring un-foretold mysteries.
Thus the wolf steps out of the bath, hoping for a new resolution to appear as he puts the little bit of hope he has in this final attempt to reconnect to this world, what will tomorrow bring is what will follow. Deep in thought, distracted, he missteps as he gets out of the shower and falls hard to the ground, hitting his head mid-fall.
"Like this day could have not been worse."
Small steps can be heard behind the door, followed by a knock.
"Are you feeling alright, dear? Did something happen?"
"Yes gran, just dropped...ugh...the...shampoo."
"Oh, alright dear. I've left some food on the table for you and don't make too much sound, I need to rest for tomorrow.
"Okay, thank you."
And with that the conversation ended. Axel, our lonely wolf, got up from the floor and rubbed his head slightly to check if there's any damage done, however there was no obvious wound, luckily. With that taken care of, he grabbed the towel and rubbed his fur dry, a pair of pants and he's out the door. The lobby was covered in complete darkness, it felt as if one step forward and a nightmare would commence. But that's a daily life for himself, a continuous darkened dream, kind of like living within a self-created nightmare.
The confusing thoughts haunting the wolf will continue to trouble him as he tries to figure the best solution to his problems, the best option at facing his troubled past. Tomorrow his daily program will change as it is the final day of school and after that...the search for the truth behind his fragmented memories will commence. The final battle with a past he so hard fought to forget.
For now he steps within the boundaries of his own room, the night covering all with realms of shadow and silence. Slowly, he approaches the bed and let's himself fall upon it, while his gaze follows the path of the dim light thrown about the room through the windows facing the garden. Various thoughts keep troubling him, but soon even that fades into the silence of the night and Axel parts with reality and retreats within the safety of his own mind.
Upon opening his eyes a forest greets the loner. A familiar place, yet one that brings but a feeling of déjà vu without the trace-back to a memory of forgotten times...maybe so much time has passed that such things could barely even be called a dream of a memory, but a fantasy of what may have been...maybe.
The wind picked up in intensity as the clear sky quickly began to shy away behind dark clouds. The time fastened its pace as the shadows within the forest grew larger, as if in an instant the welcoming forest upfront vanished, but only to be replaced with a wicked array of old trees, burnt and lifeless. As the wolf stared at the massacre in front of his eyes, the smell of smoke rose from behind. Without a look behind he stepped towards the forest, this time more resolute than ever in his life. The answers he may seek, maybe they hide closer to him than ever before. This nightmare...may be but a surrealistic vision of some twisted memory of his, but it's the only way he ever saw the world...since who knows how many years ago.
His feet carried him forward to an unknown location, passing each tree as whatever life still resided within their trunks, slowly crept from within them and dissipated within the air. Everything seemed like it lasted for hours, the forest endless and the darkness within it growing, as the path seemed to be getting smaller and the walk harder to apprehend. It all felt weird, if this was but a dream, a nightmare of sorts...why is it that every step taken seemed to tell its toll on Axel's body. Soon though, despite his tired body and the wounds created by the harshness of the path followed, a misstep on an overgrown root and he found himself falling to the ground and falling and falling...then everything went dark, only to be replaced with the bright light of the sun. His body felt light, as he was carried by an unknown entity. The face of his knight was hidden by the brightness of the surrounding light; however the feeling was somewhat familiar.
"I'm waiting for you...still. At our favorite spot, yet you will not come to me."
The voice was somewhat different...or was it? Everything seemed somewhat familiar, yet distant...how can a place such as this remind him of the past, although it didn't strike him as a place he'd seen before...but one that he wished to see. Confused words spread throughout his mind, bending his imagination and entangling his memories, creating this world perhaps...the place he found himself seemed more or less like a shrine, yet it looked different now. Not the shrine he remembers, but maybe...there is no difference between the two, but age... Maybe that is it.
The man placed Axel on the veranda carefully and placed himself at his head, whilst supporting the wolf's head he crouched under him and let Axel rest his head on his lap. A bright smile spread on the unknown man's face, as tears strolled down from the wolf's bloodshot eyes.
"I've always remembered this...the tears you'd always drop when you would come back here and didn't find me anywhere in sight. Always thinking that I'd abandoned you...But, I'll always be waiting. I lo..."
But the words the wolf were expecting to come never arrived, his lips were moving, but the wolf couldn't hear no sound. He tried to cry out, but he couldn't. He tried to move, but it's as if he was stuck to the floor by a magical force. But...this was just a dream. It wasn't reality...or at least not all of it. As chaos broke loose in his mind, he left himself be consumed by the feeling of anxiety of continuous expectation of wanting to listen to the sweet voice from before. However it did not come. He felt himself be consumed by darkness; his judgment was clouded by uncertainty.
The smile in front of him seemed to slowly fade, but the face of the unknown person did not disappear, instead it came closer...and closer, until he could feel their lips connected. The uncertainty from before seemed to drown as he let his thoughts go and darkness was once again replaced by the sunrays of morning. Their lips parted and tears dropped from the unknown man, bringing the wolf out of his trance. For once in this surreal vision, his body moved...more on its own then by command, as his hand reached for the other persons face, slowly stroking his cheek as he leaned into the wolf's hand. After a few moments the wolf lowered his hand and knew for once that no matter what this was...a dream, a simple fantasy, a vision...he had to find the person before him. He felt a hand slowly caressing his head, as he closed his eyes, a warm feeling slowly making itself resurface after so long a time. While he rest the same sweet voice started singing a familiar song, a peaceful and passionate verse, followed by a tragedy, only to lead to a future of unknown, a future...not yet written.
Everything that was left of the dream shattered to pieces as the wolf felt a sting in the side and his eyes slowly adjusting to the light in the room. His stare fixated on the ceiling of his room, while his fur shined in the sunrays of the morning passing through the now opened window. Upon fully waking up, he realized that he was now on the floor, the alarm clock from the desk sat to the left of his head with its window cracked; the blanket was half on the bed and half with him on the floor. The dream from before must have been quite a wild one so far as he could remember. Everything was hazy, but for once he could clearly remember the kiss and the man's tears, his voice, bits and pieces of the song...his wish to go back, wasn't his own...only, but the promise to see each other. As he slowly remembered some of what was, tears started forming bellow his eyes.
A knock at the door was soon heard, and Axel jumped to his feet, stumbling on the half of the blanket on the floor and soon he found himself once more head first smashing the ground. The door quickly opened and his grandma stared at him wide eyes as the wolf lifted himself up, whilst rubbing his forehead and wincing in pain.
"You never learn to watch your feet, do you?"
His grandma's sarcasm could be felt more over her concern, for that was nothing unusual for her nephew. While his hand was covering partially his face, he made sure to wipe the left over tears as to not make her worry more before replying.
"Well...you know me. I'm as hard headed as my father..."
"At least there is something he left you with..." upon realizing her words, she stopped in her tracks. "You should rest a bit more, as school starts in a few hours."
"I will do just that."
"Then I'll leave you to it. Also the food from last night is in the fridge, since you didn't get to eat it. I'll be leaving first today so be careful to lock the door when you leave."
"Okay. Have a nice day!"
Axel tried his best to show a genuine poker face, but that made his grandmother glare at him for a while before leaving the room.
With a heavy 'sigh', the wolf lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
"So today is the big day, huh? I wonder what I'll say I have to do this time to just be able to miss home a few days as to not worry her again. Guess I'll have to figure that a bit later and maybe I should ask Shay for advice, he may be a bit less clueless than me in that area."
Whatever was to happen the following hours would be a future of hardships...not as if things have been any easier until this moment, but the decisions to follow will change a lot of things...hopefully it will not be as grim as Axel could have predicted. But that remains to be seen...once he returns to his old childhood playgrounds and if he would ever find the person from those memories...if he is real.
Reality...or dream, the promise was made either way.
A promise should never be broken, no matter the passing years.
The now smiling wolf closed his eyes, and soon he fell back into slumber...but this time it was a peaceful moment, unrestricted by the uncertainties of the forthcoming, without worries of memories he could not comprehend, for it could all become clear...no, it must become known of what was...for him to know what may be the future bringing.