𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫

Downstream

  The large waterfall cascaded down the side of the rocky pink cliffs. The air was sticky and warm, everything was painfully bright and the atmosphere was filled with constant buzzing. Sweat beaded on my brow, and my bare feet sank into the pink sand, the grassy slopes long behind me. My boots dangled in my hand by the laces.

When had it gotten so hot? Last night everything had been cool. I used the back of my hand to wipe the sweat out of my eyes and glanced back through the palm fronds, ferns and other plants towards the spot where I'd abandoned my jacket. I should have brought a swim suit.

I lost sight of the waterfall, but the sound of crashing water was growing, so I assumed I was going in the right direction. I saw a hint of water ahead through the heavy foliage and gasped as I ran forward, desperate to jump in. I sprinted straight through the tropical leaves and onto the banks of a large aquamarine lake, where the waterfall pooled into at the base of the cliffs. I dropped my boots in the sand and dove straight in, a manic need surging through me to soak up all that cold water.

I gasped.

To my eternal dismay, the water was warm. Really warm. Was there nowhere to find respite from the heat in this place?

Before I decided to carry on. I stood, and began to wade through the water, the king had told me to go upstream, so that's where I went. Or at least, intended to go.

A rustle of leaves in my periphery had me turning, finding... a rabbit. With horns. It was a stark, glacier white, and looked completely out of place here in this tropical jungle. It hopped up to the riverbed, and began to drink. It was fascinating, something I'd never seen before...

And it was so cute!

On silent feet, I slowly waded back towards the creature. When I was about a foot away, the rabbit looked up. It's eyes were completely blue. An intense, cold shade, like the deep ocean underneath glaciers, hidden away from the sun. Our gazes met, and a shiver scurried down my spine. What was this thing? It's long, delicate whiskers twitched.

It didn't look afraid, in fact, as it stared at me calmy, it seemed it was waiting for me to touch it. I continued to approach cautiously, worried I still might scare it away. Ever so slowly, I knelt in the water that now only came up to my shins, and reached out.

The bunny's white fur looked so soft, and it's horns apeared to be made of glass. My fingers where barely a hands-breath away when the animal jumped and boundeddown the riverbank, it's long, fluffy ears bouncing as it ran downstream.

I stood, determined. I will pet you, I silently vowed.

Then I took off after the bunny, splashing through the cold water, which quickly crept up to my knees. Then my thighs. Then my waist, until eventually I found myself tip-toeing through kneck-high water, tiling my head back so I could breathe.

Somehow, I still hadn't lost sight of the rabbit, which seemed to slow down everytime I lagged behind. I clenched my fists beneath the surface, determined to touch it. The water was getting dangerously high though, and I felt that any minute I would-

My foot slipped, and the sandy floor beneath me dissappeared, becoming a deep pool of turqoise water. I was sure I heard faint, child-like laughter floating my way from the river bank before my head sank under the surface, and I was plunged into darkness.

~

I was falling through the sky. Except this time there was no boat or anything to hold on to. My heart climbed into my throat, and a scream ripped its way free as I plummeted towards a hard cement sidewalk and a street full of cars and people. I had to be at least a hundred feet up in the air, but the ground was coming ever closer at an alarming rate.

Sixty feet... Fifty... Thirty..... Ten... Five..

My limbs locked as I tensed, squeezing my eyes shut and bracing myself for the no-doubt fatal impact. I couldn't help but cringe internally at the thought of the ungracdeful death. I was too young to just go splat!

A second passed. Then another. I didn't feel anything... Was I already dead?

I cracked an eye open, and blinked. Because my face was hovering mere inches from the concrete. In fact, my entire body was just... suspended in thin air. I blinked, and jerked back, realizing how close I'd just come to... dying.

The invisibly cord holding me up dissipated and I fell to the ground with an oomph. On shaky arms, I pushed up, and took in the giant metropolis sprawling out around me.

Where had I just landed?