Mark Waterman: The Sun In All Its Glory (Completed) Alternate Story

Chapter 15: Dream or Reality

Mark had now settled back into his room at home after 3 days of getting used to his new routine. Things had felt different at first due to his reduced mobility and the fact that he no longer had multiple objects sticking into him and coming out of him. The food was nicer and he was glad he was ridden of the disgusting hospital food, nothing could compare to the bad taste that was the supposed chicken and chips that they had served.

One problem that he had experienced during his period of hospitalisation remained though; he kept having the same dream over and over again, and every night more of it would reveal itself. He was actually quite worried about the dream he was having as it was pretty accurate and somewhat represented actual life. Mark couldn't help but worry about the new parts that were added every night, and that they might hold true in the future. If so he thought another visit to the hospital would soon become apparent.

Mark's worry over his dream caused him to be distant to his friends and Luna, but only she caught wind of it. Luna knew that something was wrong when she had said "I'm thinking about getting tattoos all over my face and shaving my head, do you think it will suit me?" to test if he was listening, and when he had replied with "sure I don't see why not" she asked what the problem was.

Mark opened up about his dream and told Luna every intricate detail from Harry saying he needed to study, to him not eating for 3 days straight. He also confessed his worries about what the latter meant for Luna and himself, and that if something similar happened in real life, he definitely wouldn't be able to take it.

Luna was understanding of his worries and promised him that she wouldn't go anywhere and that now he would wish for some alone time rather than hate it. Luna had some ideas as to what the dream might mean. She thought that it meant that Mark; a – cared for her very deeply, b – was very shy and self-conscious and c – carry on with everything that he had done for the last two years. Luna also told Mark that he shouldn't hesitate to tell her about any problems that he may have and that she would do the same with him, and that if the dream got more serious, to keep her updated so she knew what was going on.

Luna offered to stay the night at his house for the night for reassurance and comfort, to which Mark wanted to accept but there wasn't anywhere for her to stay, so instead she invited him to hers. Mark asked his parents if he was allowed to stay the night over at Luna's and they were absolutely fine with it so long as he still remembered to take his medicine.

By the time they got to Luna's house it was nearing sunset, so once inside, they had dinner and played cards until it was time to go to bed. Luna's parents got up to show Mark where the guest room was when Luna spoke out and thought that Mark could perhaps stay in her room tonight, rather than stay in the guest room. Her parents eventually agreed with her and they all went to bed.

As Mark climbed into bed with Luna, his mind cast back to that moment of the dream when Luna and himself were cuddled up in her bed. Mark blinked. He blinked again. He tried to fight the memory but it all felt so real. He could see the very same image in front of his own two eyes and all he could think about was what was to come the following day.

Mark staggered back from the bed, the image burnt into his eyes, the memory engraved in his mind. He started calling out, afraid of what he had seen. Then a new image presented itself to him, one which he had never seen before.

He was lying in his own bed, face down. The sheets stained crimson red. His body coloured purple and grey. Limp he lay in the remains of his blood. Luna stood over him, as white as the moon, aghast at what she had found. A boy with flaming red hair, and a grin as wide as the grand canyon stood in the corner of the room, smoke rising from the object in his hand. Something glistened on the floor next to the boy's foot. An empty bullet casing concealing the truth.

Luna was panicking at Mark's breakdown and didn't really know what to do. She went over to him by his side and held his head in her hands, looking straight into his eyes. Mark was tearing up and Luna couldn't stand it. She took him out of the room and he began to calm down. Luna asked Mark what that was all about and was shocked to hear the reason. She refused to believe that any of it would end up true and spent the rest of the night reassuring Mark that everything was going to be ok. In the end they went down to the living room and snuggled up on the couch, where they finally got some sleep.