Deviser of Dreams

Chapter 1

It was summertime. I craved for so long for those moments of peace and tranquility.

I was tired of serious teachers who looked down on you, and boring lessons, presented in such a manner that makes you understand why that teacher is bored as well. Waisted time in which you find all sorts of things to do, like showing your artistic talent in obscene scrawlings with hated teachers on the benches. Nothing new. Everything repeats day after day. So you end up thinking that is something normal. Normal, a word that people use so often and which, for me, stopped making sense. A word used by people without imagination. I think there was a quote about that too.

I hated school. I didn't know when this feeling arose, I just realized it. And the teachers played an important role in that. I felt constrained there. I started to believe that all that education would kill my creativity. I was a shy person who could hardly make friends. Actually, I only had a friend. The only person who had been striving to climb the wall to a part of me. But I can't say that I didn't like to be alone. Sometimes I was in need of a few moments of peace. Too much time spent in the presence of other humans was really tiring for me, both physically and mentally. I was a model child, who always listened to my parents, even if they never took into consideration my expectations and my desires. That's why I ended up doing whatever they wanted, not because I would be a weak person, but because I didn't want them to be disappointed in me, especially when they made it clear to me that they were proud of me, although they would never admit it directly. I am nothing of what I could be, said Nichita Stănescu. That could've been my motto. Anyway, I stopped to worry about what people have to say about me and praises addressed to my parents, as if it was their merit for raising me so well, which in part they were right.

But it was summer and I wanted to fully enjoy it. Now, there was no need for me to play the role of the perfect daughter, at least not until autumn. My fun-time started on a Friday, when I was at the library for new books. Haruki Murakami couldn't surprise me anymore, not after his The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I took a novel by Agatha Christie, even though I would've stopped at the middle of it, knowing who the murderer was and how he committed it. I took a look at The River's God, then I decided to borrow something by Shakespeare.

At home, I depleted all my plans for summer in just a few hours, but since I wasn't in the mood to read, I thought of walking along the edge of the forest. I walked on that road way too many times. It was pleasant and calming. There were growing brambles of blackberries. Maybe I had time to reap enough of them to fill a little bag before nightfall. It was only 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. I wasn't worried. I had plenty of time before dark. I put on my headphones and I left. A few minutes later, I was already outside the village.

I run until I got at the edge of the forest, and there I stopped for a few minutes to catch my breath. I wasn't really a sporty type, but in my best days I was an exceptional runner. From the mound where I was sitting, I could see the entire village and the city, even the mountains from afar. It was beautiful. I was bound by those places. I felt a little dizzy, but I think it was because of that running. I didn't even realize it when I arrived at the first footpath. I should've turned back, but I told myself that it was still early and I was close to the village. So I passed the second and the third footpath, until I reached the place with brambles of blackberries. It was far, in a valley where the trees were cut. Outside it was serene, but a little cold and a keen wind.

I should've paid attention, because a few meters away it was a lake and there were some loose dogs, the best friends of the ranger. I filled my bag with blackberries in a hurry. Outside, it was getting dark and there were signs of a heavy storm. I started to run through the forest. I didn't like storms, unless I was at home, with a good book, mint chocolate and a hot cup of tea.

I remember that when I was little, my grandmother and I were caught by a storm with thunders and lightnings. I was terrified by all the lightning which appeared to come in my direction. Also, at that moment, I found a horseshoe, but I didn't take it and that brought me luck. Anyway, there was no time to think about that, but to speed my pace. I had a headache all of a sudden, because of the wind howling through the trees and the chaotic movement of the branches. The hollow trunks of old trees were making strange sounds, like some shrieks or screeching, as if they were cloven. I was tired and I could barely breathe, but I continued to run. I couldn't see the path, but I knew where it was in the light of the lightning. Now, I wish I had not gone into the woods. The road seemed endless, and I was scared. I was losing blackberries on the path, but it was the last thing to care about. This storm really came out of the blue.

I figured out that I wouldn't get home and I almost started to cry, especially when the rain unleashed. I couldn't see an inch in front of me and I was soaked to my skin. The rain was cold and heavy and poured without mercy on the dry earth. I tried to go on a guess. Grooves were formed and I thought I'd sink in the mud. Still going without seeing where, I slid into a ditch. I hardly got up. I think I had scratches on my arms and face, because they stung, but I didn't have time to check it out. I stretched a hand to support myself by some trunks, but there were only some big angular rocks. I walked along the craggy wall, until I came across a cleft in it. It was big, like the entrance to a cave.

I wiped my eyes. It was dark. I looked back and I saw the rain pouring and the lightnings. Where could I have been? As far as I know, there wasn't such a place in this forest and I have wandered it since I was little. I opened my phone, but its faint light didn't help me see much around me, and to my horror, I didn't have any signal. In the light of the lightnings, I think I saw some little green sparkles, but I guess it was only in my imagination. I would've preferred that variant, or even some fireflies, instead of something else, more real. I was afraid not to touch a snake or to disturb bats, if there were any, so I didn't dare to move, but I was so tired that I sat down. It was terribly cold. No matter how much I was looking on the phone for a damn signal, it was pointless. My parents certainly were worried and I really didn't want to face my mother when she was with a jaw in the sky and one in the ground.

I bundled my arms around me and I didn't think that I could get some rest in that place, but surprisingly, a short time after, I could barely keep my eyes wide-open. I was still frightened by darkness, especially now, when I was all alone. Actually, it would've been ideal to be alone there. My eyelids were so heavy and the headache was terrible. It seemed that it wasn't so cold and creepy anymore. I succumbed to sleep and fear abandoned me, no matter how many thunders were howling in the night.