Caroline lay down on her bed quietly. It was already late but she couldn’t get herself to sleep. There wasn’t any pain in her stomach but she felt very uncomfortable, uncomfortable about the whole day’s event. Thankfully she didn’t have school the next day and she could find time to rest. She got up as quietly as she could and headed to the kitchen to get some water. Reaching the stairs she saw her mother in the sitting room reading some magazine.

“Mom?” Caroline called out as she walked down the stairs looking extremely puzzled. She went ahead and sat beside her mother who didn’t say anything at first but stared intently at her trying to find out if anything was wrong

“Can’t sleep?” Mrs. Owen asked as she turned to Caroline who was already seated.

“No” Caroline answered. She looked around the house that looked empty and lonely for the first time in her life. Everything seemed to be in its place, even the unnecessary and unimportant things that her mom bought on impulse a few months ago. She noticed her dad’s favorite chair at the corner of the room that they had all agreed to keep it there in his memory. Also her mom’s magazine scattered all over the table. “Why does it feel so empty?” She thought to herself.

Noticing her silence Mrs. Owen continued and asked “Is anything the matter Caro?”

Caroline was prompted out of her thoughts and looked back to her mother “Nothing really”. She contemplated for a while before she agreed to ask her mom a question that had been bugging her mind for a while “Mom, did I go anywhere yesterday apart from the salon?

Mrs. Owen gave Caroline a quizzical look but answered her anyway “Well you did go to pick up Max, isn’t that the reason you brought his car to the salon in the first place?”

Caroline slowly nodded her head but she still wasn’t satisfied with the answer. She knew she didn’t meet Max immediately after leaving the salon but she couldn’t remember going anywhere else. “Why can’t I remember” She mumbled out her thoughts

“Hmm?” Mrs. Owen raised her eyebrows in question “Are you sure you are ok?”

“Yes mom, its nothing. Anyway I was a little thirsty so I’ll take some water and go to bed” She said as she got up to leave her mom who simply nodded and continued her magazine.

Still trying to remember what she was forgetting, Caroline poured herself a glass of water and slowly sipped before emptying the content. She was a bit hungry but she decided that it was too late to eat anything even though she didn’t remember when last she ate. She frustratingly poured another glass and gulped down the water, dropped the cup and headed for the stairs.

“Goodnight dear and try to get some sleep” Caroline paused when she heard her mother speak but she didn’t turn around and was back to climbing the stairs

“Ok mom, you should get some sleep too goodnight”.

When Caroline was back at her room, she stood behind the closed door and looked around. Her room didn’t feel as deserted as the sitting room, ignoring her thoughts she slowly went and laid down. She stared at the ceiling as her mind drifted to recalling her day again which ended in the same result. Finally she decided to ask Max, she texted him as she was sure he would be asleep already.

C: Hey

C: I just wanted to ask if I told you about going anywhere yesterday.

She dropped her phone after sending the text and continued to stare at the ceiling. She wasn’t expecting reply but about ten minutes later she picked up her phone and stared at the text she had sent and added

C: Can you come over if you have the time later in the day? We have a lot to talk about

She dropped the phone and was staring at the ceiling yet again. She let out a long sigh, she felt really exhausted both physically and mentally but she still couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling. Forgetting something and not knowing was extremely annoying. She tried her best to remember but she started feel her shake. Tremor washed through her as she vibrated from head to toe on her bed, she wanted to get up but she couldn’t. Her arms and legs felt as heavy as lead. Just as the shaking stopped she felt her stomach hurt just like before and she started to panic.

Thankfully the pain didn’t last long and she was calm and back to normal as if nothing had happened. Caroline tried to move her arms and legs which successfully obeyed her this time but she didn’t get up. Her eyelids felt heavy and she allowed herself drift to sleep in the calmness not giving the thought to whatever just happened to her.

“Hello Line”

Caroline eyes snapped open as if they weren’t sleep filled just a minute ago. She recognized the voice and the smiling face that was now in front of her. She looked around the place she was in that now looked like a small cottage from the inside. “Another dream?” She thought to herself. The walls were beautifully decorated with paintings that looked ancient and she couldn’t understand what ever was painted. There were flower pots everywhere with different types of plants in them and also different colors. She wanted to observe more of the place but she dragged her eyes back to the person in front of her.

It was the most beautiful dress she’d seen. It was brown and embroidered with flowers of different colors, it has a lot of layers but not too much and it ended at the knees. The sandals worn were wrapped around her legs, reaching up to the shin level and it had a bright gold color. If this person wasn’t as tall as her Caroline would have mistaken her for a fairy.

Caroline managed to gather her thought as she stared in awe. She blinked twice before finally managing to call out “Ellie….?”

Ellie walked towards her still smiling “Long time no see”