Chapter 3: A Midnight's Dream
Seth woke in the morning feeling well rested and refreshed. he also thought back to his dream last night. It had been a simple dream, where he had watched the night sky. The stars were bright and the moon was full. The star he had seen last night was the brightest in the sky, almost as bright as the moon. he lay in a grassy field, merely gazing at the sky, he even saw a few shooting stars, their tails streaming behind them as they shot across the sky. Seth sighed, content. This was a peaceful place.
Seth rolled out of bed, walking over to his desk. He wrote down his dream in his journal, then headed down the hall to the bathroom. He showered, brushed his teeth, and combed down his hair with his fingers. The face that stared back at him was unremarkable. Thick brown hair that looked like it might need a trim soon, and eyes that were several shades darker than his mother's were. His face was neither handsome nor ugly, though his complexion was clearer than most other teenagers. He was somewhat proud of his body. He was thin, some might say borderline scrawny, but there was no excess fat, and no excessively bulging muscles. He didn't work out much, which everyone told him would catch up to him eventually, but he didn't really listen. His mother once told him that his father was also thin, and never seemed to gain weight.
Seth shrugged, and went back to his room. He dressed in a black T-shirt with a sports company name on it, and pulled on a pair of worn cargo pants. He started to collect the dirty laundry on his floor, tossing it into a hamper in his closet. Sundays were always laundry days, and he had been doing the laundry for almost five years. Since his mother had started forgetting more often than not. It was still early, but he knew his mom would probably sleep until noon anyway. Seth walked across the hall, and knocked politely on his mom's door. It wasn't closed all the way and swung open. his mom was sprawled on the bed, still dress, snoring lightly. Seth went over to where her dirty laundry sat. It picked it up and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.
He left the apartment and took the stairs down to the laundry room. The advantage of doing laundry this early was that the laundry room was practically deserted. Seth walked over to a machine in a corner and started loading laundry into it. He added the proper amount of detergent, closed the washing machine, and inserted five quarters. The machine hummed as it began cleaning the clothes inside. Seth sat against the wall and pulled out his laptop. He worked on his Literature paper for a while, though he didn't really feel like working. After half an hour, he closed his laptop and started to move the laundry from the washer to the drier. Once the load was started, Seth sat back down, not really wanting to go back to his paper. He pulled a small notebook and pencil out of his pocket, and started doodling. He stared down at the page which he had filled with stars and swirls, not feeling very inspired. His thoughts returned to his dream from the other night. Seth shook his head. Why did that dream keep popping up? What was it about that dream that held his attention. Seth felt his pencil begin to lay the groundwork for another picture in his notebook.
He glanced down. He could already tell that it was a scene from the street in his dream. He added a few details, stopped, then added a few more. He shaded in some shadows, using his finger to smudge the graphite. When he finished, he was somewhat pleased with the final picture. It was far from perfect, but he had been drawing on a smaller scale than he was used to. The buzz told him that the laundry was done. He stood up, putting the notebook back in his pocket, and transferred the now clean laundry to the hampers. he carried the clothes back up the stairs to his apartment. He left his mom's clean clothes outside her door, and took his own to his room. He thought about putting them away, but instead just put the basket down in front of his closet. He started listening to music, but quickly grew bored. He sighed.
He left his room and went to the kitchen, where the phone was. He called his friend Drew, and asked if he wanted to go meet somewhere for lunch, and hang out afterwards. Seth hung up the phone, grabbed his wallet, and left a note for his mom before leaving the apartment.
He and Drew decided to meet at a small pizza parlor a few blocks from Seth's apartment building. After that, they headed over to Drew's place. He had an XBox that they could both play. Seth spent the rest of the day doing that and chatting with Drew. They both thought about working on their science project, and they both agreed that doing it later would be fine. When Seth got back to his apartment, he made himself a small dinner, and decided to watch a little TV before he went to bed. He flipped through the channels, stopping at an action movie he had seen before. When the movie was over, he headed to his room. It was still a little early to go to bed, so he listened to music for another hour before he started drifting off to sleep.
Seth found himself in a long hallway. The floors and ceiling were made of the purest white marble, pillars were embedded with gold. Large tapestries of purple and gold hung on the walls. Seth started walking down the hallway, then stopped to look out a window. Outside was a city that seemed to be created in the same style as the hallway was: white marble, with large purple and gold domes. Flags waved in a slight breeze. The closest one depicted two figures circling a sun and moon. Seth continued down the hallway. He passed several doors, each one appearing to be made out of solid gold. But he continued walking. Towards the end of the corridor, he saw a large, elaborately decorated door. Hanging on either side of the door was a tapestry with the same pattern as the flag outside. It appeared to be two winged creatures, one dark blue, the other pale white. They circle a sun and moon, vaguely reminiscent of a Yin Yang symbol. Also hanging directly on the door were two banners. One was pure white with a stylized sun wrought in gold and orange thread, and the other was a deep midnight blue with a crescent moon embroidered in silver thread. The door were slightly open, and Seth heard voices within.
"I see you have proven me wrong once again, my sister," said one voice, "and made a night even more beautiful than last." The voice was so elegant that Seth found himself listening to every word. There was something in that voice that commanded respect and the wisdom of countless years.
"You flatter me, sister," said a second voice, "but I thank you all the same." The second voice sounded younger, almost timid compared to the first voice, but still held that same attention-grabbing quality.
Seth edged the door open slightly so he could see who was talking. Two figures stood on a balcony, staring at the sky. the one on the left was slightly taller, and was pale white. There was no mistaking her for a female, but what caught his eye was her hair, which was multiple colors and seemed to flow in a nonexistent wind. she had wings, which were partially extended, and, Seth thought, a horn on her head. The other figure was a dark navy blue, with blue hair that flowed like the other's in an imaginary breeze. She too had what appeared to be wings and a horn on her head.
Suddenly, the taller one stiffened slightly. The figure became blurred slightly, and Seth couldn't identify any of her features besides her wings and hair. She turned around, sweeping the room with her eyes.
"Celestia," the blue figure said, joining the first, "is something wrong?"
"I don't know, Luna," the first figure said, "I thought I sensed something."
Seth froze, afraid that he would be seen if he so much as drew a breath. The figures both seemed to radiate power.
A sudden gust of wind pushed the doors open, causing Seth to stumble back.
"Did you feel that, Luna?" the white figure said, staring at the door.
"I did, my sister," the blue figure replied.
Seth slowly started to back away.
"I know you're there," the white figure said. "Show yourself." Even when her voice held an edge of anger, there was an unusual elegance in her tone.
"'Tia, I don't see anyone," the blue figure said.
The white one fixed her gaze on where Seth was. there was no malevolence in her stare, only curiosity mixed with caution. It felt like an eternity had passed before she broke the stare with a sigh. "I guess you're right, sister," she said.
"you should get some rest, sister," the blue figure said, "I will watch over the night."
"I-I guess I will," the white figure said. "Goodnight, my sister," she said, then started to leave the room. As she walked toward where Seth stood, the world began to blur. The last thing Seth saw was that the figure walked on four legs.
Seth woke from the dream. The sky was still dark, but the sun was just beginning to color the sky. He knew he wouldn't get any more sleep that night, but he still lay in bed for a few more hours, puzzling over the dream he had just had.