A 16 Year Old's Dream Chapter 1

Story
Look down there! Do you see that large island below? The sun got stuck at the foot of the mountain, and swapped places with the moon. If you look down through the clouds, there's an island of scintillating light. Oh, you already knew that?

Well, listen anyway. There are three cities down below, and the most populated among them is the city of Metro.

Should we fly down a little bit closer?

Here, over on First Street. This is the rich people's neighborhood. You'll see a lot of expensive cars here.

Did you find the house with the large poplar? Come down to the second story window. Open the window just a crack and look inside.

She lives here.

See? Look inside. She's fast asleep. Look closer. Watch her sleep. She seems to be sleeping face down, doesn't she?

You can tell by her legs peeking out from under the covers that she's still in her school uniform. It'd be a pity if she caught a cold, since it's the middle of the winter and all. She's not very strong, you see.

It's still early in the evening, so maybe she's just resting her eyes a bit. Maybe she just likes to sleep a lot. See how her light brown hair flows down around her face.

You can tell there's movement going on underneath her closed eyelids.

She might be dreaming. Her dreams may not be important now, but they will be later.

Please remember this place, and please remember her.

"Mmm..." Maya began to wriggle around. The cold air against her calves woke her. She rubbed her eyes.

"Uh, why is my window open?" She tried sliding out of bed, but her legs caught in her blanket and she nearly tripped.

The bruises covering her legs were unsightly. She was clumsy, and colliding with her desk was a commonplace occurrence.

She closed her window and beheld her own reflection. "I am pretty cute," she thought to herself.

"I want to be prettier, though." She was already pretty enough. Perhaps, she was just being greedy.

Her face was slim, her head small in proportion to her height. Her hair was voluminous, her neck was lovely.

Half of the other kids were jealous of her, but she didn't know this.

It's because Maya only has one friend, whom she sees as being prettier than her. Speaking of which, look at who Maya's calling right now.

She flipped open her Hello Kitty phone and pressed a button. The caller ID displays a name, "Nipples." This is her only friend's nickname.

She was very popular with the boys. Whereas Maya's beauty was rooted in her demureness, Nipples was the personification of gaiety.

She earned the name "Nipples" after she forgot to wear a bra to school one day. She's not even embarrassed by the moniker.

Maya brought her phone up to her ear. Shall we zoom in closer to listen in? "Your call cannot be completed as dialed. To reconnect, press the star key, or to call the police, press the pound key."

You can hear a prerecorded female voice. What do you think is going on?

Maya spoke, unfazed.

"Nipples, stop it. What are you doing?" She must still be half asleep, her tongue wouldn't move the way she wanted it to. Her speech is choppy. She's having trouble articulating her words.

Nipples had a knack for impersonating other people.

Their classmates would laugh and say she should become a voice over actress, but what Nipples really wanted was to become a famous screen actress.

With Nipples' talent, it just might be possible.

Ah, Maya's hanging up the phone now. Nipples said she's coming over.

She has a gift for her. It's her birthday today. Maya's turning sixteen this year.

Sixteen makes you a legal adult in Metro. You can even buy alcohol at the convenience store.

"Hey," Mom's calling from downstairs. "Come down and eat." Maya stomped down the stairs.

Since the occupant has left the room, shall we take a proper look around?

There's a display case filled with dolls. I've never seen so many dolls before.

There's a fluffy teddy bear, sheep, and a wolf. There are some really unique dolls in here, too.

There are some peculiar ones made out of wood and cloth. Her aunt had made and sent them to her, in the traditional style of places that had existed a long, long time ago. They might be kachinas, made by Native Americans, or matryoshka dolls from Russia, but Maya doesn't remember.

She gave them nicknames of her choosing instead. For instance, she calls the one with the long nose, Nosey.

She has one doll which she calls Cry Baby because it looks like it has tears on its face, even though it's actually makeup.

She sees what she wants to see. She calls the female doll with slits for eyes, Slanty Eyes.

She calls her favorite doll Coco. "I am Maya so I'll call you Coco." A nonsensical reason, to be sure.

Coco is the lone, cute male doll amongst the many others that wore bizarre expressions.

Someone's doing the dishes downstairs. They're probably all done eating.

It only seemed like there were more side dishes since it is her birthday, but there really was no difference from other days. They didn't have cake, either.

But Maya and her mom don't really care. They've probably spent many birthdays like this.

However, her mother asked her this: "Is there anything you wanted for your birthday?" She asked in a tone that seemed to say "If not, forget about it."

"Not really," Maya hadn't been expecting anything at all. "Wait. How about a cute little baby brother?"

"I think it's a little too late for that," her mom said as she laughed. She was probably just joking.

Maya's getting up without really listening. You can hear a girl calling Maya from outside.

She slipped her feet into her mom's slippers and dragged them outside. It's too cold to just be wearing her school uniform, but maybe she's not planning on being outside for too long.

Cold air is blowing in through the open door. She dug her hands into her uniform pockets and spoke.

"What is it, Nipples?"

"You've won a gift. Let's give it up for your generous friend!" Nipples was doing one of her impressions again.

She pulled out a sky blue necklace as she spoke. "My boyfriend and I fished this up at the beach. It doesn't seem very expensive. Go ahead, put it on."

The stone Nipples held in her hands flashed for a moment. She didn't even seem to notice.

"Is this a battery powered toy?" Maya thought as she placed it around her neck.

She held it in her hands and shook it around, but it did not light up again. Perhaps, she had been mistaken.

"Oh, it does look marvelous on you. Our store can offer it to you for the very special price of five hundred Euros."

"If you go up to the twelfth floor, you can also get a coupon for 5% off, dear customer."

Nipples was very excited as she spoke in her department store associate's voice. Though her face was chapped from the cold, her excitement turned her cheeks a bright red.

"Thank you, Nipples." The world began to spin as she spoke. Maya fell down to the ground, like a sheet of paper.

Maya is flying high above a vast sea. She sees a lone boat below. She had never seen a boat before.

A man stands at the helm of the boat struggling against the rain to turn a key. He looked up at Maya, and says something. Ack.

He had a distinct accent, which made him hard to understand. "Herman," he's calling out. "Forgive me," is what I hear him saying.

"I'm not Herman," she wanted to say, but her mouth wouldn't open. Oh, dear! The boat is sinking.

His body is trapped beneath the water. She wants to save him, but her body won't listen. She can't even move a single finger. This is just like being frozen in a nightmare.

"You're not Herman. You are one of my children." We can clearly hear him say this, but he's not her dad.

He died when she was little, but she knew his face from the few photographs she has. A sky blue light flashed from the man's hands as he sank into the water.

The stone Nipples held in her hands flashed for a moment. She didn't even seem to notice.

"Is this a battery powered toy?" Maya thought as she placed it around her neck.

She held it in her hands and shook it around, but it did not light up again. Perhaps, she had been mistaken.

"Oh, it does look marvelous on you. Our store can offer it to you for the very special price of five hundred Euros."

"If you go up to the twelfth floor, you can also get a coupon for 5% off, dear customer."

Nipples was very excited as she spoke in her department store associate's voice. Though her face was chapped from the cold, her excitement turned her cheeks a bright red.

"Thank you, Nipples." The world began to spin as she spoke. Maya fell down to the ground, like a sheet of paper.

Maya is flying high above a vast sea. She sees a lone boat

Maya woke up with a start. She realized she was back inside her house. Nipples and her mom were looking down at her.

"Oh, thank goodness. You collapsed suddenly and freaked us out." Nipples sighed in relief.

"It's because you sleep too much," Mom doesn't seem to be worried as much as Nipples.

Something about the house seemed different from before. She tried figuring out what it was, but it made her dizzy.

"Let me help you to your bed." Nipples helped her up and led her up the stairs. Maya did not have any strength left in her body. She was about to fall asleep again.

Her eyes closed on their own as soon as the covers were pulled up over her.

Nipples stepped on something and shrieked in pain. She had bent the arm of a doll. She looked at the dolls strewn about on the floor and clicked her tongue.

"I swear she's like a kid."

Despite saying this to herself, she impersonated her teacher's voice. She gathered up the dolls and organized them in the display case. She drew the curtains together thinking Maya would be cold and left the room.

Moments later, the sound of the two women chatting could be heard from downstairs. Maya slumbered away, unbeknownst to the whole world. Her eyes moved back and forth beneath her lids. Previous: A 16 Year Old's Dream || Chapter 2