[Anninja]: 428.The dreamer

The air smelled of dank silence and mystery in the early hours of the morning. Arya shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. The feeling was that of something mighty coming up, surely not good. Her fingers tightened around the watch, her grandmother's gift. The day after Arya's tenth birthday granny had died. The watch had never subjected to any tries to make it work since then, but the girl took it with her everywhere nevertheless, she felt safer so. Arya looked around as if she wanted to see someone aiming a gun at her. Of course, the right time to be afraid, even if something big is brewing, it can't be stopped. Besides, have to deliver a letter to mister Devel before he leaves for Atlantis , she thought. Mister Devel was all right, as long as you don't come to him scared. There were many rumors of people that had done so. Most included paranoia for the rest of the poor ones' lives.

Suddenly a sound distracted her attention, erasing completely her will to suppress fear. A tick under her palm. Then again. The watch was beating in one rhythm with her heart. Faster, faster, getting off-beat... Silence suddenly wasn't dank anymore, didn't seem thick enough to cover the sound of watch ticking, as clear as pebbles falling on glass.

-What are you doing here so early?

That cold voice... Arya couldn't bring herself to turn around and look mister Devel in the eyes. Her only wish was to run, hide somewhere and never come out so that nothing and no one would be able to hurt her.

-Say "good morning"!

Words crashed the silence like distant thunder. The girl, silent and not turning around, stretched backwards her arm with the letter in it. The man took a step towards her, bowed down... She couldn't bear it. Arya dropped the letter and ran. In the trees- a root, branch, a spider web, branch again... Soon it was just a blur. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and dashed forwards in blind fear. The ground swaying, heartbeat drumming in her ears... She couldn't tell when the fall had started. Butterflies crowded her stomach and heart didn't show any signs of working- just for one moment. Falling stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Arya had woken up. All she could feel in the air was only the scent of dank silence and unsolvable mystery that early hours of the morning so often possess.