C6 A Shadowy Dream

The night was running slowly.

Sonya was in her room in the attic compartment and Auntie Caroline had gone to bed a few hours later after she finished her story about Rose Duville.

Sonya inhaled she had spent an hour reading a book that she borrowed from the library but she couldn’t close her eyes. At the time she looked at Lassie, the German shepherd dog had already cowered underneath her feet.

Sonya inhaled and got up from her bed. She saw a music box on the table next to the bed that Uncle Elbert gave her on her fifteenth birthday.

‘A ballerina girl music box!’ she smiled as she examined the music box that still looked being kept up well.

Gently, Sonya scrolled the key to play the music box. A lullaby song was played as Sonya returned to the bed and reclined herself. She tried to close her eyes and enjoyed the lullaby.

Within a few minutes, Sonya found herself in an empty large hall as she tried to get up from her reclining position. Her eyes captured a slightly opened door that was painted in maroon and its structure was so highly horizontal as the door of some mansions or castles had.

‘Where am I?’ Sonya wiped her nose and she felt impulsively strange with herself and the building. She could sense something unusual was happening. She found herself wrapped by a sheer fog. She sensed that she was awakening in subsequent trances.

Sonya stepped into the corridor hall as the door was opened. Every time her bare feet touched the floor surface, she shivered as coldness assaulted her skinny toes.

She gasped. ‘What are those white rose petals for? Why are they scattered on this cold grey marble floor? I sense that these scattered petals were arranged to point something!’

‘What damn is all about?’ She breathed in deeply as she explored the surroundings with her eyes.

All that she could see the place was designed romantically for a purpose. There were candles in flares put on along both sides of the corridor. The scent of roses was furnishing the atmosphere and the light was dimly operated with a condition to construct some tender ambiances.

‘Who’s that man? Why is he standing with his back on me? Does he try to conceal his face from me? And those petals directed to him?’ Sonya stopped to drag her steps and quietly stopped to walk.

She tried to say something to that man but her mouth was locked. She felt shivering as her eyes gazed at the back of that tall well-built figure.

‘Why is he wearing the costume of a nobleman in an old era?’ Sonya took a long inhale.

The man, after all, turned around and confronted her with his glaring eyes Sonya sensed an unnerving feeling was to crawl inside her as her eyes captured a pair of piercing dark blue eyes. His appearance seemed pale, cold, and untouchable.

Sonya sighed and threw her eyes away from that man’s glare.

“Sonya Duville!” He mentioned her name with a wide smile on his full thin lips.

Sonya wrinkled her forehead as she saw the face of that man. ‘I thought I knew him, but where and how?’ She tried to remember but it seemed that she got her brain fog.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation!” His voice sounded cold and deep.

Sonya felt her throat was dry enough as her heart started beating faster than its normal rate. “Where am I?” she asked him and her voice declared her anxiety.

She remembered that it was some minutes before she was in her room, sleeping with Lassie. Her ears still captured the lullaby from a music box from a distance, otherwise, the lullaby sounded more miserable.

“In my place!” The man, again, smiled at Sonya who was observing her surroundings, and panic slowly but surely attacked her.

“Who are you?” Sonya returned her gaze to that man again.

“You don’t have to know my name!” He smirked coldly and walked to a table around the corner as he poured some wine into two different glasses.

The man offered Sonya a glass of wine that she rejected with her toss against that man’s hand.

‘His skin is so pale and cold as there is no blood flowing into his veins!’ Sonya bit her lips in the same way as she saw the skin texture of that man. She drew her hand and folded both her hands to her arms as that man already made her scared enough.

That man winced as he felt some pain when Sonya’s hand-tossed his hand and rejected the wine that he offered.

“So, you’re protected!” He smirked and took some sips of his wine arrogantly.

He stared at Sonya who was standing with a panicked expression. He smiled coldly as he walked to the table and put the two glasses on.

‘Damn. I believe he is evil!’ Sonya took her sight around to find a way from that man. ‘I need to escape from this place!’ She wheezed and tried to stay calm.

She turned around but her feet couldn’t be moved. She turned her head to the man who smiled at her coldly.

“Do you want to leave me, my love?” He asked Sonya.

Sonya didn’t answer his question and she desperately attempted to move her feet. Suddenly, she felt her two feet were unacceptable for movement. ‘What happened to my feet?’ She held her feet and tried to move them.

Sonya’s ears could capture the sound of thudding steps as that man walked to approach her. ‘Urrghh…’ Sonya still attempted to drag her feet and run away from that place.

That man stood behind her and it seemed that he kept a distance from the reach of the seer fog that covered Sonya.

‘I wish I could move my feet and clash him with the seer fog. I am sure that this fog has some powers to protect me as I saw him look painful when he clashed with the fog through my fingers!’ Sonya thought restlessly.

“So, now, you think that this fog could protect you from my reach, dear Sonya?” the man gazed at her as if he could read what Sonya was thinking about inside her mind.

Sonya swallowed her saliva. “What do you want?” She asked the man.

She felt her energy was drained and an unknown power forced her to cower on the floor. Sonya was shivering, her fingers clenched, she sensed the coldness of the floor surface deliberately penetrating her skin pores.

“I don’t want you to hurt me!” Sonya looked into the man’s eyes. She threw her face off as she sensed that those eyes were trying to hypnotize her and drain her courage to confront him.

The man moved his fingers as if he were trying to uncover the seer fog away from Sonya. He grimaced as he tried to handle some pains that Sonya believed the power of the seer fog tried to make some defense movement.

Sonya was still in her cowering position at the time a spiral wind whirled in front of her and that twist came out from that man’s palms. The wind gradually smeared off the fog and made it dimly disappear, vaporizing into a gloomy air in the hall.

The man smirked again and made Sonya dreadfully afraid to see his face. “Now, you’re less protected!”

“Stay away from me!” Sonya tried to speak with her panting breaths.

The man stared at Sonya and smiled coldly. “Do you still reject me after many years?”

“What are you talking about?” Sonya wiped her nose again and her eyes were busy to find a way to escape.

‘What is he doing?’ Sonya saw the pale fingers of that man trying to reach her waist and lift her from her cowering position.

“Dance with me!” The man grabbed Sonya’s waist and made her lean on his arms.

‘His eyes…they commanded me to do whatever he wants me to do!’ Sonya gasped and was startled by that man’s action.

‘What is he going to do then?’ Sonya still felt numbness on both of her feet as she struggled to get away from that man’s strong grip on both sides’ waist.

The face of that man was getting closer and suddenly, Sonya heard something growling outside the room.

The man discouraged himself to put any uncomfortable actions on her and released her from his grip.

His eyes were directed at something behind the opened door. Something was still growling Sonya could hear its steps approaching her and that man.

‘Urrgghh…’ Sonya tried to lean up her body with her two arms and stared in the same direction as the man did.

Something big was appearing behind the door as it kept growling.

‘A wolf!’ Sonya closed her mouth with two hands as she figured out how big the size of that wolf was. ‘It’s three times bigger than me!’

The man walked backward as the wolf stepped into the room.

‘What kind of pendant that the wolf is wearing!’ Sonya gasped and she saw that the wolf was staring at her for a moment before it glared at the man and growled again.

‘His eyes looked at me softly. Does it try to protect me from that man?’ Sonya followed every step that the wolf made with her eyesight.

‘Now, it’s standing next to me!’

The wolf’s pair of eyes became reddish and sparkling as it warned the man to back off.

The man smirked and Sonya could see some lines of discouragement on his face as the wolf kept walking toward to him.

“It’s not over, Sonya!” The man covered his face with his arm as he disappeared in countless haste.

The wolf became less fierce as the man disappeared. Its sparking eyes were staring at Sonya and it tried to convince the young woman that everything was okay.

Sonya gasped. “Thank you!” Sonya let the wolf approach her and it sniffed her. It didn’t bark or make any voices but its eyes kept staring at Sonya.

Sonya let the wolf caress its forehead on her cheek.

“Oh, God!” Sonya panted and opened her eyes. She found Lassie sitting next to her.

‘What happened to me?’ She got up from the bed and reached out a bottle of mineral water from the table. She took some sips.

‘What a nightmare!’ Sonya wiped her lips.

She looked at Lassie, that dog seemed quite worried about her.

“I’m glad it’s only a nightmare, Lassie!” Sonya put the bottle on the table and hugged the neck of that German shepherd dog. “Thank you. I know that you’re protecting me!” Sonya whispered in the dog’s ear and caressed his neck gently.

Lassie woofed at Sonya and sniffed at her.

‘You’re okay, Sonya!’ that throaty man's voice appeared again.

Sonya wrinkled her forehead and stared into Lassie’s eyes. “I know you’re talking to me, Lassie!” she smiled and caressed the dog’s forehead.

Sonya strived to go to sleep.

‘What is that?’ She grabbed something on her left sole.

‘A white rose petal!’ Sonya was startled as she took a look at a fresh white rose petal.

‘Wasn’t it a dream?’ Again, Sonya had to swallow her saliva as she started becoming dazed by what had happened.

‘Was it the wolf’s furs?’ She wiped some furs that weren’t Lassie’s from her cheek.

‘The golden brownish furs of the wolf?’ Sonya got confused, she turned her head to Lassie. “What do you think about it, Lassie? I’m scared enough!” She reached Lassie and hugged the dog to recline next to her.

Lassie woofed and put his paws to Sonya’s cheek as he tried to calm her down and protect her from any worse situations.

Sonya cowered and sneaked her face into Lassie. She tried to close her eyes and forget about what happened to her.