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Shane could see the night sky, scattered with stars and glimmering auroras through the canopy of leaves high above his head. The trees surrounding him were tall, eminating soft glowing lights.
He didn’t know where he was, but he felt at peace beneath the golden lights of the trees. The air was warm but not stifling, the wind rustling through leaves carried a sweet scent reminding him of home.
He’s been here before.
A soft voice was whispering to him to go foward, deeper into the woods. Shane could see no reason to refuse the sugary suggestion, wanting to see more of the beautiful forest he had found himself in.
The grass beneath his bare feet as he walked were moist from recent rain, the earth he could feel underneath was warm. A trinkling sound could be heard, and when he looked left Shane could see a narrow stream running between the trees, giving way to occasional boulders inside the shallow waters.
The water, clear as crystal, did not seem to contain any life form. He realized there were no animals in this wide forest. No birds could be heard singing, no insects buzzing.
The whispering grew more insistent, making him follow the little stream into denser woods no less beautiful but intimidating in a way the trees before were not.
As he walked further in, the whispers grew into a soft lullaby, its melody tantalizing. Shane tried to figure out where he had heard it before with no success, only lulling deeper into the colorful notes.
Upon realizing the song was sung in a voice he was familiar with, the notes reached crescendo, just before dying out.
Everything seemed to stop breathing. The rustling leaves could not be heard, the stream he was following was no more, the sky above was starless and black. The air was silent.
Only the soft lights glowing from the trees were beautiful as it was.
Suddenly Shane could see a figure melt out of a tree, shining brighter than anything he had yet seen. Its form he could not make out, only that the figure was a person, for its light made it hard to look at.
The eyes however, the eyes glowing silver locked into his and did not let go, radiating timelessness and unbroken promises, memory everlasting and the mesmerizing lure of void.
The figure’s voice seemed to ring in his mind, calling his name, calling him closer, closer, and closer.
He could remember now, all the previous times he did not answer back. Perhaps it was his own voice, singing of danger that had stopped him before.
He didn’t want to stop now. Whatever inside him that was holding him back now merely felt like an old story, tattered and forgotten.
He wanted to answer.
Ignoring the primal fear that was rising inside him, he called back-
Woke up sweating from head to toe in his bed.
Obi was tucked to his side, and Shane could see the sunlight peeking in between the blinds. He could not remember what he’d been dreaming about.
—
“Shane.”
A familiar word with a familiar voice. He turned, locking eyes with his friend.
Ryan was smiling. It sent a shiver up Shane’s spine for reasons he couldn’t understand.
He could spy a fleck of silver in his eyes he had never seen before.
Ryan’s smile grew wider.
—
Later that day, he couldn’t be sure if Ryan had called his name out loud.