Stormy Night

In the invitations that were sent to all, the reception would be held in an open area.

I had asked Brownie to come with me, but as usual, she was just too lazy to go out. Well, I can't blame her, after all, she was still an old lady in contrast to her claims. 

I was brought out of my reverie by all the chattering coming from the direction of the party. 

Reaching there, I saw an elegantly decorated area bustling with people.

While some were singing, others were dancing to celebrate for the happy future of the couple together. People are congratulating the newlywed couple.

I looked towards Michael, who looked absolutely gorgeous. But I fear that she is going to be really angry with me for not attending her marriage ceremony during the daytime.

Well, in my support, I did say that I was busy baking her wedding cake. I hope she understood and wouldn't be too angry with me. I was grateful that Sam delivered the cake safely. 

That's when I heard the voice of the person in my mind, Michael herself, breaking my series of thoughts. 

"Anu, you are finally here," shouted Michael, calling my nickname.

She moved towards me, excusing herself through the hoard of people. Only to be interrupted by people now and then. At last, after some huffing and puffing, we come face to face.

"Congratulations, Mich," I said, with great excitement and happiness for her. 

"Stop lying, you don't even consider me as a friend, do you?!?! You didn't attend my marriage ceremony. You just know one thing and that is work, work, and work!" Michael said with an angry look. 

"I'm really really sorry, Mich, I was a little busy. You know, I just couldn't leave Brown alone at home. Plus, who do you think made such a lovely cake with extra love just for you?" I said, with fake tears and my best puppy dog eyes. 

"Ok ok, I get it! No need to give me that look. You know I'm very weak to your puppy eyes."

On hearing this, I gave her one of my megawatt smiles. 

After that, we enjoyed the party and time flew just like a running stream, continuous and with no sign of stopping. We had a fun-filled night.

Soon after the party ended, I decided to take a short detour. As I walked around, I didn't realise when I nearly reached the shore. It has been a long time since I last came here.

Sitting on the shore, I calmed myself as I felt the night breeze hitting my face, thinking about the dream which has been haunting me these days. It just felt a little too surreal. Sometimes, it felt as if it wasn't just some dream. But at the same time, it felt impossible, giving the same feeling as a premonition. I sometimes had such premonitions in the form of dreams, but never did any of them felt so confusing.

I started to hum the tune of my favourite song, which helped me feel at peace and think properly. All those emotions that I felt when that wolf approached me, like everything that was happening was absolute…

"Splash....splash." My stream of thoughts were broken when I heard some noises. Something was moving in the water.

And then suddenly, "Boo!" Fiona appeared, trying to surprise me. 

"Jess, I nearly got a heart attack! Do you want to kill me or what, huh?!?" I said, trying to calm my erratic heart.

"Ohhh, come on, don't be such a loser, Ann." Fiona liked to call me by that nickname.

She was one of my best mermaid friends and the only mermaid who truly understood me and wasn't as nosy as the others.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you. Don't you think you should be a little nicer, Fin?" But she was a little too proactive. Well, I didn't mind that until she knew when to stop and that, she did. 

"Ok…ok, don't get angry. Let's go for a swim to refresh ourselves. From the looks of you, you're wasting your life stressing out again." she said, taking my hand and pulling me towards the ocean.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming. Just let me take off my shoes first." I took my shoes off and went after her into the water, slowly checking the temperature. That was when I felt a tug at my dress and was pulled into the water. 

Water attacked all my senses, entering through my nostrils. I started flapping my hands and tried to reach the surface. I saw a hand reaching towards me and pulling me out. I greedily took a deep breath to try calming my nerves down.

"Come on, Anu. You can't even handle a small prank? And here I thought you were a great swimmer." 

I gave her a glare that silenced her. 

"Ahaha, okay fine. Let's go!!!" I excitedly exclaimed. 

Swimming through these deep waters, I felt my mind and body cooled off. I drifted along the water, letting go of everything that troubled me. Just the calmness and serenity that the beautiful deep black, dark ocean gave me.

"Anu, I think I see a storm coming," said Fin as we resurfaced.

I looked towards the sky but there were no clouds. Just a sky filled with stars and…

Where is the moon?

Maybe it's late. Ahaha

But mermaids were supposed to know the waters best, so it must be true. And after all the sleepless nights, I was really stressed out a lot. I just need a little bit more time to enjoy this calm and serenity.

"Just a little bit more then we shall leave." 

"Ok but just five more minutes." 

But who knew that this decision of mine would change my life forever. Maybe I'll regret this decision afterwards, wanting my calm life back or maybe I'll just forget my past life completely after this day, leaving everything behind.

After some time, it started to rain. We decided to return before the situation gets worse and we were unable to navigate back. Along our way back, it started to rain harder. I wasn't able to see anything in front of me making me lose sight of Fin. 

"Fin, where are you?! Fin! FIN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs but the roaring waves blocked my voice from being heard. I was continuously pulled down by the waves. It felt as though the whole world was against me today. A feeling of dread surged into me, the feeling that I was gonna die. 

That was when I saw it, the thunder clouds approaching me and a blood moon above me. After that, I remember being pulled down to the depths of the ocean and a bright light flashed past my eyes.

When I woke up, I could hardly open my eyes from the piercing light around me.

"Uhhhh..." I pried open my eyes after much effort, only to find myself lying on a strange, unknown shore. 

I tried to get up, only to fall back on my butt, the world turning black before my eyes. The last thing that I saw before losing consciousness was a pitch black wolf with star speckled fur. It looked just like the one in my dreams. 

'Maybe I really was dreaming and when I wake up I would be back in my cosy but a little cranky bed.' Thinking like this, I return to the world of darkness, to my world of dreams.

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