. 22.02.11 Daniel .

  At first I observe the Dream as an outsider, like watching a movie up on the screen. We're in a cavern of some sort, rocky, jagged walls surrounding us with nowhere to go but up. The atmosphere is depressing, with a horrifying amber glow permeating from the endless pits at the bottom. There are people here too but I can't remember how they look like. Suspended in the air above them, above the red, gaseous pits, was an adolescent boy. He was wrapped in what looked like thick, rough, organic rope, like vines. He was hanging vertically, his hands tied behind his back, his legs and feet bounded straight. He was sobbing quietly.

  An event took place but I wasn't there to witness it. I just saw the shadows of people leaving the rocky cavern. It was at this time my persona appeared, but I can't really tell what my physical appearance looked like. All I could tell was that I was an older woman with long (dark brown or auburn) hair. The boy was left suspended in the air, alone in the dark cavern. I could hear him sobbing, “Please... g-g-get me d-down.. Pl-ea-asee..” he whimpered.

  I grabbed the ropes and, like a pulley mechanism, lowered him down, “Don't worry Daniel, I've got you, I've got you..” I seemed to call out to him. His cries were getting louder as he got closer to the ground. I was right under him, trying to catch him at the same time lower him carefully but I lost my grip and he sort of fell onto me. Though I fell backwards on the ground, it didn't hurt at all and I had caught him in my arms. I cut through the ropes and though he was free, he couldn't move – his muscles were too weak and he was stricken with fear. I cuddle him and let him rest on my chest as he sobbed louder.

  I felt him shiver in my arms, from the cold and from fear. I felt the sweat on his head and body, through his ragged clothes. I felt his chest heave with every gasp of breath he took I glanced at his back to find strips of dark red scars and slashes through his already tattered shirt. I held his head closer to my chest, my fingers digging into his long, thick hair, “Shhh... it's over... It's over..” I tried to calm him.

  He spoke, tears choking his every word, “T-they.... they just wa-w-watched.... They.. w-watched.. T-their.... only s-s-s-son... g-get flog-g-ged.. aaa-nd.. a-and..” Flashes came into my mind, replaying the event that I didn't witness before. Before he was suspended for the public viewing, he was given countless lashes on his back; right in front of his parents. From what I could tell, his parents seemed like high and powerful authority figures who took discipline seriously. As to what Daniel did to deserve this, I have no answer. My persona seemed very close to Daniel, so much so that I felt really fond of him in a sad, nurturing sort of way. He was never shown real love before, not even from his family – and now this.

  We're still on the floor, me on my back and him lying almost on top of me in a sort of fetal position. I was cuddling his head and after I tell him to stop talking, I take his face and kiss him passionately. He seems in shock, as if he had never been kissed before, or he didn't exactly know what a kiss was. The kiss stops and I look into his crystalline eyes, still watery and stinging from the tears. I wipe his flooded cheeks and tell him with a straight face, “Daniel... I will never.. EVER abandon you. You understand? Never.” He collapses back onto my chest, holding onto me tightly. He was sobbing loudly, but he sounded relieved his torture was finally over.

There wasn't much I could tell about the characters' designs. I'm still trying to fit the puzzle pieces together but overall here's what I remember. Daniel has the look and physique of an ordinary teenage boy, like around 18, 19 or so and my persona sounded a little older, a little more mature so maybe like 20-22 years old. Daniel was rather interesting, like the rest of his people, because he had baby-blue skin and crystalline teal eyes, almost green. (Megamind much?) His hair was dark, navy blue with slivers of white on the right side of his fringe. His hair was sort of long and straight with a bit of wave to it. I can't remember anything of my persona, but I'm thinking of naming her Athena. I'll probably just make up an identity for her later on.