Like a hammer banging my head, the pain felt so bad that I wanted to give up trying to understand why this was happening, but I found solace in those dreams.
It was like a dream, akin to memories.
Fragments of memories emerged from the depth of my mind like broken glass shards.
They were the memories of a boy with purple hair and eyes.
It was spring; there were flowers blooming in the fields, flowers that seemed endless.
A faint scent of water filled the area as two children were running in the field.
"Hahaha."
"Hahaha."
Both the children laughed as they run through the beautiful flower field.
Their laughter filled with innocence echoed on the filed as the boy looked back at the girl with a smile.
"What's wrong?" The boy stopped running as he saw the girl stop, panting for breath.
He ran towards her, his face filled with concern.
"A-are y-you okay?" He asked, his voice trembling as he saw her placing her hands on her knees, not facing him.
"Stupid!" The girl shouted with a wide grin as she started to run again.
"Ah, that's cheating!" The boy shouted as he ran behind her.
"I am first." The girl shouted, touching the tree in the middle of the field.
Her joy was uncontainable as she jumped up and down, watching the boy.
"You...huff... cheated... Huff...." The boy panting for breath,grumbled, with a cute pout as he glanced at her.
"Humph, you're the one who worries too much," the girl replied with a 'humph' as she lay down in the shade of the tree.
"Are you saying I shouldn't be worried about you?" The boy asked as he also lay down beside her, his head touching hers as they both gazed at the clear sky.
"You shouldn't," the girl replied, giggling as she glanced at the boy.
"Why shouldn't I?" The boy asked, looking back at her.
"Because if you worry about me, you'll never be happy," the girl replied as she looked back at the sky.
"Why?" He asked again as he moved his body to face her.
"Because I can never be happy, so I can't keep you happy," she replied, glancing at him.
"Then if you're with me, I can keep you happy," the boy replied with a wide smile filled with innocence.
"Stupid Az, I just said I can't keep you happy," the girl replied while showing her tongue.
"But, but, if you are happy then I will also be happy, I promise," the boy replied with a smile as he glanced at the sky.
"Then it's a promise," the girl replied, smiling as well.
And just like glass, the scene shattered, as if the world had crumbled around me.
*******
*******
"Huff... Huff...."
I could hear my own shallow breath as the haze that clouded my consciousness started to fade away.
The memory that I saw was now carved in my brain, but all those memories were from the eyes of the boy.
"They are not my memories, they are not mine," I mumbled as I desperately tried to keep my mind sane.
My trembling hands grabbed my head as I pulled my own hair, just so that the pain could keep me from losing my consciousness again.
Having memories engraved in your mind wasn't a pleasant feeling, as I was experiencing firsthand.
But things didn't work out, as once again, I felt my consciousness blurring out into a new dream.
A dream that brought another memory.
It was evening, the sun was descending as it cast a golden glow on two children who were walking on an empty field.
They both held one end of a handkerchief as the boy walked in front and the girl followed.
"Az?" As they both walked slowly in silence, the girl mumbled.
"Hmm." The boy glanced back at her.
"Why did you beat them up?" She asked, looking down and not facing him.
The boy's face was filled with marks of a fight, with scratches all over his face.
It was clear that the boy had fought with someone.
"Because they were bothering you," the boy replied with slight anger, not wanting them to bother her.
"But you are more hurt than them," the girl replied, looking at him with concern.
"I am fine, it doesn't hurt that much," the boy replied nonchalantly, waving his free hand.
"Az," the girl mumbled again as she tightly held her end of the handkerchief.
"Hmm?"
"Are you always going to save me from those kinds of problems?" She asked, looking at him. Her voice betrayed her, filled with anticipation.
"Why do you think you will have any problem if I am here for you?" The boy replied, smiling at her.
"Hmm." The girl looked down as she tried to hide the smile that was blooming on her face.
"Thank you for being here."
That's the last thing that I heard as the memory once again started to shatter.
*********
*********
"Argh..."
The splitting headache came again as my hazy consciousness returned.
Once again, I found myself in the bathroom as I fell on my knees, my head touching the ground as I didn't have the strength to move, and the memories that I just saw started to carve into my mind.
"No, not....again.....please," I pleaded to whoever could hear, as I was having a hard time handling all the stress this was causing me.
The pain of having memories engraved on the very mind was something that I pray no one should experience.
"Please.... Stop..." But even when I pleaded, no one was there to hear me.
"No...." A low whimper left my mouth as my consciousness started to fade again.
And once again, I fell into another dream.
A dream that brought another memory.
This time, it was a closed room.
Only a dim light filled the place as I saw a boy sitting on his knees, looking at the figure that lay in front of him.
The boy was drenched in blood from head to toe, and a sharp knife-like object was stabbed into the figure's body, blood gushing out from it, soaking the boy's clothes and the ground beneath.
"W-what h-have i-i d-done." The trembling voice of the boy echoed in the room.
And thus, the nightmare of Azariah started.