“Ms. Meyers?”
I gave a violent start as Mrs. Cameron’s voice yanked me roughly back into reality.
“Y-Yes?” I answered, breathless. Behind my frowning math teacher, I saw not a golden sky, but a gloomy gray one, choked with pollution and dense clouds.
“Since I am a fair teacher, I would prefer none of my students fail the math exam next class. That’s including you, Ashlinn.”
Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I tried to conjure up that golden sky and the sensation of soaring, but all I managed to see was the Keeper of the Dream Realm, with a cross expression on his face. I think you’ve dreamed enough for a day, haven’t you? His angel-like voice echoed through my head. Great. Now I actually had to listen to Mrs. Cameron’s lengthy lecture on geometry, which we had been learning since the beginning of the year.
The bell finally rang, giving me my long-awaited release. I had a free period next, which I usually spent daydreaming (again), but today, I instead took out a sheet of white paper and a pencil.
“Hey, how’s it going dreamer girl?” Maya plopped down in the seat next to me.
I shrugged. “Felt like sketching today.”
Sketching was one of the rare things I actually liked doing. It was another form of relief.
I penciled thin, curved lines one after another on the sheet of paper until I felt Maya leaning over to glance at my drawing.
“Cute,” she remarked. “Who’s that, your imaginary boyfriend or something?”
Puzzled, I sat back and looked at my sketch, surprised to see that I’d drawn a picture of the Keeper.
He seemed so much more realistic in neutral colors, and staring at him now I could almost imagine him as a part of this world.
“Oh, he is most definitely real,” I said. At least he is to me, I added in my head.

The next day flew by quickly, since the only thing I could focus on was the feeling of unsettlement from having a dreamless sleep the night before. Sleep was usually the time where I had the most control over my visits to the Dream Realm, but last night I remembered nothing. The day was like any other tedious one, except for one upcoming, looming event.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it’s almost your sweet sixteen, Ash! We have so much to plan, a ton to prepare, a lot to invite! I was thinking we could hire a deejay …”
Maya’s voice melted away along with the rest of the world as I once again entered my fantasy. The sky once again returned to its golden brilliance, and I felt a sense of tranquility ease its way through my body.
The Keeper greeted me at his usual spot, at the grand entrance to my fairytale kingdom. He wore his warm smile that was oh-so-contagious, but for the first time ever in the Dream Realm, my smile faltered. Something seemed off. There was stillness in the air that I couldn’t quite place. Approaching my beloved Keeper, I awaited his welcome. But it never came. At least, not in the way I expected.
“Welcome,” a cold voice echoed from behind. I whirled around, shocked. A boy with frosty silver hair and dark, menacing red eyes stood before me, and after a heart-stopping moment I recognized him as the Keeper.
“K-Keeper?” My voice quivered with fear.
“I am not the Keeper you think I am. My realm is much more realistic. The Nightmare Realm.” With a sharp strike of his hand, the heavenly scene fell away, as if it had been torn at an invisible seam, revealing a black landscape with all my worst imaginable fears. The sky cackled at me, thunder rumbling deafeningly in the distance.
The Keeper began to change shape, black mist swirling around him until all I could see of him were his two gleaming red eyes. He surged at me, and I cried helplessly. There was nowhere to run, only miles and miles of shadowy expanse. Sucking in a breath, I squeezed my eyes shut. When I could hear its horrible screeches in my ear and scorching breath in my face, I brought back my clenched fist, and punched it as hard as I could.
I heard a scream. Not a horrible, creature-like scream; a girl’s short, high-pitched shriek.
I sat bolt upright in my chair. The fluorescent white lights in the cafeteria blinded me and by the time I got my bearings, I realized it wasn’t an evil monster standing in front of me, but Maya. Maya, shell-shocked, her hands covering her nose that was gushing with blood. My knuckles throbbed for an unknown reason, and I was so disoriented it took a while for me to put two and two together. By the time I did, Maya was already fleeing out of the cafeteria with her hands on her face.
“Maya!” I called, horrified.

I leaped up and dashed after her, not knowing whether to be more appalled because I had just punched my best friend in the face, or by the fact that she would never believe why I had done it.

“Maya I am so sorry I don’t know what came over me, I swear I didn’t mean to do it,” I blubbered as I flung the door of the girls’ bathroom open.
Maya stood hunched over the sink, bunches of bloodied paper towels crushed in her hands. When I came in, she whirled around to face me, blood oozing out of her broken nose and her eyes blazing with fury. In that moment, she didn’t look very different from the demon-Keeper in my nightmare.
“I was chatting with you and helping you plan your birthday party,” she fumed, stalking towards me, “and then you get a panicked look in your eyes. I asked you what was wrong, and you punched me square in the face! What did I ever do to you? TELL ME WHY I DESERVED TO BE PUNCHED IN THE NOSE!” She screamed in my face, and then roughly brushed past me to the door.
I let out a shaky breath and watched the door swing back and forth in the mirror. Sliding to the ground, I whimpered quietly and pull my knees to my chest. What’s happening to my world?
And to me?

“Welcome to the Nightmare Realm.” Once again, that cold voice gusted over me like the winter winds. I felt sick with fear. How long were these nightmares going to last?
I faced the ominous version of the Keeper, the once-beautiful boy gone ghastly wrong. His voice reminded me of sharp icicles that stabbed into my skin, immobilizing me.
“I won’t turn into a demon again, if that’s what you’re so terrified of.” The icicles sunk deeper into my flesh.
He continued. “That was just to startle you a bit. Now I am here strictly to introduce you to your punishment.”
That did not ease my worry. I could feel the bile rising in my throat; the horrible feeling of dread, and for once in my life, all I wanted was to wake up.
The new Keeper led me farther and farther through the terrain of dark ashes and frosty gales until we reached a large crevice in the middle of the barren land. What had happened to my world? It was as though someone had burned it all to the ground, then froze it over after all that was left were ashes. A drop of water found its way down my cold check. Who could’ve done this to me?
“You did this to yourself,” the Keeper cut in, reading my morose thoughts. “I warned you before not to be selfish; not to take advantage of this world. But you didn’t heed me. The Dream Realm is not an excuse, a go-to when you don’t want to live your life. Those who take it for granted are brought here, to the Pit of Punishment.”
I jerked back as a horrible wail erupted from deep within the fissure we were standing above.
“I-I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know! I thought all of it was just a figment of my imagination!” I sobbed with despair.
The Keeper regarded me with a cold look of pity. “Well, it’s too late now.”
All around us, the sounds of agony seemed to grow louder, all the moans, groans, and weeping swelling into a symphony of torture. The music of the pained. It sounded like eternal hell.
“H-how long is my punishment?” I asked desperately, fear stealing most of my voice.
His laughter echoed through the empty wasteland and scared the wailing voices into an excruciating silence.
“Forever.”
And suddenly I was falling, twisting, hurling into the dark pit and the darkness swallowed me into its nightmarish world.

Beep. Beep. Beep.
I sat straight up in bed, my eyes wide open as I took in the familiar sight of my room and the sunlight spilling through my window. Not the Pit of Punishment. Taking in a huge breath of relief, I readied myself for the day.
Walking through the doors of my school building, I notice something off immediately. Maybe it was the way everyone seemed to be shooting me looks. Maybe it was the glaring red insults that had been painted on my locker. Or maybe it was the way I felt my backpack being roughly snatched from my back. I whirled around.
“Hey! Give it back,” I exclaimed.
The boy sneered at me, and I recognized him as Dayton, one of Maya’s admirers. “This is nothing, compared to what you did to Maya.”
He tossed it in the trashcan, and I gave a yelp of indignation. Tears sprung to my eyes as I quickly moved down the hallway with everyone’s eyes were zeroed in on me, burning holes in my skin. Was this all because of Maya?
Lunchtime was the worst. All my enemies were packed in one rowdy room ready to wreak havoc on me. To top it all off, my lunch money had been in my backpack, which was completely ruined. I stood at the entrance, unsure of what to do, when I suddenly caught sight of Maya making her way towards me. If before I didn’t have the motive to turn around and run, now I did. I was just about to flee when I heard Maya call my name.
“Ashlinn.”
I slowly turned around, tears streaking my face.
“What will it take for you to forgive me? For things to go back to normal?” I pleaded.
“Things will never go back to normal.”
“Please! I’ll do anything for you.”
Maya’s lips curved up in a slight smile. “Anything?”
“Yes.” I felt despair welling up inside me, but I couldn’t live like this every day. I had to put a stop to it, no matter the cost.
Maya studied my face with an expression of pity. “Meet me in the school parking lot after school,” she finally said. “And you’re going to do anything I want.”
Dread washed over the despair, but I couldn’t go back on my word now. How had I gotten myself into this position? Tangled like a fly in a spider web, unable to move, just lying there, watching the spider inch ominously closer?
The parking lot was nearly empty by the time I reached it, since I had been busy dodging my tormenters. Maya was standing next to a shiny, red convertible with the roof down, her arms crossed.
“Took you long enough. Here,” she tossed me a set of car keys. “Let’s go.” She leaped over the door and into the leather seat.
“Maya, you know I don’t get my license until I turn sixteen.”
She glared menacingly at me. “Anything, remember?”
Reluctantly, I clambered into the car and started it. The drive there was filled with a nerve-wracking silence. My hands were clenched tightly around the steering wheel to keep them from shaking. A flash of navy blue caught my eye, and horror made my mind go numb. My mom’s car, a Honda CVR, was parked directly across from us, on the bridge. I desperately looked for an escape.
“Maya, do you think you could walk from here? The traffic’s too bad.” I tried to stay calm.
Holding my breath, I heard the car door shut over the blood pounding in my ears. The light flickered green, and I frantically twisted the car around, earning several loud honks from nearby drivers. Hunching down in my seat, I weaved through cars, the nervousness making me perform crazy tasks. I found myself in the opposite lane, face to face with a navy blue CVR. Realization dawned, but it was too late.
“Ashlinn?” My mom squinted through the windshield in disbelief.
I shook my head wildly, trying to back up, but she had already gotten out of her car and was heading towards me, over the bridge.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a huge red bus speeding towards my mother and my heart leapt into my throat.
“Mom!” I yelled, wrenching myself out of the car and sprinting towards her. The next few moments were a blur. I felt the impact of a bag of bricks in my side, my mother screaming, and then I was falling.

The sensation was similar to the daydream I’d had during Geometry the other day. Except this wasn’t a dream, which meant I would hit something soon. I screamed, just as my mouth filled with water and an icy wetness surrounded me. I felt myself being torn apart by the wild current as I desperately fought for air. I wrenched my body upwards and gasped for breath before the water took me under again. It was a hopeless battle between the river and me. I felt the fight inside me go out like a candle, and I relaxed my body, letting it pitch back and forth with the current. My lungs started screaming, and my mind started wailing, and my heart started sobbing, but I ignored all the noise and drifted off into a peaceful state as I traveled back into the Dream Realm for the last time.
The Keeper was there waiting for me. He was back to his normal form, but his blue eyes were masked with sorrow.
“What’s wrong?” It was my turn to ask him.
He looked up at me sadly. “This will be the last time I ever see you. You will not be allowed to visit the Dream Realm after you choose.”
“Choose what?” I asked.
“Between life and death.”
A day ago I would’ve been shocked speechless. But now I knew how horrible life could be. I finally had seen the nightmare side of it. I would rather die than live like this every day. So I had never been surer when I opened my mouth and a single word left my mouth that would determine my fate forever.
“Death.”
Then everything went dark except for a single light that seemed far away, as if I was lying at the bottom of an ocean and the sunrays couldn’t reach me where I was.
A famous philosopher once said dreams are real up until the point where you wake up. My life was a dream, and reality was about to wake me up. I closed my tear-filled eyes as I said a silent goodbye.
When I opened them, all I could see was a startling white. The white of angel wings, heavenly clouds, and fluorescent lights. Then, I hear my mom’s voice.
“Oh good. You’re awake. It’s about time you stopped dreaming, isn’t it?”