Into Dreams

Title: Into Dreams
PROJECT ONE Submission

Genre: Philosophical (a bit), Fantasy

Setting: Setting 01: Somewhere in Earth.
Setting 02: Alternate World called “Yume” (Dreams). This Alternate World is only opened to some people chosen from Earth and bought there in their dreams. Everyone in this world is able to shape and change the world as they wishes. So basically, this is a ‘Dream World’. If you get too attached to this world, you will never wake up from your sleep and eventually, you will ease to exist in the real world.

Characters: Fyuu (girl) – main character
Fyuu’s parents.
Fyuu’s Classmates:
Myto (boy) – Fyuu’s friend
Rin (girl) – Fyuu’s friend, Lin’s twin
Kyoto (girl) – Fyuu’s friend
Lin (boy) – Myto’s friend, Rin’s twin
People who Fyuu meets:
Rai (boy) – a guy Fyuu meets

Plot/Summary: Fyuu was transported into Yume while she was sleeping one day. There, she meets Raikuson who promised to show her around Yume and teach her about the ways of Yume the next day. Then she goes to school, and tells her friend about this world, but Lin and Rin warned her not to stay in that world for too long.
When she goes back home, she falls asleep and was transported into Yume again. This time, she learnt that all the residents of Yume was actually people who got too attached to the world and was erased from the real world. She learns that Lin and Rin once got invited to this world too, and Raikuson and the other people tried to stop them from leaving, but because they wanted to leave so badly, their feelings changed Raikuson and the other guys.
So now Raikuson helps to redirect everyone who comes into Yume go back to the real world. Fyuu thinks that it’s a sad thing, because they’re still trapped there, and promises to look for a way out for them. In the end though, Fyuu couldn’t go back and was disappointed.

01.
Character Name: Fyuu
Series: Into Dreams

Age: 10
Sex: Female
Blood: O
Birthday: 5th May
Height: 132 cm (convert it to inches on your own)
Hair Color: Light Brown. Very, very light.
Eye Color: Left eye’s dark brown, and right eye’s amber (heterochromia).

Physical Description: Fyuu has light brown hair which reaches until her shoulders. Her fringes reaches until it covers half her eyes, but that is usually brushed to the side. She secures her hair up with two ribbons at the side. She has a scrunchie that she carries around with her by wrapping it around her hand. Sometimes, she uses that scrunchie to tie her hair up.
She also carries a steel pocket watch wherever she goes. The watches hangs from her neck. It has an elegant design on it.
Usually, you see Fyuu in her school uniform, but whenever she’s seen outside, she likes to wear Japanese street fashion – miniskirts with leggings, colorful clothing, etc. She also likes lolitas. And kimonos.

Personality Description:
Fyuu is very kind, and she likes helping people. She hates fights, and would usually avoid them if possible, but she would stand up for what she believes in even though she knows that it might lead to a fight. She is a good leader as she has good leadership skills, loves making friends with random people.
Very intelligent, but she’s not good in sports. Has low stamina, and hates sports.
You usually see her gaming or reading a book. She likes hanging around her friends.

02.
Character Name: Rai
Series: Into Dreams

Age: [unknown but 10 when he was sucked into Yume]
Sex: Male
Blood: A-
Birthday: 23rd June
Height: 145 cm (convert it to inches on your own)
Hair Color: Blue
Eye Color: Gray

Physical Description: Rai has blue, spiky hair with a horsetail down his back. The horsetail ends at his waist. He has a scar running from his wrist to his shoulder on his right arm and a tattoo of a devil wing on the other arm.
He wears a cloak that reaches till the ground. Inside of his cloak is a sleeveless top, and pants with a lot of pockets.

Personality Description:
Rai is hot – tempered, and he gets angry easily. His friends are the ones who calms him down. He can’t stand people talking about him behind his back.
He likes his friends a lot, and is even willing to risk his life for them. He’s very sly and tricky.

03 and 04.
Character Name: Lin and Rin
Series: Into Dreams

Age: 10
Sex: Male (Lin), Female (Rin)
Blood: AB
Birthday: 7th June
Height: 142 (Lin), 138 (Rin) cm (convert it to inches on your own)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Hazel

Physical Description:
Lin: Short black hair which he ties up into a short ponytail. Wears a ring which matches with Rin’s. Keeps a protection charm (taken from Yume) in his pocket.
Rin: Short black hair reaching her armpits. Tied into two ponytails using hair bands. Wears a ring which matches with Lin’s. Keeps a protection charm (taken from Yume) in her pocket.

Personality Description:
The twins knows each other very well, and can kind of read their minds. They understand their friends very well too, and usually is able to help them out. Very persuasive. Lin likes sports and Rin likes studies. Both of them are outgoing and lovable.


(there are two other mentioned ones, but they don't appear a lot.)

“Dreams are part of your existence. They are you, and you are them. No matter how hard you try, you can never escape them…

“So why not come with me into the world… Of dreams?”

Fyuu awoke with a start. The words that she has heard in her dreams lingered around. It wasn’t the first time that she has had that kind of dreams, and she wondered what the dreams meant. What exactly is the world of dreams? And who exactly is the person trying to bring her there?

Looking to her right, to her bedside table, she saw the soft, gentle glow of her clock. It’s only one in the morning – there’s still around five more hours till she was supposed to wake up. She turned over, pulled the covers over her head, and continued sleeping.

“No matter how hard you try, no matter how far you run, I’m always with you, and will always be. You can not escape. It’s the truth…”

Once again, she heard that mysterious voice, telling her about… Something. She knew she was asleep, yet it feels so real. There really is someone talking to her, and talking about another world at that! Throughout all her life, she has lived on Earth, the only world she knows there exists, and she doesn’t believe that there’s another world parallel to Earth.

“…What is this world of ‘dreams’ that you talk about? Why are you after me? Who are you?!” Fyuu shouted out into the empty darkness, her voice echoing around.

Drip.

A drop of water dropped down onto the floor which has turned into a pool. Fyuu looked down to see her reflection. The water dripped steadily down, making ‘plonking’ noises when they touched the pool.

“Why… Don’t you come with me? And see for yourself?”

A brilliant flash of white light blinded Fyuu momentarily. When she next opened her eyes, she saw that she was standing atop of a small hill, surrounded by wild grass. The wind was blowing gently through, making her hair messy. The area below the hill is scattered with small, wooden huts. It seemed like a village of some sort.

“…Where… Am I…?”

Dazed, Fyuu slowly picked her way down the hill. This must be the world of “dreams” the voice was telling her. But why? Why was she here? Why was she… ‘Chosen’?

Upon reaching the base of the hill, she started walking towards the village. Looking around, she saw flowers that she has never seen before. Purple, with green spots, yellow, with red stripes. Those were some weird flowers.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Hey you!” Fyuu turned around on the spot, trying to locate the place where the voice was coming from. “Yes, you. Who’re you? Where’re you from?!”

A boy landed in front of her, appearing to drop out of the sky. In his hand, he was grasping a gigantic bird, which he released a second later. His spiky blue hair was being blown by the wind, and a tiny horsetail stuck out from behind him. He was wearing a cloak, those type that adventurers always wore.

“Who are you?!” A deep, mature – sounding voice issued from the boy’s lips. “What are you doing here? Where’d you get here?”

“Um…” Fyuu backed away. The boy looked to be around her age, though she wasn’t sure. What she was sure of was that the boy looked angry. Angry and really scary.

“Oh. Haha, sorry about that. I must have scared you, haven’t I?” The boy scratched his forehead absentmindedly. “My name’s Rai, and the world that you’re now in is called Yume. Yume is a special world –”

“Special?”

“Heeeeeeeeeey! I haven’t finished speaking. Don’t interrupt now. Yume is special in that it is an alternate world. I bet you’re from Earth, aren’t you? Well, Yume is another world, a world different from Earth. Only a few people on Earth are chosen to enter this world. And of course, this world can only be entered from your dreams. That’s why it’s called Yume you see? Yume. Dreams. Any questions?”

“W… Wait… What do you mean by ‘chosen’?” Fyuu stumbled back a little.

“Well… How do I put this? ‘Chosen’ as in picked. Picked between all those other children on Earth. Even I am not sure who picked us, but whoever that is…” Rai’s face hardened.

“We… Well. Isn’t that great then…? Right…?” Fyuu smiled a little, and took Rai’s hands. Can you show me around…?”

“There’s nothing to show. Yume is a boring world, made up of our existence. We shape the world into whatever we like, and it obeys our order. You can call it ‘magic’, I suppose. But again, it’s not really ‘magic’. We are merely ‘creators’. ‘Creators’ of our world.

“And no, I can’t. There’s not enough time. Shouldn’t you be going back by now?” Rai gave Fyuu a little push.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING~

It was the alarm of the clock. Fyuu woke up with a start. She remembered the dream clearly, and she was almost sure that it wasn’t a dream. She was one of the ‘chosen’ ones to be allowed into dreams, and to do that, she has to dream about. About what? What should she do if she wants to return to Yume?

The thought kept her occupied all morning. Upon reaching her school by bus, she decided to tell her friends about it.

During lunch break, she walked over to a corner of the class where she and her friends usually eat their lunch at. Kyoto, Myto, Lin and Rin are already there. Kyoto was showing off her new watch which has diamonds in it. Kyoto came from America, and she was rich. Whenever she got a new thing, she just has to brag about it. Fyuu didn’t like that aspect of Kyoto, but she never said a word about it.

“Hey hey, I’ve got something to tell you guys! I had this really cool dream –”

Fyuu got cut off by Kyoto.

“Oh hello Fyuu! Look at my watch, isn’t it just fabuuuuulous? There’s real diamonds in it and it’s so cool right? I bet you would want it,” Kyoto gushed out, interrupting Fyuu and missing her frown. “It cost Daddy quite a lot, but he still got it for me, isn’t he just nice? Won’t you like a dad like that?”

“…Kyoto…? Maybe we should listen to Fyuu?”

Apparently Fyuu’s frown was not missed by her other friends. Rin and Lin, the twins, both caught it. Rin was the one who spoke, trying to distract Kyoto.

Kyoto disliked it whenever anyone interrupts her when she’s bragging, and both Rin and Lin know it. It just seems like… Like Fyuu has something important to tell them.

“Please?” Begged Lin.

“Alright so I had this really cool dream. There was this voice talking to me, and it was saying about going into another world.” Fyuu rambled on without waiting for Kyoto’s consent. “And I wanted to know who the voice belongs to and what kind of ‘other world’ is that so I went with him, right? I mean, everyone would, wouldn’t they?”

“And then there was this big flash of light, and there I was, on the top of a hill. I saw a village at the bottom and while walking there I saw those amazing flowers. They don’t belong on Earth, I tell you. So this boy drops down from the sky – he was on a large bird, and he starts yelling at me and asking me how I got there. After I told him he was telling me that the place I stumbled into was actually a real alternative world!”

Rin and Lin exchanged a glance, but Fyuu didn’t notice.

“I asked him to take me on a trip around the place… Um, I think it’s called Yume. Yeah, it’s Yume. He was telling me about the world, see? It seems like I’m chosen to go there, and that world is shaped by people living there. It’s like a dream world! You can design your own stuff, and I think he said that the world changes to your need! It’s like magic!

“Isn’t that cool? And he told me he would show me around the next time I go!” Fyuu paused, taking a deep breath.

“Don’t you guys think it’s amazing? I mean, a real alternative world!”

“Yeah yeah, it’s just a dream right?” Kyoto drawled, “Just wait till you hear how much my watch is cost! It’s way better than that silly dream of yours.”

“IT’S NOT A DREAM!” Fyuu shouted. She was angry that Kyoto would just brush it off as a dream. It wasn’t a dream, and she knew it.

“Come on, Fyuu. We all know you. It’s a dream, and you are trying to entertain us, aren’t you?” Myto waved a hand in the air. “We all know there’s no such thing as a alternative world. There’s no magic in this world.”

“…Like I said, it isn’t a dream. Myto, don’t tell me you don’t believe me?!” Fyuu felt a mixture of anger and sadness in her. It was sad to even think that her own friends doesn’t believe her.

“We’d have to be mad to believe you, Fyuu. It’s a dream, and you aren’t ever going to meet the boy in that ‘world’ of yours again. Trust me.” Myto turned away. “I’m going to get my lunch, alright?”

“…It isn’t a dream!” Fyuu muttered angrily. Fine, she’ll show them that it isn’t a dream. She’ll bring them into the dream if she can. Fyuu stormed out of the classroom and away onto the roof of the school.

There was no one on the roof, which was weird seeing that today was such a nice day, and most people liked to eat lunch there. Strolling to the fence, Fyuu kicked it. It was just horrible thinking that her friends didn’t believe her. She didn’t like it. Leaning back on the fence (after kicking it), Fyuu thought it over. Maybe she had been too rash. Maybe it isn’t really real. Or maybe they just couldn’t believe her. She never believed in an alternate world before going to Yume and meeting Rai.

Maybe she could get Rai to tell them that Yume is real? After all, Rai lives in Earth too.

“Um… Fyuu?” A soft, hesitant voice called out. It was Rin and Lin. They had followed her onto the rooftop.

“Oh what…? Are you here to tell me that –”

“Fyuu. First of all, before you start getting angry at us, we’re here to say that we believe you.” Lin interrupted. “We really do believe you, alright? In case you don’t believe us, here.”

Rin plunged her hands into her pockets and took out a charm.

“Rai gave this to us when we parted. It was supposed to be for good luck. And of course, there’s other reasons.”

“Rai…? So that means that you guys went into Yume too! Why didn’t you say anything then?! Why didn’t you help me convince them?!” Fyuu shouted.

“Calm down!” Rin murmured. “And be quiet!”

“The reason why we didn’t help you is that,” Lin chimed in. “We couldn’t. Rai probably didn’t tell you this, but those who entered Yume are not supposed to tell anyone about it. It’s taboo to talk about it. Also –”

“Don’t stay in Yume for too long.”

“Yeah, it’s bad for you. So never, never stay there alright? In fact, it’s best if you don’t ever go there again. It’s not good.”

“Why…? Yume is a nice place, I just know it. And furthermore, aren’t you guys going to Yume too? Why are you stopping me? What’s wrong with it?”

Rin and Lin looked at each other and shrugged. “So you didn’t know about it yet?” Rin muttered.

“That’s a real shame.” Lin murmured.

The both of the looked at each other again. This time, there was an awkward silence. “The bell’s going to ring soon. We should get back. Just heed our advice and don’t stay in Yume, all right?” Rin and Lin waved and went back to class, leaving Fyuu startled, and confused.

What could be so bad about Yume? Why can’t Fyuu stay in the world?

“Maybe I’ll get the answers when I go and ask Rai today.” Fyuu mumbled to herself. She made a mental note to get into Yume again today – and she still doesn’t know how to.

During the lessons, she noticed Rin and Lin looking at her worriedly, but shrugged it off. When she went to ask them about Yume after school, they ran away from her. Downhearted, she trudged home.

When night came, Fyuu went straight to bed. She wanted to dream of Yume again, and maybe, maybe by just thinking about wanting to go into Yume, she’ll be allowed to go there.

Again, that white flash of light, and there she was, in Yume. This time though, Rai was waiting for her.

“Back again, aren’t you? Don’t you know that it’s bad to come here? Once is enough.”

“What do you mean?! You’re saying the same thing as Rin and Lin!” Fyuu was frustrated. She wanted to know why it is said that Yume is bad. “Why don’t you just tell me why Yume is bad for me?!”

“……Wait. You know Rin and Lin?”

Fyuu nodded.

“The twins?”

Again, another nod.

“With the charms? Did they have the charms?”

“You met Rin and Lin before, didn’t you? They mentioned you today too. They told me that it was taboo to talk about Yume.”

“……Yes. How did you know Rin and Lin?”

“They’re classmates. Tell me what Yume is bad for me.”

Rai led out his hand, a gesture for Fyuu to take it. “Let’s walk and talk. I want to show you something.

“As you can see, Lin and Rin once came here before. Yume is a strange world. Whoever sucks us in, is I suppose, god of this world. And we’re just mini - gods. Or maybe angels? Whichever.” They turned around a bend in the road and was at the village entrance.

“There was something eerie about Yume though. Why was it only accessible to a selected few? Why is it only accessible through dreams? Who is the one who chose us to be bought into Yume? Is Yume really an alternate world? What are those strange powers that we get?

“I wanted to know all those. I talked to the people who were here at that time, but they didn’t know either. The next thing I knew, I had became so absorbed into Yume that… That… Well. I disappeared.

“Look. People who gets too attached to Yume, stays in Yume forever. Let’s just say that it’s best to just come into Yume once. Twice, and you’re hooked. When you permanently ‘stay’ in Yume, you disappear in real life, the real world, in Earth. Your body gradually fades away, people’s memories of you are gone. Your existence will be completely erased from this world.

“That was what happened to me. The villagers then knew it, but they never told me. It seems like they weren’t supposed to. Why, even I don’t know. Anyway, they’re long gone, something happened to them. They were out one day, and they just disappeared.

“By disappeared, it doesn’t mean that they are back on Earth. Because as we disappear, everything goes, nothing stays. And no one on Earth will remember us, nothing is there for us. In fact, nothing is there of us. That’s why I say that you shouldn’t come. Go back home, and don’t ever come back.

“Here’s the village.” Rai let go of Fyuu’s hand and looked at her. “What are you going to do now?”

Fyuu shrugged and took a step forward into the village. It was a small village, consisting of only a few houses around something that looks like a town center. The center was a fountain, complete with water and a statue standing tall and high. Fyuu’s imagination flashed and she started imagining what it was like in the past when the place was ever – so crowded, full of life.

“Fyuu!” Rai’s voice jolted Fyuu back to reality. “What are you going to do?”

Fyuu ignored Rai and walked around the village, leaving him to follow her. She tried to open the house’s doors, but they were all locked. The houses are monotone, washed in a shade of grey, with no other colors. It seemed like a bleak, empty, world. But the power to shape and change the world into what she wished, it was too great to pass on. It would provide her relief, it would take away her troubles.

“I… I want to stay here.” Fyuu whipped around to face Rai, and declared clearly and loudly. “Where are all the other people in this world?”

“They… They’re gone. There’s about four of us left, and the other three are out there somewhere.” Rai shrugged and simply stated. “But the important thing is, you, Fyuu. What do you want to do? Stay, or go back home?

“Lin and Rin chose to go back home. We were supposed to stop everyone who came into this world from leaving. Because the elders said so. And we did. We were brainwashed. But Lin and Rin chose to go home, and because of their decision, because of them, we were changed. They told us how much they had enjoyed life. They made us remember who we were at first, remember our past, and told us that they wanted to live their future. Why, Fyuu. Why do you want to stay here? Why not go back home?” Rai’s face was emotionless.

Fyuu started to walk away, but Rai grabbed her. “Why, Fyuu, why?!”

Her eyes downcast, she shrugged Rai’s arm away. “I don’t like it. I don’t like those people who are ignorant of the world around them. When someone’s sad they have no feelings, and they carry on without a thought for the person’s feelings. I don’t like it.

“And my family, it’s not better. There’s no one I can talk to. My dad…”

Fyuu started crying at this time, and Rai wrapped his arms around her.

“My dad…… He hits me…”

Rai sighed. He was really bad with this kind of stuff. Holding Fyuu up, he grabbed a handkerchief from out of thin air and dapped at Fyuu’s eyes.

“Go talk to Lin and Rin. They’ll help you. I promise. And go back home, Fyuu. If you stay here, in the end you’ll become nothing. You’ll just fade away. There’s no one here to remember you. Make an impact on Earth, and leave the world without regrets, all right? Promise me that. And do go talk to the twins, they’ll help you with your problems.

“And here –” Rai handed Fyuu a charm. It was the same one that Rin had. “I’ll send you back, alright?”

A reassuring smile. A brilliant flash of light.

“Rai… My pocket watch… Picture of you…” Fyuu’s voice cracked. “I’ll come back… I’ll find a way to bring you back to Earth… Promise.”

It might just have been a trick of the eye, but Fyuu thought that she saw Rai shaking his head and heard him mutter, “It’s not possible. Those who leaves Yume leaves it forever.”

But when she woke up, she had no memories of that ever happening.

Heeding Rai’s advice, she went to the twins and told them everything that has happened. The twins helped her resolve her problems, which was really surprising seeing that Fyuu had thought of them as carefree naïve people.

But it turns out that she was wrong after all.

Maybe together they could help Rai. So Fyuu told them what she planned to do. The twins never said anything to stop her, but continued helping her, supporting her. Together, they forged a friendship that no one could break.

They spent the afternoons of weekdays together, in someone’s house, trying to figure out how to make Fyuu’s plans work. But it never did work.

If Fyuu felt anxious, or maybe depressed, or even anger, she never did show it. And neither did the twins. If they knew something about Yume, some hidden secret or what – not, they never told Fyuu either.

Maybe this was meant to be. To live happily ever after, with friends. But the reality is harsher that what it seems to be.

---One year later---

Glancing up to the sky, Fyuu allowed herself to lag behind the twins. She fingered her pocket watch, and in the end, flipped it open to stare at the picture of Rai.

Remembering her promise so long ago, she muttered an apology. No matter how hard they tried, they could never make Fyuu’s plan work. It has been long since, and they had given up, choosing to spend their time wisely on their studies instead.

They still met up to discuss about Yume once in a while, but it never lasted long. Fyuu felt that the world was slipping from her grasp, and that she could never go back. But maybe that was meant to be.

The thought of that jolted Fyuu’s memories.

Rai had said something to her, something that she couldn’t remember. Maybe Rai didn’t want her to remember, or maybe the creator of that world didn’t. Either way, she couldn’t remember it, and she had given up trying.

“Rai… Thank you, and sorry.”

Thank you for help me, and sorry for not being able to help you.

The sky darkened, and it started raining. Looking down at the ground, Fyuu allowed herself to be soaked.

Tears dripping onto the floor along with the rain.

---End---

For those who try to escape reality, let it be known that it is a futile effort.