Things aren’t always as they appear.

I didn’t just learn that, in fact, I’ve known it for as far back as I can remember.  Dreams are like that; you see superficial things and remember certain things, but there’s always a hidden message there if you know where to look.  And how to look. 

I used to be pretty good at that.

I had always lived to work and tame dreams, always preferring the control and mastery that so naturally came to me with hardly any effort.  The aid from my dad and grandmother only served to bolster my confidence in the brief time I’d spent with each of them.  For awhile I lived happily in my naivity - that I was well prepared for the jagged, painful bits of life and that with the next night’s slumber all could be set right again.

But somewhere in my short history I had stumbled, and fallen, and broken. And It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s born from my imagination anymore.  

And I can’t recall coming here of my own accord.  For all I know this is just another nightmare, and in a moment I’ll jolt awake.

Questions rise from the dark all around, though none seem directed at me, and I remain silent.  As I wait for the shadows to come, my eyes travel up to the stars eternal, just like I had done before with Eyas and Tana some time ago.