Chapter Twenty-Five: Dreams of Hell Fire:

That first night might have been great, but dreams were another story. Ever since that first night, I started to have the strangest dreams.

Everything looked so dead. The red earth cried out for water. When I walked, my feet started to ache. I could hear crying in the distance. Everything looked so cloudy. The thin air made my lungs ache. Where was I? It didn’t look like any part of the kingdom that I’ve known.

Then, I heard chanting behind me.

Aka ichi ka ha chi. Aka ichi ka ha chi. Aka ichi ka ha chi. Aka ichi ka ha chi.

A clicking noise came with the chanting. I turned my head. An old woman sat at her spinning wheel. She was singing while weaving white thread in bright red. I walked over with caution.

“Excuse me,” I said. She didn’t respond. I stepped closer.

“Excuse me,” I said again. The old woman didn’t look up. She kept chanting with her weaving.

Aka ichi ka ha chi. Aka ichi ka ha chi. Aka ichi ka ha chi. Aka ichi ka ha chi.

I waved my head in first of her face. “Excuse me!” My voice was loud enough to shake the red grounds. The old woman stopped weaving. She wouldn’t look up at me.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked. “What is this?” She didn’t answer me.

“Where are we?” I asked. “How do I get back home?” It still felt weird to call that place “home”. The old woman still didn’t speak. Instead, she looked me in the eye. She only had two white holes for eyes. I stepped back when I saw all of the wrinkles on her face under her black hood. I will never forget what she said next.

“You cannot keep those butterflies in their cage,” she said.

“What?” I asked.

“The darkness will kill them,” she said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

I always woke up at that part. I would always turn to Bayu-chan sound asleep next to me. I don’t usually believe in dreams. They mean nothing to me. I just usually shake them off and keep moving with my life. This should be no different.

But why do I feel so uneasy?