BLUE
The moment that Saliah opened her eyes, her heart sank. She was back at that awful place that left her restless.
The forest was especially chilly, wild winds blowing against the red leaves of each tree. The moonlight was especially bright, making her surroundings slightly visible. The muddy ground was hard and slightly shaking.
She breathed heavily as she looked around, her heart hanging in her throat.
The voices were back, eerier than before, and this time, louder and more commanding.
Saliah...
She heard a voice call out to her.
She clenched her fists and bit her lip as she stood still, refusing to move.
My good girl... I told you not to run.
The voice chuckled, sending shivers down her spine.
Saliah's breathing became uneven. Her heart thumping against her chest as she fought against the cold that attacked her skin and the fear that threatened to engulf her.
You know what I want... All you have to do is listen to me.
The voice echoed again, this time closer to her.
She felt a weight on her shoulder but refused to turn around as she held back her tears. Her body shook slightly as the weight on her shoulders got heavier and the coldness intensified with every passing second.
She shut her eyes in fear when she felt the cold breath against her neck, his rough index finger tracing ever so carefully against the cross birthmark on her neck.
Saliah?
He breathed heavily, his cold breath making her body shiver.
His hand gripped her neck and turned her head to the left, making the birthmark on the right side of her neck more visible.
She heard him chuckle, her heart skipping a beat, but before he could say anything, she felt her body sink into an ocean, her arms too heavy to move, making it impossible for her to swim.
She struggled to swim, a pointless fight against the water. She saw her vision fade, and before she could completely drift to unconsciousness, she suddenly sat up in her bed.
Her breathing was ragged, and her heartbeat was thumping against her chest.
She breathed in the morning air, her eyes bloodshot and moist.
Clutching her chest as she continued to breathe desperately, she looked around, fully relieved she was home.
"Just a dream..." She whispered, desperate to convince herself. But her body made her question what had happened. Her body was shaking despite the warmth from the sun that had already risen.
Her body temperature was the opposite of what it should be on a sunny day. She looked out the window as she thought about what had happened in her dream.
It had happened again....
Every day since her parents death, she had been having nightmares about a man, a man that sounded dangerous yet... awkwardly familiar.
He wanted something from her, needed something from her, but she had no idea what it was.
It was the first time, however, that the man had gotten that close to her.
Saliah closed her eyes and sighed, attempting to calm her racing heart.
The cross-shaped birthmark faintly glowed blue as she closed her eyes, thin blue lines traveling down her neck to her heart.
Suddenly, Saliah opened her eyes, unaware of the faint blue glowing in her eyes. The glow disappeared just a second after she had opened her eyes. She looked down at her chest and sighed in relief when she felt her heartbeat calm.
She then got out of bed and went to the bathroom, stopping by the bathroom mirror to look at her cross-shaped birthmark before taking a bath.
The small apartment she and her brother rented was especially small. Consisting of one bathroom, two small bedrooms, and a kitchen that was also used as a dining room.
When she was done with getting herself dressed for class, she walked into the kitchen where Zain, as expected, was making breakfast.
"Morning," Zain greeted when he saw her. He then went back to stirring the porridge that he was cooking.
Saliah rolled her eyes and handed him a bowl, which he filled with porridge. She took a spoon and sat on a chair as she drank her porridge in silence.
The siblings only interacted with each other when absolutely necessary. It was not because Zain was unwilling, but because Zain's face was a painful reminder of what Saliah had done to her parents.
Every time she looked at him, his resemblance to her father made her hate him all the more. She hated him for being alive, and she despised herself for causing her parents death.
"I won't be home till late today; I have a late-night shift," Zain informed her without any noticeable emotion.
She looked up at him and immediately turned away when she saw his face. She then hummed and grabbed her bag, sprinting to the door before Zain could notice her teary eyes.
-----
The winds were calm and soothing, caressing Saliah's dark hair as she sat under a tree at the university campus.
Her brows creased as she flipped the pages of her anatomy pamphlet, struggling to make sense of what she was reading.
"Do you plan on skipping lunch?" She heard a sweet, soothing voice say. Saliah instinctively smiled and turned her head to look at Kia, who stood still with her eyebrows raised questioningly.
She was carrying two packets of milkshakes in her hand and two donuts.
"Thanks for the lunch, Miss Kia," Saliah said before smiling cheekily, making Kia roll her eyes.
Kia handed her the food and sat cross-legged opposite Saliah.
"What are you studying?"
"Anatomy," Saliah answered before taking a bite of the donut.
"Anatomy..." Kia sighed, "Gosh, I hate anatomy!"
"I'm very sure it hates you as well." Saliah commented offhandedly, earning a resentful look from Kia.
"I'm not talking to you." Kia took out her phone and pretended to text. Saliah turned to her left, eyeing an old tree that had one red leaf. The same leaf she had seen in her dream that morning.
She squinted her eyes as she looked at it, as if waiting for the tree to show one sign of abnormality.
She then felt a gaze on her. She turned to check and met Kia's lost-in-thought expression. Kia's eyes were locked onto Saliah's neck, her brows furrowing slightly.
"What are you doing?" Saliah asked, immediately startling her.
"The birthmark is still the same. Did you find out why it's cross-shaped?" Kia answered after a while.
Saliah furrowed her brows and instinctively touched her birthmark.
"I don't know... relax, it's nothing important anyway," Saliah said casually and continued to drink her milkshake.
A minute later, she noticed Kia biting her lower lip, an action that only occurred when she wanted to say something she thought was offensive.
"What is it?" Saliah asked finally.
Kia looked up at her, hesitating. When she saw the look of approval on her face, she looked away and spoke her mind, her voice soft.
"You keep having those nightmares....maybe the birthmark is linked to it?"
Saliah's calm facade almost faltered. She looked at Kia, and when she replayed the words she had heard, she burst out laughing, shaking her head as she tried to keep herself from laughing maniacally loud.
"You're joking, right?" Saliah said in-between her laugh, "What do you think this is? Some fantasy movie where the main lead is cursed by a god?"
Thinking about it, Saliah laughed even more.
When she saw Kia pout, Saliah controlled her laugh.
"Okay, okay, I hear you, but how on earth can my birthmark be linked to nightmares?"
"You said there's always a man asking you for something, right?" Kia asked carefully. When she saw Saliah nod, she continued. "What if what he wants is related to your birthmark? It's a cross-shaped birthmark, Saliah; that's not a normal thing."
Saliah paused her actions, her mind replaying the strange dreams she always had.
For the first time since her nightmares began, he had touched her birthmark longingly, as if it was a long-awaited treasure that he desperately wanted to keep.
"All you have to do is listen to me..." she mumbled under her breath and immediately felt shivers down her spine. She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm.
"Don't be ridiculous, Kia; my nightmares are as a result of my parents dying."
"But have you ever had a nightmare that featured a topic about your parent's death?" Kia echoed.
The winds blew against Saliah's hair, as if whispering the answers to Kia's question. The slightly cold air caressing her cheeks made her feel uncomfortable yet...safe.
Saliah sighed and turned to her left again. This time, however, the red leaf had turned yellow. She blinked several times, questioning herself whether or not what she had seen was real. She felt as if she were crazy, and maybe... she was. Perhaps the nightmares had made her paranoid.
--------
The apartment was lonely and lacked warmth. But Saliah was used to it.
She took a shower and then sat on her bed, sipping on tea as she lazily scrolled down different posts on social media.
She looked out the window, her gaze lingering on the full moon that shone boastfully in the sky. She smiled faintly and drew the curtains before tucking herself into bed.
She lay on her back, her unfocused gaze locked onto the white ceiling board. Her mind was blank. She wanted to remember the man from her dreams, but she failed. She tried to recall his voice but failed miserably.
She wanted to know what he wanted and why he wanted it. But no matter how hard she tried, she could only remember the words he had spoken to her. Words that were a dangerous poem to her.
Frustrated, she closed her eyes and tried to force herself to sleep.
The forest was brightly lit by the moon and the stars. It was different from before.
The tree leaves were yellow, the ground was dry and still, the air was cool, and the winds were calming.
She opened her eyes, a faint blue glow on the birthmark on her neck.
She looked around but saw no one. She stood rooted to the ground, but the eerie feeling did not come. She felt no fear and only felt calmness.
Then came a rustle in the bushes. She creased her eyebrows and stared at the spot vigilantly. She waited for a while before a tall figure emerged.
The figure was six feet tall, had brown skin, and wore strange clothes she only saw in history books.
His hair was shaggy and black, his face bewitchingly handsome.
"Excuse me?" The young man called out to her for the third time since he revealed himself.
Saliah did not answer but only looked at him.
The young man walked closer to her, making her take a step back in fear.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you," he said reassuringly, and she was reckless enough to believe him.
"Are you lost?" The young man asked as he looked her up and down. "Are you from here, ma'am?" He asked cautiously with furrowed brows when he noticed her dressing.
Saliah blinked and looked around. She tried to open her mouth, but she felt as if her jaw was locked.
"Are you a traveler?" The young man asked yet again, but she did not answer.
"Perhaps she uses a foreign language."
She heard him mutter.
"Follow me, I'll take you somewhere safe," he said as he moved closer to her. He was standing two feet from her, his natural floral scent invading her nostrils. It was calming and fulfilling yet carried a hint of poison.
Her heartbeat quickened, her head suddenly feeling hazy. She bent over and rested her hands on her thighs, panting heavily.
The birthmark on her neck started to glow, blue lines stretching from her birthmark to her heart. The birthmark slowly became more visible with every passing second. The outline of the cross-shaped birthmark is becoming clearer, taking on the form of a tattoo.
The young man watched the tattoo glow with a hint of fascination and fear. He shifted his gaze onto her pale face and panicked.
"Are you okay? May I take you to the royal healer?" He asked with unhidden concern.
"I-I can't breathe," she said with difficulty. She raised her head to look at him, but his expression turned to horror the moment their eyes met.
They were glowing faint blue, her face extremely pale. She looked possessed as her eyes kept glowing, releasing a suffocating ambiance.
"I'll take you to the healer," the young man said after some time and reached out to hold her hand. But the moment his hand felt her skin, he felt a strong repulsive force push him away, sending him flying a few feet away from Saliah.
Saliah unknowingly shed a blue tear that hit the ground. And before she could process what had happened to the young man, she felt her body sink into a body of water.
Her eyes snapped open, and just like in her previous dream, she could not move her arms no matter how hard she tried. She shook her head desperately, kicking her feet in the water as she tried to swim, but nothing seemed to work.
The blue glow in her eyes became faint, but the glow on her tattoo remained the same. Her vision blurred and her headache worsened as she drifted into unconsciousness.