-Eden- (One of The First Fanfics of "A Broken Dream!)

Every day, life felt much more wretched, both at school and at home. It was so repetitive. Leave home. Go to school. Say hi to mom and dad. And, repeat like someone pressed the rewind button of the same gloomy day again and again! I wanted to break the cycle. I knew the key: It was entering dreams. Dreams are my refuge. They made me feel happy for a time. It also made me relaxed, almost as if I were in paradise. It was like Eden to me. It held the fruit of peace, happiness, and a sense of relaxation, and the angels guarding it are the boundaries of reality. I even have a journal I convinced my mom to buy. To me, it was a dream journal. My dream journal was full of descriptions of my dreams, like the time I was in a chill vibe, an empty supermarket, eerie yet calming. I walked around the supermarket, which had pink lighting, and faceless people walking around. The food and items here felt real. And, it actually felt like a shopping experience with no shopping rush, just peaceful walking. When I stepped out of the store, I woke up. And surprise, surprise… I woke up to the same tedious cycle again. Right now, I would wish upon a shooting star that I could stay in my dreams forever. In the morning, the sun shone through my window, the birds were tweeting outside, even though it was calming, it ruined my mood after the dream I had last night. I stood up, and I put on my school clothes. Black sweatpants, black t-shirt, and grey sneakers. I came out of my room and saw my father reading a newspaper. "Morning, son", my dad greeted me. "Morning, Dad", I replied. My dad was always an early bird, unlike my mom. Dad doesn't even enjoy it, he always does this early bird routine for work, not because he wants to. I asked my dad, "Where's Mom? Is she sleeping?" "Your mother is still sleeping," my dad replied, "She's not exactly an early bird, just like me." He chuckled before he went back to drinking coffee and reading his newspaper as usual. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I was doing that, I looked at myself in the mirror, and in that mirror, I almost felt like I was staring into an abyss of memories instead of staring into myself. I spat out the toothpaste that was mixed with saliva and blood from my gums. When I was done with everything, I put on my bookbag and was about to leave when my father called out. "Hey, kid.. If something is bothering you, then I'm here for ya," My father called out with a smile. True.. My dad always looks out for me, but that never cured my desire for dreams; he at least puts a smile on my face that lasts the whole walk from home to school. "Okay, Dad, see you soon, love you", I said while I closed the door. The sky was now dark blue, clouds everywhere, and the scenery seemed nice today. The birds chirped, and it just gave me that feeling that maybe I was in a dream, but of course, it wasn't. Cars were passing by, and I was walking while scrolling on my phone, watching videos about dreams. This walk to school and the walk back home, were the only good parts of my school day, and right now, the scenery is cheering me up a little bit. But when I reached school, the beauty of the nature around me became tedious to me, and inside.. Loud voices of the crowd, deep hallways, and the grey blocks made it look like I was in a solitary. I have disliked school ever since I graduated from elementary school. In class, I was lost in my own thoughts and daydreams until my teacher spoke, "Tim, are you focusing?" Those sentences made me snap out of it. "Yeah, I'm focused, just a little... confused". It was the first period, and I'm already in my own Disneyland, which was excusable since it was math class, and everyone knows math class is boring and confusing. During the switching of classes, a missing poster was found on a pinboard. It was a student, her name was Karia, and she was last seen last month. I wonder how she's doing and where she is. In every class, I was zoned out, yet I got my work done. It was not only life being repetitive. "Nice haircut, Tim," one of the boys said to me sarcastically. The boys laughed at me, but I didn't respond. I know that it will make things worse. The worst bullying was stuck in my head. I remember it like it was yesterday, when I was getting jumped outside, I could even remember the voices, "Dork!" One of the boys called out to me as I had gotten kicked over and over, everybody stood there just watching, not even doing anything. That was a memory I can remember, but I always wish I couldn't. The rest of the day was grey walls, loud voices, anxiety, and me being paranoid. It was like I was stuck in a nightmare. I wish this were a dream where I could wake up and forget about it. At the end of the day, I opened my locker and turned on my phone. Today was actually going to be the last day of dealing with life, because I had talked with a smuggler online to get these dream pills I heard about. I trusted this smuggler because he talked about dreams the same way I did. They say it can make you go to sleep for eternity, and that's a one-way ticket to Eden. The people online tried to brainwash me into staying, but I just ignored it, for they always resist the truth that life is a burden. I left the school in a good mood, knowing it was the last time I had to deal with reality. Instead of going straight home, I went downtown, to the dark alleyway, there were trash cans, graffiti, rats running around, and every footstep was an echo. The alleyway was dark, a perfect spot, but it made me nervous. I had second thoughts. Was this a scam? There was no way that these dream pills worked. How could they make you sleep for eternity? But it's worth a shot. This shot could mean everything to me. I met with the smuggler, his hood covered his face, and he hid his hand in his pocket, just like how I expected a smuggler. "Hey, man. Do you have the ticket?" I asked the smuggler. "The ticket? What the hell do you mean by ticket?" The smuggler was confused, I couldn't blame him. Why would I be here for a ticket instead of the pill? I sighed and replied, "I meant the pills. Do you have them?" The smuggler nodded, now he knew what I meant. "I get it… A ticket to dreams. You sure, you wanna do this, kid?" the smuggler asked me, but I simply nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm getting real sick of life…" "Why do you even want to drink that anyway?" the smuggler asked me again. "To live in dreams, of course," I replied. "No, no, no.. like the actual reason," He responded. "Oh.. Life is a burden.. Bullied every day and this life being a repeating thing over and over", I said. The smuggler looked at me before he nodded again, "Here, kid," The smuggler handed me the dream pills, "100 bucks and you'll have sweet dreams." The smuggler said while holding out his hand. I grabbed my allowance, which I had saved for months, and handed it to him. "Here you go, thank you very much," I waved goodbye and left the alleyway. He watched me carefully. I now felt relieved and happy, as if I was about to leave prison. After all that pain, suffering, and harsh whip of words, I got hit by reality, I am finally going to become.. Free. I wonder how the dreams will be. Will they be relaxing? Will they be vibey? Will they make me feel happiness? Will they finally put a smile on my face that lasts for infinity itself? I headed home just to stay until my parents slept. I opened my journal and wrote, "Today's the day, the day, the departure of reality, where I can finally be free. No longer do I have to carry the burden, the pain, the suffering, and I just enter the thought bubble. I can't wait to see and explore all the sights of my dreams. I appreciate the love of my parents; I do love them back, but I can't hold the pain. I knew killing myself couldn't be the right way. It would send me to an abyss where I stare at it forever, or maybe, just maybe, it'll take me to the afterlife. But dreams? They're much better than an afterlife. It's where you can explore without boundaries. No boundaries means freedom". You know.. Writing gave me a feeling that I could pour all my emotions into just a singular paper, and I could be fine. Why must people carry the burden of life? where in dreams you can feel happy, not sad, angry, or embarrassed, it'll be like Eden, a paradise. My parents had fallen asleep, so I decided to leave all my things behind, and leave a note, "Mom and Dad, If you read this, I must let you know that I have left to be happy, goodbye". I stepped out of my house and walked away. It was summer, so the night was very warm and humid. I could hear cars, streetlights buzzing, and other sounds of Sterlington. As I walked really far, I reached where the forest and roads meet. I was on the outskirts of town because I was going to book a hotel right in these outskirts, but when I got farther, I realized that I couldn't go much longer, so I went into the forest. The forest was dark, and it was very silent, no sounds of cars, birds chirping, or nature. It was just the wind blowing through the trees. I put some pills in my hands, and I held them close to my mouth. I was going to drink it instantly, but I heard my parents' voices in my head; it was like the last goodbye. "If something is bothering you.. Then I'm here for ya.." and another voice in my head, it was my mom's voice, "Just be safe, honey, I love you very much..". Tears welled up in my eyes, my hands were shaking, and I stared at it. But there's no turning back now. If I'm here to go to the dreams, then I will. I drank the dream pills, then I started to get dizzy as soon as I drank them. My legs slowly gave up, and I fell. I slowly fell asleep. I'm free. I'm finally free from the chains. Eden, here I come.