The wind was gentle.
Petals drifted through the air, carried softly until they fell against the earth.
A single tree stood there—its blossoms in full bloom, their fragrance mixing with the spring air.
Under its shade… stood a girl.
He froze. His breath caught in his chest the instant he saw her.
"…Amelia?"
The name escaped his lips like a prayer. His throat was tight, yet the word slipped through.
"Why are you here? Why… why didn't you even tell me you were alive?"
She didn't answer. She only stood there, silent, watching him with those eyes.
But her silence was louder than any scream.
His lips trembled, then curved into a faint smile.
He couldn't help it. Just seeing her… his heart cracked open.
"Hey, Amelia… you know, I love you."
The words came out shaky, half-broken.
But before the air could carry them to her—
The ground vanished.
His body plummeted, swallowed by a roaring tide.
"—What!?"
Salt burned his lungs as icy water wrapped around him. His arms flailed wildly, searching for something, anything to cling to.
But there was nothing.
Only the sea.
Dark waves crushed him from all sides, dragging him lower, deeper.
He gasped, bubbles rushing past his lips, his voice drowned instantly.
"How… how am I here!?" he screamed, but the water devoured the words.
The light above dimmed.
The deeper he sank, the blacker it became.
And then—
A color spread through the water.
Crimson.
"…Blood?"
The word echoed in his head. The ocean around him twisted red, clouded and thick, until every direction he turned, he saw only blood.
It wasn't just the sea.
It was him.
A stabbing pain surged from his back. His body convulsed as warmth spilled out, staining the water behind him.
The sea of blood… was his own.
He tried to scream, but no sound came.
And then, through the haze of red—he saw it.
Her.
Amelia's head.
Floating. Drifting.
Her lips parted slightly, as if whispering a name he couldn't hear.
His eyes stretched wide, terror gripping his lungs tighter than the water.
He reached out, but his hand only cut through empty waves.
Still, his voice somehow broke through the suffocating sea:
"A… Amelia…"
But in the blink of an eye, her head vanished.
The water pulled him deeper.
Deeper.
Until nothing but darkness remained.
---
"Amelia—!"
He shot up from his bed, gasping like a drowning man finally breaking the surface.
Sweat soaked his body, his shirt clinging to his skin. His heartbeat hammered against his ribs like it was trying to escape.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The alarm screamed beside him, merciless and shrill.
He slammed a hand against it, killing the noise, but the ringing still echoed in his skull.
"Haah… haah…"
His breaths were ragged. His chest felt heavy, his throat dry.
Slowly, unsteadily, he dragged himself from the sheets and forced his legs to move.
Each step was sluggish as if his body still carried the weight of the sea.
At the sink, he twisted the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face.
The chill bit into his skin, but it wasn't enough to wake him from the nightmare's grip.
Water dripped down his jaw, pooling at the base of the mirror.
He lifted his head and met his own eyes.
The man in the reflection was pale, hollow-eyed, exhausted. His lips parted slightly.
"What was that… actually?" he muttered, voice trembling.
"Something that's happening to me? Sleep paralysis…?"
The face in the mirror didn't look like his anymore.
It was serious, grim, and unfamiliar.
With a long exhale, he pushed himself away and stumbled back to bed.
But his eyes caught something on the nightstand.
A photo frame.
His hand hesitated before picking it up.
It was a picture of him and Amelia—both smiling beneath the sunlight, eyes bright, hands close.
A memory that felt like another life.
"…Amelia," he whispered, softer than a breath.
He set the frame down and collapsed into the mattress. The blanket draped over him, warm yet suffocating.
His body stilled. His breathing slowed, as though sleep was coming for him again.
But his eyes…
They refused to close.
Wide open, they stared into the darkness of the room.
As if afraid that if he closed them—
the dream would return.