In my dreams I was focusing on the missing pieces that were swirling like puzzle pieces in my mind. The puzzles pieces became clearer as I focused on the floating image tossing around in my brain. Suddenly I was watching my mom stand in front of me with the widest smile on her face as I blew bubbles into the air. The day was almost over but we hadn't returned home yet. I was looking at the branches on the trees that swayed above our heads. We had spent the day out in the forest having a wonderful time. We had played in the ponds, collected butterflies, and watched the sun set in what my mom called the pathway of dreams. The pathway of dreams was a field of flowers that lay deep within the forest trail where we could watch the earth passing by in all its beauty,

I observed my mom twirling the necklace between her thumb and forefinger nervously. The necklace had a full moon lighting up the inside of its circle that looked so real. I wanted to touch the moon because it looked so beautiful lit up so brightly. In my innocence I went to reach out for the necklace just to touch but my mother moved my hand away gently.

"No sweetie. Mommy is making something special for you. Magic, see", she said as something glowed within the necklace. I watched my mom whisper something in a language I couldn't quite understand while touching the necklace softly. I looked into my moms eyes to find there were blood red tears dripping from them.

"Mommy why are you bleeding", I asked trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. She caressed my face with her free hand as she looked into my curious eyes. Her arms held me tight as I relished in the comfort of her hug.

"These tears are my sacrifice. I'm going to need you to do something for me", my mother said in a kindhearted voice. I looked into her eyes seeing a deep sadness in them. "I'm going to need you to run. He's coming. Go quickly and don't turn back", she said as she pushed me forward.

I was running as fast as my little feet could take me into the forest but something distracted me. It was the moon, full and glowing in the background, that captivated my attention for a moment. It looked just like my mothers necklace that it took my breath away with its beauty. I reached into the night sky as if trying to capture the moon in my hands. I thought if I touched the moon I might be able to reach the magic from my mothers necklace.

Instead of reaching the magic, I had tripped onto the ground, I was surrounded by a pile of leaves. The leaves were crunching underneath me when I heard the sound of footsteps right behind me. 'Playtime is over", the voice said in a muffled voice. I turned around to get a look at the person with the unfamiliar voice and then nothing. The memory was gone as if it were wiped from existence. A I floated away from the memory I recognized the smell of candles burning in the distance.

I ripped the sheets off my body covered in a sheer layer of sweat from the dream that left me feeling groggy. The pounding in my head was so intense that I lifted my hand up to my face to massage my forehead. I felt something wet on my hand so I brought it back up to see blood. I didn't want to get the blood on Valerie's bed so I kept my head elevated. I turned around to see Valerie looking up at me from her spot on the floor.

"Rowen, you're bleeding. Hold on let me get you something for that", Valerie said as she disappeared from below my line of vision. She returned with a wad of tissues in her hand hurrying around rapidly. "Here, use this". she said as she thrust the tissues into my hand forcefully.

"Thanks". I mumbled as I pressed the tissue up to my bloody nose. The sight of blood on my hands made my heart pulsate. I had the feeling that this was not the first time my hands had been bloodied. "What time is it?", I asked her cautiously.

"It's about 7 am. We wanted you to sleep longer since last night was so eventful. Also we figured we could take you to school today", she said in a calm voice. I leaped out of bed with the anxiety of having already missed way too many days of school. I'm pretty sure the school would think I dropped out if I missed another day.

"I have to get ready", I said as I raced around the room looking for any clothes that I could wear. I realized I wasn't at Aunt Tabby's anymore so all my clothes were gone. I wasn't planning on going back to her house to grab anything knowing I dark energy was there.

"Here, some clothes for you", Valerie said as she handed me a flowery dress. I looked at the dress with disdain by her choice of clothing. I thought to myself as I grabbed the dress that beggars couldn't be choosers. I moved to the other side of the room to put the horrifying girly dress over my shoulders.

"I look awful", I said as I looked at myself in the full length mirror. The dress was too tight so that it showed too much skin and shape. I was used to baggy clothes that hid my curvy figure but Valerie gave me no options. I was in disbelief that the person in the mirror staring back at me was myself.

"You look amazing. Nixon will be so upset when he sees you", Valerie said as she whistled in my direction. I wanted to hide the blush that crept onto my skin at the thought of Nixon looking at me. I used to be afraid of Nixon's dark eyes but now I felt a strange flutter in the pit of my stomach. A darkness settled over Valerie's face as she wiped the left over blood from my face with a tissue. "Do you always get bloody noses", she asked in a questioning tone randomly.

"No, but I tried remembering something in my dreams. If I search far enough I can just see the edges of my memories but they're like jumbled puzzle pieces", I told her. Valerie's face remained impassive as she threw away the tissues in the waste basket. Even though she looked calm I could see an idea brewing in her mind.

"I think today will be the last day of school. We have to go to the forest to get answers", Valerie said grimly. "Even powerful magic can only last so long. Once your memory returns you may never be safe again. We leave tonight", she said with her authoritative gaze.

"Tonight", I whispered as I nodded my head in agreement. I was ready to find the truth that I had been searching for my whole life. I just hoped that when the pieces of the puzzle finally came together I would be alive to see it.