Hitomi ran through the dark forest, breathing heavily. Hitomi
stopped to catch her breath and to rest for just a moment. She could feel
the soft, wet forest floor from beneath her feet as she shivered from the
slight breeze that was blowing through the forest. With one quick glimpse,
Hitomi looked up at the sky and saw Earth. 'My home,' she thought. Within
the distance she could hear people running and giving chase as if in
pursuit of someone or something. The blood within her ran cold and she
started to run again. She ran as far as her legs could carry her. Just up
ahead of her she could see a small pale light shining through the thick
leaves of the trees. She ran towards the light with every effort to try and
escape her pursuers. The light was shining more brightly and Hitomi had
thought that she was going to make it. Suddenly the trees cleared and she
halted to a stop just barely making it. Before her was a sheer drop that
went down thousands of feet and falling from this cliff could easily break
every bone in your body once you had found the bottom. She could hear her
pursuers getting closer. 'Van, if only you were here to catch me,' she
thought as the memories of her first coming to Gaia filled her head. She
remembered the fight against Zaibach and how so many friends had died
trying to protect those they had loved the most. 'If only Van. If only,'
Hitomi whispered as she jumped off of the cliff.
Hitomi woke up gasping and looked all around her to see that there were no trees. Instead she saw only faces of students looking at her with weird expressions coming from all 29 of them including her best friend Yukari. The teacher turned around to see who had made the noise and saw Hitomi with an embarrassed facial expression. The teacher gave a sigh and began to speak to the class.
"Everyone return to what I had asked you to do previously before there was any interruption from Miss Kanzaki. As for you Miss Kanzaki, if my lessons to teach you are so boring that you would start sleeping in this class I suggest that you drop this class and head for the regular one," Miss Hoshi said.
"Yes Miss Hoshi," Hitomi replied with a flushed face of embarrassment. Before Miss Hoshi could say anymore the bell rang signaling the school days end. All the students headed for the door trying to get out of the classroom and out of the school so that they could go home and rest and look forward to another boring and tiring day at school.
"Class! I want you all to write an essay and bring it back tomorrow on the story that we read today in class!" Miss Hoshi yelled in the hallway to the remaining students that were in her class who were pushing and shoving in the hallways trying to get out. Hitomi slowly packed her belongings and got up from her desk. Her best friend Yukari was waiting for her at the door and as Hitomi walked towards her she gave Hitomi a warm and friendly smile. While Hitomi and Yukari were heading out, Miss Hoshi was coming back in from the crowded hallway.
"Oh Miss Kanzaki. May I speak with you for a moment?" Miss Hoshi asked as she looked at Hitomi in the face.
"Sure," Hitomi nodded with an unsure smile on her face.
"Meet you outside the school Hitomi," Yukari said as she headed down the stairs to get to the first floor. Hitomi watched sadly as her friend left. Then slowly and gloomily, Hitomi walked back into the classroom. She saw Miss Hoshi pull up a chair next to her desk and the give her the signal to come and sit down. Hitomi walked over to the chair and sat down knowing what her teacher was going to say to her.
"Hitomi. I've noticed that you don't pay as much attention anymore as you used to two years ago. You were always a diligent student and always paid attention, but now you seem like as if a part of you is somewhere else. I want to know what's wrong," Miss Hoshi said with a caring and concerned tone of voice.
"I..." Hitomi began as she tried to think of what to say to her teacher. Hitomi thought and knew that a part of her was truly somewhere else. This somewhere else was called Gaia. She remembered how she had left so many good friends there, but she remembered how she had left the person she loved the most...Van. Then the memories, the visions, and the power of the tarot cards all came back to her, haunting her mind and bewitching it. Miss Hoshi looked at Hitomi with her sad and dazed facial expression. Miss Hoshi gave a long sigh and stared down at her desk.
Then she refaced Hitomi and said, "Hitomi, I think you should go home and take a nice long rest. You seem to be somewhere else every time I speak to you."
"Huh? Oh Miss Hoshi! I'm sorry. It's just that many different things have been on my mind lately. Things I can't seem to forget," Hitomi responded back trying to chase away the memories.
"Hitomi?"
"Yes?"
"Go home."
"Yes Miss Hoshi." Hitomi got up from the chair and walked towards the door. Standing right underneath the door, Hitomi closed her eyes for a moment and sighed then she walked out and went towards the stairs.
Outside of the school, Hitomi saw Yukari who was waiting for her at the front gates.
"What took you so long Hitomi?" Yukari asked.
"Nothing. Miss Hoshi just asked me why I wasn't paying attention in her class anymore," Hitomi answered back.
"Oh. Did you drift off again? You've changed. I mean ever since you put away your tarot cards, you seem to act differently around everyone."
"I'm sorry. It's just that when I told myself that I would never tell fortunes again to anyone I meant it."
"What? I asked you why you changed and you start telling me about fortune telling? Hitomi what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. I just need some rest that's all." Hitomi walked away from the school leaving her friend speechless. Yukari knew something was wrong but she didn't want to ask Hitomi the question again. Yukari chased after her friend and walked with her all the way to her house, side by side. Once they had reached Hitomi's house Hitomi and Yukari said their good-byes and told one another that they would meet each other tomorrow at school and then each went their separate ways. In the evening, Hitomi got ready for bed and wore her soft pajamas and went into her warm and comfortable bed. Hitomi gently closed her eyes as she fell into a deep state of sleep.
Hitomi walked in the cold fog. She could see nothing in front of her or behind her as she walked on blindly only hearing her own footsteps as she walked. 'What am I doing here? Where is this place?' Hitomi thought. Soft whispers broke the silence and Hitomi became more frightened. 'Destroy the Dragon...Destroy...Destroy the Dragon...' the voices whispered. The voices kept on repeating those words and Hitomi feared for what would happen next. She covered her ears but she could still hear the voices. Hitomi fell to the ground on her knees. 'Make it stop. Please make it stop,' she thought to herself over and over again. The voices became louder and louder. Hitomi wanted to wake up from this dream or vision or whatever it was, but she couldn't. It was as if the voices wanted to trap her in this nightmare...forever. Hitomi panicked and screamed. Her cry of fear echoed through the fog clashing and overpowering the voices. Then she stopped and it was silent again. Hitomi uncovered her ears and listened. She could hear silent and soft footsteps coming towards her. She stared up ahead of her and saw a dark figure coming her way. She could tell that the figure was a man. 'Van?' Hitomi whispered to herself softly. The figure came closer and closer and she feared for who it might be. Suddenly the figure stopped a few feet away from Hitomi. He wasn't close enough for Hitomi to see who he was, but she could see that he was a soldier of some kind. He had a sword and he wore a long cape that blew from the slight breeze that started up.
'Get up,' the figure said. Hitomi could sense the authority in his voice, but it wasn't demanding or orderly. The voice was gentle but firm. Again the voice spoke the same words but this time he spoke her name as well. Hitomi slowly got up from the ground and tried to see whom the mysterious figure was.
'Don't even try. You won't know who I am,' the figure said.
'Who are you and why have you brought me here?' Hitomi questioned.
'Hitomi, you must be careful. The time for you to return to Gaia is near.'
'Return to Gaia? What do you mean?'
'Be careful Hitomi,' the figure said once more and with those few words the figure vanished in a bright flash of light. Hitomi became blinded and held up her arms to cover her face from the light. Soon the light vanished just as quickly as it had come. Hitomi was in darkness again. Hitomi looked around and saw a small pink glow. She looked where the glow was coming from and realized that it was coming from her pendant. The pendant that her grandmother had given her. She held the pendant within her hands. She looked at it and wondered to herself why it was glowing. Then a strong wind blew in her direction. She winced as the wind blew by. When she reopened her eyes she saw her tarot cards floating around her. They started to circle her slowly. Hitomi realized that her pendant and her tarot cards were reacting this way because she knew the time had come for her to use them again. She looked straight ahead of her and saw a figure.
'Escaflowne,' Hitomi murmured to herself. Then she was engulfed in a bright flash of light.
Hitomi slowly opened her eyes and looked at her clock. She groaned as she saw that it was only 4:15. She laid her hand on her forehead and let it sit there for some time.
"Why are all these dreams coming to me? I can barely understand them. They're like fragments of a bigger dream or something," Hitomi said aloud to herself in the quiet darkness of her room, "Return to Gaia. That's what the figure said. After a year of being away from Van, do I finally get to see him again?"
Hitomi woke up gasping and looked all around her to see that there were no trees. Instead she saw only faces of students looking at her with weird expressions coming from all 29 of them including her best friend Yukari. The teacher turned around to see who had made the noise and saw Hitomi with an embarrassed facial expression. The teacher gave a sigh and began to speak to the class.
"Everyone return to what I had asked you to do previously before there was any interruption from Miss Kanzaki. As for you Miss Kanzaki, if my lessons to teach you are so boring that you would start sleeping in this class I suggest that you drop this class and head for the regular one," Miss Hoshi said.
"Yes Miss Hoshi," Hitomi replied with a flushed face of embarrassment. Before Miss Hoshi could say anymore the bell rang signaling the school days end. All the students headed for the door trying to get out of the classroom and out of the school so that they could go home and rest and look forward to another boring and tiring day at school.
"Class! I want you all to write an essay and bring it back tomorrow on the story that we read today in class!" Miss Hoshi yelled in the hallway to the remaining students that were in her class who were pushing and shoving in the hallways trying to get out. Hitomi slowly packed her belongings and got up from her desk. Her best friend Yukari was waiting for her at the door and as Hitomi walked towards her she gave Hitomi a warm and friendly smile. While Hitomi and Yukari were heading out, Miss Hoshi was coming back in from the crowded hallway.
"Oh Miss Kanzaki. May I speak with you for a moment?" Miss Hoshi asked as she looked at Hitomi in the face.
"Sure," Hitomi nodded with an unsure smile on her face.
"Meet you outside the school Hitomi," Yukari said as she headed down the stairs to get to the first floor. Hitomi watched sadly as her friend left. Then slowly and gloomily, Hitomi walked back into the classroom. She saw Miss Hoshi pull up a chair next to her desk and the give her the signal to come and sit down. Hitomi walked over to the chair and sat down knowing what her teacher was going to say to her.
"Hitomi. I've noticed that you don't pay as much attention anymore as you used to two years ago. You were always a diligent student and always paid attention, but now you seem like as if a part of you is somewhere else. I want to know what's wrong," Miss Hoshi said with a caring and concerned tone of voice.
"I..." Hitomi began as she tried to think of what to say to her teacher. Hitomi thought and knew that a part of her was truly somewhere else. This somewhere else was called Gaia. She remembered how she had left so many good friends there, but she remembered how she had left the person she loved the most...Van. Then the memories, the visions, and the power of the tarot cards all came back to her, haunting her mind and bewitching it. Miss Hoshi looked at Hitomi with her sad and dazed facial expression. Miss Hoshi gave a long sigh and stared down at her desk.
Then she refaced Hitomi and said, "Hitomi, I think you should go home and take a nice long rest. You seem to be somewhere else every time I speak to you."
"Huh? Oh Miss Hoshi! I'm sorry. It's just that many different things have been on my mind lately. Things I can't seem to forget," Hitomi responded back trying to chase away the memories.
"Hitomi?"
"Yes?"
"Go home."
"Yes Miss Hoshi." Hitomi got up from the chair and walked towards the door. Standing right underneath the door, Hitomi closed her eyes for a moment and sighed then she walked out and went towards the stairs.
Outside of the school, Hitomi saw Yukari who was waiting for her at the front gates.
"What took you so long Hitomi?" Yukari asked.
"Nothing. Miss Hoshi just asked me why I wasn't paying attention in her class anymore," Hitomi answered back.
"Oh. Did you drift off again? You've changed. I mean ever since you put away your tarot cards, you seem to act differently around everyone."
"I'm sorry. It's just that when I told myself that I would never tell fortunes again to anyone I meant it."
"What? I asked you why you changed and you start telling me about fortune telling? Hitomi what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. I just need some rest that's all." Hitomi walked away from the school leaving her friend speechless. Yukari knew something was wrong but she didn't want to ask Hitomi the question again. Yukari chased after her friend and walked with her all the way to her house, side by side. Once they had reached Hitomi's house Hitomi and Yukari said their good-byes and told one another that they would meet each other tomorrow at school and then each went their separate ways. In the evening, Hitomi got ready for bed and wore her soft pajamas and went into her warm and comfortable bed. Hitomi gently closed her eyes as she fell into a deep state of sleep.
Hitomi walked in the cold fog. She could see nothing in front of her or behind her as she walked on blindly only hearing her own footsteps as she walked. 'What am I doing here? Where is this place?' Hitomi thought. Soft whispers broke the silence and Hitomi became more frightened. 'Destroy the Dragon...Destroy...Destroy the Dragon...' the voices whispered. The voices kept on repeating those words and Hitomi feared for what would happen next. She covered her ears but she could still hear the voices. Hitomi fell to the ground on her knees. 'Make it stop. Please make it stop,' she thought to herself over and over again. The voices became louder and louder. Hitomi wanted to wake up from this dream or vision or whatever it was, but she couldn't. It was as if the voices wanted to trap her in this nightmare...forever. Hitomi panicked and screamed. Her cry of fear echoed through the fog clashing and overpowering the voices. Then she stopped and it was silent again. Hitomi uncovered her ears and listened. She could hear silent and soft footsteps coming towards her. She stared up ahead of her and saw a dark figure coming her way. She could tell that the figure was a man. 'Van?' Hitomi whispered to herself softly. The figure came closer and closer and she feared for who it might be. Suddenly the figure stopped a few feet away from Hitomi. He wasn't close enough for Hitomi to see who he was, but she could see that he was a soldier of some kind. He had a sword and he wore a long cape that blew from the slight breeze that started up.
'Get up,' the figure said. Hitomi could sense the authority in his voice, but it wasn't demanding or orderly. The voice was gentle but firm. Again the voice spoke the same words but this time he spoke her name as well. Hitomi slowly got up from the ground and tried to see whom the mysterious figure was.
'Don't even try. You won't know who I am,' the figure said.
'Who are you and why have you brought me here?' Hitomi questioned.
'Hitomi, you must be careful. The time for you to return to Gaia is near.'
'Return to Gaia? What do you mean?'
'Be careful Hitomi,' the figure said once more and with those few words the figure vanished in a bright flash of light. Hitomi became blinded and held up her arms to cover her face from the light. Soon the light vanished just as quickly as it had come. Hitomi was in darkness again. Hitomi looked around and saw a small pink glow. She looked where the glow was coming from and realized that it was coming from her pendant. The pendant that her grandmother had given her. She held the pendant within her hands. She looked at it and wondered to herself why it was glowing. Then a strong wind blew in her direction. She winced as the wind blew by. When she reopened her eyes she saw her tarot cards floating around her. They started to circle her slowly. Hitomi realized that her pendant and her tarot cards were reacting this way because she knew the time had come for her to use them again. She looked straight ahead of her and saw a figure.
'Escaflowne,' Hitomi murmured to herself. Then she was engulfed in a bright flash of light.
Hitomi slowly opened her eyes and looked at her clock. She groaned as she saw that it was only 4:15. She laid her hand on her forehead and let it sit there for some time.
"Why are all these dreams coming to me? I can barely understand them. They're like fragments of a bigger dream or something," Hitomi said aloud to herself in the quiet darkness of her room, "Return to Gaia. That's what the figure said. After a year of being away from Van, do I finally get to see him again?"