Nikki was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming, and that in itself was peculiar enough, but what was even stranger was the fact that she knew it wasn't just any ordinary dream. Something... someone was calling her, needing, wanting her with a desperate longing that frightened her. Some remote, alien part deep within her mind responded to the call with equal passion, seething with frustration and impatience, urgently insisting, demanding that her slender body start to move towards the call... and more specifically, the person who was making the call, even while the normal, everyday part of her was busy staring around her and being afraid.

Mist. Mist everywhere, a pearly grey vapor that snaked and twisted sinuously across her vision, curling and billowing around her small body like smoke, gripping her soft flesh with cold, insubstantial fingers. She suddenly realized that she was wearing a white nightgown... no, a dress. A ball-gown, to be specific. A long, flowing dress made from some gauzy, gossamer-like material that shimmered, a pale, opalescent white in the dim light and clung to the pre-pubescent shape of her willowy body, flaring out from her slim waist into a full, billowy skirt. It was... beautiful. A... a princess dress. But it did nothing to protect her against the severe chill of the frost which bit painfully through the filmy white cloth.

"E..en....dy...mion..." her lips quivered as they struggled unwillingly to form the unfamiliar word, whispering as if terrified to shatter the fragile reality of the dream. The faint sound echoed weakly into the murky blackness and became devoured by the tomb-like silence. Even the rapid thudding of her heart seemed muted, as if all sound was being smothered, stifled by the mantle of darkness.

Eyes. There was something out there, watching her. Dark shapes that writhed grotesquely in the blackness; by the goosebumps that rose in patches on her skin, Nikki could tell that whoever it was, its intentions were not friendly. Her body stiffened instinctively, limbs freezing like those of a deer mesmerized by the gleaming car head-lights rushing towards it. Somehow, she sensed that it was not the one who was calling her. This was something other; a strange, foreign entity, who had invaded her dream. And it was hostile. And curiously female.

She could feel it. Pulsing waves of pure, undiluted hatred that she had never felt before in all eleven years of her life, emanated from those eyes, and engulfed her, threatening to drown her in its sheer overwhelming intensity and volume, sending chills down her spine that even the biting cold could not. A soft, animal-like whimper escaped from her lips, her arms coming up involuntarily to wrap around her willowy body as if to protect herself against the thing.

The normal, ordinary eleven-year-old Nikki part of her was cowering in fright, cringing and urging her leaden legs to move, to do anything, anything that would just... just... get her away. The other part, that strange, alien part of her, was cool and calm, although Nikki could tell that it was just as afraid. But it commanded her to stand still, to face the thing. Not that Nikki could have done anything else. She was rooted to the spot, her knees suddenly as weak as jelly, her body swaying slightly as she strived to keep her calm, her sanity.

But then the next moment something happened that banished all other thoughts. Something... someone was coming through the mist.

---

Light. It flooded in pools on the wooden planks, and spilled like golden-warm honey over a small girl with hair that was the exact same color. It caressed her face gently, as if she was some glass statue too fragile to touch roughly, warming the soft planes of her soft cheekbones, highlighting each silken strand of gleaming blond hair that spread in two lustrous streamers of glossy gold on the coarse white linen surface of the futon she was sprawled across.

Two blue orbs glittering like sapphire jewels fixed their hard gaze on the petite figure bathed in sunlight, softening as they lingered tenderly over her round, pixyish face with its tiny button nose and perfect bow mouth. Loose tendrils of wispy golden hair that had escaped from her ponytails curled against the delicate contours of her face, and he struggled against the almost irresistible impulse to brush the silken threads back from her soft, creamy skin.

She was asleep, one small hand still loosely clutching a pencil within long, slim fingers, the other lying lightly on her flat midriff. The late afternoon breeze flipped the pages of the thick textbook next to her, carelessly making a rhythmic flapping sound that seemed to be in harmonic tune with the dry rustling of the green oak leaves, the soft chirping of insects, and the distant murmur of the sea...

Her rosy pink lips were slightly parted as her mouth hung open childishly. Dusky-hued lids hid her eyes, long, dark lashes fluttering as she breathed, small chest rising and falling softly as she drowsed in sweet slumber. In sleep she was still as she rarely was when awake - a painstakingly crafted, perfectly carved marble statue bronzed with golden light, sleeping within an eternal dream, waiting only for her prince to wake her up with a kiss...

His mind reflexively recoiled away from such thoughts, automatically moving away to safer areas. He wondered if she was dreaming. Something girlishly innocent, no doubt. Rabbits and flowers and the sticky cupcakes that she had munched on for lunch...

The breeze was warm and soft.

---

'Who are you?' the question flashed through her mind.

The other part of her supplied the answer immediately, as if in an instinctive response.

"My prince."

The words were in little girl's brain before she could even wonder who said them. The banks of mist receded, and she saw a glimmering firefly light in the distance. Her startled eyes caught the dark, arresting silhouette of a boy... no, a young man. Tall and lean, he was so much taller than her, lithe and smoothly muscled like some large black cat. Dark walls loomed mysteriously over him in the shadowy background, and she could barely make out a seemingly endless flight of stairs before her. He stood above her, at the base of some enormous building... a.. palace... which towered intimidatingly before her, tall, delicate spires of white marble spiraling into the soaring heights of the black, starless sky.

He moved with fleet panther-like grace, even though his step was quick, his stride hurried, and his long cape swirled dramatically behind him as he lunged hastily down the marble steps...

"Where are you? Where are you?"

His voice startled her, sending new shivers down her spine. But this time, the chills were not of fright. More of... anticipation... His voice... it was so... so desperate, so swollen with distress and agitation, filled with so much seething emotion. He called again, this time with even more hopeless despair in his voice than before. And that strange, foreign part of her, from which the normal Nikki was somehow separate and yet the same, answered.

"My love."  The words flew from her mouth before she could take them back. But even as she drew in a sharp breath, he turned and saw her. And stopped short.

"Nikki." he whispered gently. And the sound of that word... a name... which was so strange and yet so familiar, made the hair at the base of her neck tingle. But it wasn't the word that made her start. It had been... it had been the way he had said it. She had never heard anyone say anything with the same dark relief and wonder, the same possessive longing, the same euphoric joy all combined into one single word. As if the name in itself meant everything in the world to him. It made her ears go hot, as if she wasn't meant to hear someone speak like that. Her pounding heart skipped a beat as she peered into the gloomy darkness and mist, looking for him.

His face was obscured by shadows, yet somehow, Nikki could tell that he was staring at her. Staring at her as if she was the most important, most precious thing in the universe to him, and he had been searching hopelessly for her for an eternity until he'd almost abandoned all hope and given up. She was too astonished to move as he suddenly erupted from stillness, like a statue suddenly come to life. In a few long steps he was in front of her, his hands closing on her thin shoulders possessively with an iron grip that was at once both gentle and overpoweringly intimate.

Nikki was dizzy with confusion, her head swirling in dazed, delicious bewilderment. There was something about his touch that seemed overwhelmingly familiar and safe. She shrank back from his touch in alarm at first, faint shudders moving down her spine, but then a feeling of peace and security, of belonging washed over her like a gentle wave of warmth, soothing her frayed nerves. He wrapped his strong arms around her, burying his head into the golden curls of her hair, gently repeating the same word over and over again. Her suddenly flushed cheek was pressed against the hard, smooth surface of armour, the cool smell of steel and inexplicable fragrance of roses mingling incongruously in her nostrils. Even through the armour she could somehow sense the rapid thumping of his heart-beat, and his breath was ragged with relief as he held her close within a tight embrace. Her blood burned with the overwhelming urge to see his face, and slowly she tilted her head up curiously.

"E..en....dy...mion...?" she whispered.

But like the stroke of midnight on Cinderella's ball, the question shattered the dream reality into a million glittering shards of glass. Grey banks of fog rolled in again, quick and silent, muffling her voice, wrapping everything within a pearly cocoon of intangible smoke. The warm, solid body that was pressed against hers suddenly seemed unreal and immaterial, as if it were made of the mist itself. And then... he was gone.

Her hands held only empty air. And she was alone.

Suddenly, there flared a fluorescent white glow in the distance, and her arms automatically came up to shield her eyes from the incandescent glare as the scintillatingly brilliant light grew, blinding her vision with white... Gradually, the blazing beacon melted away...

And then she was falling... tumbling helplessly as she plummeted weightlessly towards the dark, unknown depths of a bottomless abyss.. sinking like a stone..  plunging.. into...

... Light ...

---

Azure eyes that mirrored the color of the morning sky flew open instantly, silver-blue irises flaring painfully as they adjusted reluctantly to the brightness of the dappled sunlight that filtered through the emerald green leaves to caress her bare arms and legs. A fuzzy golden haze seemed to cloud over her vision, the hot sunshine coating everything in a burnished sheen of gold, and she pulled herself up on her elbows lazily.

There was someone before her. A little smile played on her beautiful lips as she stared dreamily at the tall, strong build of the striking figure that knelt on one bent knee before her.

He was crouched at the opening of the tree-house, directly in the path of the rays that streamed in from behind him, and his face was half-lit and half-shadowed, the sunlight creating a yellow halo around his onyx-dark hair. Her mind briefly mused that he seemed awfully familiar, then quickly shrugged the thought off, content to just gaze at him, afraid that if she spoke, the spell would be broken. Her prince leaned closer, shifting slightly, and the golden light caught the aquiline planes of his face for one brief instant.

He was beautiful.

He was an angel.

He was ...

Chris...

Oh...

The realization was like a bucket of icy-cold water dumped over her consciousness. Her eyes widened in startlement, and she awoke fully as reality swiftly sank into her sleepy mind, shaking off the lingering shreds of dreams that clung to her memory persistently.

Dark indigo blue eyes gazed down at her mockingly, a mischievous twinkle of amusement glinting in their midnight blue depths as a corner of his chiseled lips tweaked upwards in that quirky smile she was so familiar with.

"What's the matter, sleeping beauty? Were you waiting for your prince to wake you up with a kiss?"

Her 16-yer-old half-brother's voice was as deep and rich as mahogany, but its tone was teasing, taunting her, his words scathing her like a drop of hot water scalding a hissing cat.

---

He saw a red sheen of anger creep across her translucent skin. He remembered that pink flush from the old days. It actually made her look even prettier, if that was possible. The color brought out the golden highlights in her blond hair, which was now disheveled messily in two loose ponytails. Her eyes sparkled with indignant energy, flashing sky-blue fire as steam evaporated from her ears in both fury and embarrassment.

Chris felt sorry for the little girl after he woke her up unintentionally. He settled in more comfortably at the edge of the opening, leaning against the wooden wall, swinging one long, denim-encased leg to dangle off from the treehouse.

Behind him, he could hear Nikki splutter with incoherent fury and his lips curled in a smile as he closed his eyes and listened to her ranting, letting the sunlight fall on his lids. The tension slowly seeped out from his shoulders as his body relaxed from the tautness it had been drawn to.

He had been startled when she had suddenly murmured something in her sleep. And then she'd awoken so suddenly. He had become even more boggled when she had just simply stared at him, almost groggy from sleep, that strange, indecipherable look in her eyes glazed a glassy, almost transparent blue. Usually they were chips of hard china when she glared at him for teasing her, a bright jewel blue shining almost aquamarine in the light like lapis lazuli when she bestowed a bright smile at someone.

Just now though, when she had looked at him, they had seemed to soften, the color fading, lightening to the palest possible shade of purest crystalline blue, like the faintest streak of silvery-blue that colored the sky just before sunrise. Fascinated, his breath had caught in his throat, and he had leaned in closer, to inspect the little flecks of silver swimming in the sky blue of her eyes.

Until she had snapped out of that trance.

And Chris couldn't quite decide whether that strange feeling in his chest had been relief or disappointment...

It was as if some spell that held them both in thrall had been broken. Now, if only he could convince his racing nerves of that fact...

His lips twitched in amusement as he heard the loud "Hhhrrru-mmppphhh" of exasperation when she realized that he wasn't paying her any attention, and the deliberate stomping of her little bare feet as she gathered her stationery haphazardly off the futon and flounced to the other side of the treehouse, flinging herself heavily with a muffled thump onto a soft pile of cushions.

His ears picked up the sound of pages being flipped decisively and he concluded that she was attempting to get back to the studying she had been doing before she'd fallen asleep. Even with his eyes closed, he could picture that adorable pout of hers in his mind's eye as she muttered loudly about certain conceited boys-next-door who had nothing to do except to vex smart, cute blonde girls who were doomed to do tons of stupid holiday homework that would probably be of absolutely no practical use in real life anyway and....

The slits of his eyes opened just a fraction as he peeked out furtively from the corner of his eye. Her small frame was buried within a pile of beanie cushions, tacky plush toys and manga. If anything, Chris' grin widened even more at the sight of Nikki's "corner" in the tree-house.

The old oak tree reached its limbs above the surrounding walls in search of sunlight; the upper branches dancing in the cool afternoon breezes. The small wooden tree-house, nestled snugly within the gnarled main branches, smacked of schizophrenia. One side was immaculately, flawlessly neat, with thick books stacked alphabetically within a small, polished wood cabinet that had taken him an hour of strenuous huffing and puffing to get up the tree. A small clock-radio rested on the dark cherry wood of the cabinet, besides a tiny, carefully trimmed Bonsai bush. The only other indications of personality were a beautifully carved pink marble chess set and a colorful bowl with a scented candle in it that could be refilled.

Chris recalled how Nikki had wrinkled her cute button nose in disapproval at the books in the cabinet. "Topics in Biology" she read, the dubious expression contorting her delicate features displaying her emotions more than a muttered "yick" of distaste would have. What she didn't know, however, was that, buried behind the first row of textbooks, was a collection of poetry that would have made her blush all sorts of interesting colors if he ever read them to her...

Nikki's "corner" couldn't have been more different if it had been deliberate. It looked as if a volcano had erupted under a mountain of plump, colorful cushions, plush toys of all shapes and sizes as well as gaudy knick-knacks of all kinds.

There were two milk crates piled next to his wooden cabinet meant to contain her manga, but most of the books were now scattered over the thick white futon mattress. Fragrant potpourri scented her corner, and the walls were practically plastered with gigantic posters of whatever idol singers that were in vogue then, and colorful, glossy photographs of her and her little girlfriends.

The simple austerity of one side made a stark contrast to the youthful, girlish exuberance of the other.

His thoughts wandered from their survey of his surroundings back to focus on the little 11-year-old girl herself, and he mused for a moment how she always managed to get his thoughts off on some kind of tangent.

One small hand propped up her head, the other deftly twirling a blue pen as she frowned in puzzled concentration over the complicated questions in her Mathematics textbook. A pert nose scrunched up in frustration before she suddenly sighed heavily, blowing her blond bangs up in a puff of mock-aggravation, then leaning back against the wall, randomly grabbing a stuffed toy from her side before hugging a large yellow teddy bear to her chin, apparently deciding to finally give up on ever deciphering the equations.

Her beautiful blue eyes seemed to be lost in thought as she contemplated something pensively. There was something so innocent about her, it made his heart split wide open. Warmth seemed to flow right out of her, making Chris feel comfortable and safe. He couldn't think of anywhere else in the world that he wanted to be at this very moment. He smiled with rare contentment, feeling the tingle of the sunlight on his skin, and he turned his head to stare out at the blue, blue sky through the green crown of rustling oak leaves. He took a deep breath of warm air which smelled of wild-grasses and the salty tang of the sea. To the right, he could see the sun slowly settling into the white-tipped peaks of the nearby mountains in a blaze of golden light, reddish rays flooding across the top of the valley, illuminating the treetops like a crown of moss-green jewels. On the left he could make out the blurred shimmer of light dancing on the turquiose-blue waters of the sighing sea.

Today was be the second-last day of the summer holidays.

Within fourty-eight hours the first day of the autumn term in her Greenwood Elementary School would begin.

Summer had once stretched out in front of Chris a month ago, hot and gold and resplendent in all its rich glory. Time seemed to have slipped past him so quickly... like gravely golden sand through his fingers... Now it would be autumn soon... They would have to leave their summer home... leave tomorrow... and return back to the city... It had been a fun vacation... if perhaps a little too eventful...

The sky seemed bluer today, an endless expanse of bright, unending color that stretched over the horizon. They reminded him... of a certain pair of blue eyes ...

A fierce yet gentle emotion suddenly surged in his chest - a strong, simple wish that things wouldn't change, would always remain the same as now... Chris had never been one for changes. He preferred being rooted to the ground, surrounding himself with familiarity and stability. He wondered if that was a side effect of being an orphan when he was young. He had a family now. A warm, caring family who never treated him as if he was just an adopted child... a few close friends... and his little princess sister...

He wished that time would just freeze still... forever... capturing this one instant of time which was uncomplicated and simple and familiar... At this particular moment where he felt at peace with himself. And the world. He tried to analyze the feelings he was currently experiencing, but it seemed to be made up of too many things... Sunlight... summer ending... blue sky... tuneful bird song...

And a little girl who seemed to be composed from of all of those things and more...

The breeze caressed his cheek lovingly.

---

Normally Nikki did not bother analyzing her dreams. That was because she usually dreamt simple, ordinary dreams; emerald-bright meadows dotted with fresh, fragrant wildflowers, where adorable white rabbits hopped around, or bright, colorful candy lands where she gorged herself silly on treacly sweet confections... sometimes they were dreams of her current crush who would whisper sweet nothings to her and tell her that she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Occasionally, she would have morbidly funny nightmares about her bad school grades, her teachers and parents rebuking her... but never, never anything as strange as this dream.

Even now she struggled to remember the phantom-like wisps of the dream that was fading away in incorporeal vagueness...

Chris. Her eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at the figure before her who was staring out at the sky, innocently unaware of her venomous gaze. How dare he tease her?

And to think that she'd put up with him for eleven years. Eleven whole years. Woah. It seemed like such a long time, and yet it had happened in a flash. Eleven years with that infuriating brother who always teased her, bullying her when she was little, mocking her about her weird hairstyle, calling her embarrassing names like Nikster, making mean comments about her childish ways, her lack of grace and eye-to-hand-to-foot co-ordination, her bad grades... ahem... Nikki had the grace to blush as she recited the litany of faults in her mind.

And yet... and yet...

A tiny little smile unconsciously curled her rosy lips as she oh-so-discreetly peeked at him from the corner of her eye, traveling slowly down the lean, sculpted profile whose sharp planes were now softened by the golden glow of the sun in the distance. The old, stretched white T-shirt he wore flapped loosely in the cool breeze and his eyes were closed, dark bangs tumbling messily over his forehead, lulled almost into a half-sleep by the low, liquid crooning of the birds.

He was a contradiction. A complete paradox. And a terrible teaser who always managed to aggravate her. Temperamental. Broody, with frequent bouts of mood swings. When he was in one of his dark moods, he would bite the head off anyone who tried to disturb him. He plagued her constantly, nettling her about her various faults. And yet he would never allow any other person badmouth her, as if he was the only one who had the right to. He had stood with her through the years, a strange, complicated yet assuring constant through her life. In her mind's eye, she pictured him as a rock. A strong, safe, dependable rock that could be cold and hard at times, but that was warm and steady and comfortable after being heated by the sun's rays ...

The image made her giggle.

The silvery peal of laughter made him look up, startled, and Nikki laughed even harder at quizzical puzzlement written on his face. Her laughter faded away after a moment, strangled into a warm, lethargic sort of silence that she felt strangely comfortable with. Blue eyes met each other, and similar smiles crept onto their faces, each unaware of the golden picture they both painted.

---

Suddenly a harsh, icy swirl of wind swept through the tree-house, whipping Nikki's golden hair into a frenzy, causing their abruptly chilled skin to break out in patches of goosebumps. Masses of slate-grey clouds swallowed the sun for a moment, and dark shadows leapt into existence from the gloom. Suddenly, the tree branches seemed to hover over the pair like gallow posts.

A tiny shiver danced down Nikki's spine, an ominous feeling clutching at her stomach, and blue gazes slid away from each other, jolted harshly from that pleasant moment of light. Hugging the soft toy more tightly to her chest, she felt the lazy warmth dissipate into an awkward ice that she was helpless to recapture.

Equally sombre, Chris jerked his gaze away, feeling strangely spooked. It seemed almost as if some veil of darkness was conspiring to keep him separate and alone, jealous of that moment of warm, casual intimacy between him and her, a child of light. His lips curved down in a frown at the sheer silliness of that ridiculous thought.

The breeze was cold now.

For a minute, all was silent, and only the low, mournful tune of the wind could be heard whistling in their ears. Even the sweet crooning of the birds and the shrill chirping of cicadas seemed to be muted into silence.

All of a sudden, a young, annoyingly familiar boyish voice pierced the strained silence ringingly, shattering the uncomfortable tension with a loud, childish chant:

"CHRIS AND NIKKI SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G !"

"DDDAAAAANNNNNNYYYYY??!!!!" Nikki screeched in shock, face reddening until it resembled an overripe tomato, her girlish voice spluttering in embarrassment. The searing heat burning his own cheeks informed Chris that he was probably suffering from similar exposure to nuclear-radiation as well.

Nikki leapt up in an eruption of cushions and stuffed dolls, ready to pound the crap out of her little brother.

Unfortunately, she forgot the fact that her stationery was scattered over the floor. Inevitably, one small foot stumbled over a stray pencil and the little girl was sent cartwheeling with a small shriek over... into a pair of strong arms.

---

Chris grunted in mock-pain from the slight weight in his arms, looking down at her from beneath the tumble of dark hair shadowing his eyes. Startled azure eyes smiled into his own gratefully, and strangely he felt something stir in his chest, the way the wind stirred the emerald leaves of the oak tree.

She was so small and light... barely reaching his chest; so warm, as if he had captured a ray of golden sunlight in his arms, so... soft... her hair like honey-gold silk spilling over his arms...

He had the curious sensation that catching her could be a habit that he wouldn't mind getting used to... Her beautiful little face was only mere inches from his...

"Are you alright?" he asked, voice unusually gentle and husky. Her golden head bobbed up and down enthusiastically in an affirmative nod, and she looked up at him appreciatively, her small smile lighting upon her soft lips with a glow that even sunlight could not produce...

It came out of nowhere, like a movie in slow motion. First he leaned closer and then she brought her parted lips to his own. He felt her wet silvery tongue, still sticky from lollipop she had sucked on minutes earlier... touch his lips... shyly... as if scared he would push her away. He thought he heard her sigh, quietly, as if to herself. He tasted her sweet breath melting his defences as their lips sealed together with passion neither dared to acknowledge... until now. A moment of bliss lasting for eternity... and then she let him go.

"Nikki...?"

"Thank you," she replied sweetly.

Instinctively he could feel himself leaning in closer as if guided by invisible hands... Just a moment longer, just one more second of her soft warmth in his arms....

"FIRST COMES KISSING,
THEN COMES MARRIAGE,
THEN NIKKI WILL BE WALKING
DOWN THE STREET WITH A BABY CARRIAGE!!"

The jeering, high-pitched voice of a little boy below the tree-house continued singing the silly song, breaking that strange, dreamy mood, jerking both Chris and Nikki from their slight trance. Quickly, as if in an immediate reaction, Nikki pulled away from his embrace.

Instantly, Chris's body protested the loss of warmth, and his arms reluctantly released their hold on her precious weight. Somehow... he almost felt... peeved at Dany...

"DDDAAAANNYYYY!!! JUST WAIT TILL I GET YOU!! "

Chris hastily stepped back, clamping his hands on his ears before he became deaf from the sheer volume of her seething battle-yell. Growling savagely in anger, Nikki scrambled clumsily down the rungs of the swinging rope ladder, nearly entangling herself in the process. Steam evaporated off her head like a whistling kettle as she chased a short, laughing six-year-old boy with a thick thatch of sandy brown hair and freckles lightly smattered over his nose and cheeks, across the yard. The little boy's dark blue-green eyes danced in playful mirth as he mockingly poked an insulting tongue out at his fuming sister in her vain pursuit, always keeping one teasing step in front of her.

Watching the comical scene play out beneath him like a sitcom show, Chris burst out laughing. Suddenly he felt as light and carefree as a seagull cavorting on a ocean breeze. Somehow, he could still feel the lingering warmth of her small, soft body pressed against his, the silky smoothness of spun gold brushing his skin and the sweet scent of strawberries and jasmine...

Maybe ...

Maybe some changes were for the better ...

"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RUNT!! I'M GONNA SKIN YO - AAARR RGGGHHHH !! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!!!! "

Teardrop.

And maybe some things never changed after all.

The breeze continued singing into the azure sky, its wistful song of autumn change threading a golden melody through their hearts.

The End