Doctor_Oetker Thanks :D It doesn't matter if you change the meaning. I just write for kicks after all. lol

      Jason looked at his roommate curiously. The guy is going to bed but he didn't even shut down his laptop? However, seeing as how Adam had completely scurried under the covers, Jason decided to not nag his roommate with frivolities like this. He decided to cut Adam some slack because recently he too had realized the dark circles that had reappeared under his roommate's eyes. Maybe his friend did need some good night sleep. He shrugged and said, "Alright then, sleep tight and I'll see you tomorrow."

      Hidden under the comfort of his bed covers, Adam willed his heart to stop palpitating. He sighed in great relief when he heard the door to his room open and close. He could no longer feel Jason's presence in the room. He pushed his covers back as he sat up. He felt a great weight pressing down on him and he swore he could hear a familiar and gentle male voice giving a sermon. He shook his head ferociously as if trying to shake the voice out of his head. This could not go on anymore...

      He dragged his body back to his table and faced his laptop. He reopened his browser and clicked on the history tab. What is there for him to lose, was the thought that floated into his mind. After he typed a short email stating his situation, he clicked the send button. Then, he stared at the screen numbly, wondering what the hell was he doing. He probably entered himself into some malicious spam-mail chain or something of the sort. If he was in the mood to laugh, he would have laughed at himself. He picked up the leather-bound bible on his table and he couldn't help but think, maybe he was going about this the wrong way. Salvation perhaps was in prayers. As he prepared to really retire for the night, he heard the message alert from his laptop signaling that he just received a new mail in his inbox.

      The mail went: "Dear valued customer, thank you for your interest in our services. After a close reading of the mail you've sent us, we have a rudimentary understanding of your situation. Your trial consultation will happen tonight. Do not worry and go to bed like usual. We will meet you in your dream.

      XoXo, Eevie's Dream-catcher Practice"

      For some reason, I read the first paragraph like it was the beginning of a Law and Order episode. "There is a set of psychologists who believe... and these are their stories."

      Anyway, good creative/random writing.

      Adam stared at the short writing on his screen, he scrolled down further trying to ascertain more information like perhaps a personal phone number, Skype address, anything, but that was it. That was the whole correspondence. This must be some kind of prank, he thought to himself. Even though he went in not really expecting anything but for some reasons, he felt disappointed. Eventually, he closed his laptop, switched off the lights and climbed into bed. Like usual, he washed down several sleeping pills with a glass of warm water, prayed and prayed until his eyelids drooped from tiredness...

      She felt tickled by the grass caressing her ears. She swatted it away as she opened her eyes and sat up. She found herself in a sprawling plains with no defining geographical features like trees or outcroppings. It was a sea of green as far as the eye could see, expect for a solemn looking church that seemed to sat in the middle of nowhere. The church was a stone building that definitely predated the twentieth century. It had an unassuming character except a singular belfry that rose into the sky. She seemed to be able to spot a large bell on it. She shrugged since this was not even close to the weirdest dream she had seen. 'Looks like this is going to be easy picking,' She thought. However, as she stood up to wipe away the grass that stuck to her clothes, she realized with a start that something was wrong.

      A sense of vertigo struck her, 'Why are the ground suddenly so close to me? And why are my hands so...tiny?' She observed her hands slowly and curiously like they were not her own. Her gaze went lower and realized, 'Wait... What happened to my breasts?' She felt her body all over and finally came to the conclusion that she had shrunk to the size of a child, or rather, she had regressed to the state of a child. From the looks of things, she put herself at about age 8 to 10. But... a forced appearance change? The client's issue shouldn't have caused something as drastic as this... So this might be more complicated than she initially thought. Right then, she smelled the scent of roses in the air even though there was no sight of any flowers much less roses around. Her lips curved into a mysterious smile... 'So her forces are behind this, well that explains a lot of things.' She patted a rectangular object that was inside her pocket and said with a shrug, "Well, thankfully I came prepared."

      She dusted herself off and headed towards the solitary church. As she came closer, she was struck with an impression the church looked suspiciously like a... face. Two rickety boarded-up wooden windows were high up in the building and there was no other windows or openings in sight. They were located on the same level and resembled a pair of closed eyes. However, the defining feature of the stone facade was none other than a large wooden door that blocked her way. It was about three times her height and had a sturdy feel to it. She tried to get closer to knock on it but as she leaned in, she heard sounds coming from within. It sounded like voices... of children?

        Truth be told, she could have turned to leave, but what choices did she have when her client was on the other side of the door. The energy profile of a dream's host was unmistakable. She leaned all her weight into the door but it didn't even budge. She doubted her normal self would be strong enough to open the door much less when she was a child. However, this was after all... a dream. She pulled out the object in her pocket, the tool of her trade so to speak. It was a deck of cards and they were all facing up. They were multi-colored and as she fanned them out in her palm, one could see there were seven colors in total, red, pink, green, blue, black, gold and purple. There were various numbers of cards for each color and there was in total about twenty something cards. However, the singular black card stood out. As she pulled out a red card, the door suddenly slid open like it was on automatic.

        The first thing that struck her was the contrast in lighting. Outside the sun was shining brightly but inside the church it was night and the only source of light was the candles that hung on eight columns, four on each side that ran down the middle of the room. The weak candlelight lent the place a sense of intimacy and simultaneously, gave her who was still beyond the threshold a limited view of the things within. The white columns were decorated with meaningful flowers like baby's breaths and tulips. The pews were crowded with children consumed in their childish antics, however, curiously enough, not one seemed interested to cross the bloody red carpet that separated the pews into two. All of them were smartly dressed, boys in tuxedos and girls in dresses. At the end of the carpet stood a handsome boy of about ten in a pressed suit. Based on her reading, this was the host, her client. Before him was an elderly, gentle looking priest in a black cassock. He was probably there to officiate this... wedding.

        The room was curiously oblivious to her presence and the fact that the door had opened so suddenly. They carried on as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, she heard a creaking sound coming from above. She lifted her head and saw the wooden planks that boarded up the window crashing down towards her. She nimbly side-stepped out of danger and the planks shattered into smithereens. At that instant, a hush fell over inside the church. The children froze in the middle of playtime and turned their heads towards the front of the altar in unison. Then, in their childlike voice, they chanted, "Where is the bride? Where is the bride? Where is the bride?"

        Lonelytree yup, thought so when i saw the times of your post....here i thought that u posted all that in 1 go. Nice story yeah.(dunno why i dont have permission to edit my posts). Who is the mc in the story though? Just to make sure...

            Guest199 Nah, I write only in between translation breaks. I think you're only allowed to edit the latest post, it's just how the forum operates it seems. I actually have no clue who is the MC either, I wrote as the plot came into my mind. So it could be anyone at this point lol.

              can't wait for more. I get a sense of Alice from Wonderland emanating from this, but really, the story could go anywhere at this point

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