Spirits and Sorrows
ONE

The evening sun painted the sky gold and red as Peter Lewis flew back to his apartment after a day of flying.

Hannah would be getting off work soon, and he wanted to greet her when she walked in.

He flew through the open window of his apartment, landed, and then shifted into his human form as the door opened and Hannah appeared. A smile spread across his face as he walked over to her, gathered her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Well, hello,” she said against his lips as the kiss deepened.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before they pulled away. They often got too carried away and needed to stop before it went too far. They still had to meet with Odette and Heather and if they kept going they were never going to make it.

She beamed up at him and he felt his heart swell with love. “How was your day?”

“Better now that you’re here.”

Her smile widened. “Our fourth anniversary is coming up. I’m going to take the day off and we’re going to do something romantic.”

Mixed emotions swirled inside him as it dawned on him that four years had passed since he was brought to the Human Realm. A few months after he was brought here, he and Hannah had begun their relationship and he tried to make a life for himself here.

In the four years he’d been there, he had grown to love the Human Realm. It was different from his home in the Eternal World but it still had a lot of great things about it that he enjoyed and liked interacting with other humans and he was with Hannah now, the best thing that ever happened to him. If he’d never been brought here he might’ve never been in a relationship with her.

However, he missed his home. Despite the war that was taking place he missed his home so much. He missed his friends, family, Raven City, everything about it. It killed him to not know what had become of them and was still doing everything it took to go back there to find his family and try to help save the Eternal World. At night he would have dreams of his home and family and friends and the grief of missing them would intensify. He would never quit trying to go back and unfortunately, even with four years having gone by, they were no further in creating a portal than when he first got here.

Hannah frowned, reading the expression on his face. “What is it?”

He looked away. “I just want to know what’s happened since I was gone.”

She didn’t have to ask what he meant. She hugged him and said softly, “I know.”

When they pulled away he saw the familiar expression of guilt on her face. He took her hands and said, “C’mon, don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Feel guilty for what happened four years ago. I’ve forgiven you and we’re together. If you hadn’t brought me here I could’ve died. I know you were doing what you thought was best.”

“I know, but -”

“It’s over with. You have to quit blaming yourself for what happened. Look forward to our anniversary. We’ve spent four wonderful years together and that’s something to celebrate, so let’s focus on that.”

She smiled. “Yeah, we will.”

He looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “Odette and Heather will be at the spot soon. We should get going.”

He took her hand and they walked out to meet Odette and Heather.

The sky had turned dark when the four of them decided to stop for the night. It was another unsuccessful day of creating a portal and the disappointment he felt was soul-crushing.

Even though he was with Hannah and had made a life for himself here, he still wanted to get back to the Eternal World with every fiber of his being. At this point, it felt hopeless to keep trying but he couldn’t give up.

Since there was nothing else anyone could do, they decided to go home and start again tomorrow.

As soon as Peter and Hannah got home, they got ready for bed, both of them exhausted. She was out the second her head hit the pillow but despite his exhaustion, Peter lay awake, staring up at the ceiling.

It was like this most nights. His thoughts would run wild in his tired mind and he couldn’t get them to shut off.

He wondered what happened to his beloved world, family, and friends. He had no idea what could’ve happened to his parents. He had a deep feeling that he was more than likely never going to see them again, he still hoped that wherever they were, they were safe and alive. He hoped Laura and Ruben were okay. The last time he saw them an ambush was taking place and they were surrounded. Anytime he thought about it a sick, uneasy, guilty feeling formed in his stomach and he prayed they got it out safely.

Even though he was brought to the Human Realm against his will, he felt a huge wave of guilt. Here he was, safe and in a relationship with the girl he loved when his family and friends were stuck in a war and could be killed or were already dead. They could be over there suffering while he was living a safe, quiet life. He swore he would go back and do everything in his power to save them.

It took him hours before the thoughts plaguing his mind died down and he was able to drift off to sleep.

Peter, Ruben, and Laura sat on the floor in his living room, playing cards, laughing and joking with each other. It was how they’d spend their nights, going over to his house to play cards watch TV or hang out. Every day after school they’d come over to his house and it was the best part of his life.

He always appreciated how, despite Ruben and Laura being a couple, they never made Peter feel like he was the third wheel and kept their PDA to a down minimum. When he first met Laura he was enthralled by her beauty and kindness and fell for her fast and hard but she and Ruben were already together when he met them. It was hard for him at first, knowing she was with someone else and there was no chance they would ever be together, but he accepted it and moved on and appreciated the fact she was his friend. He saw how in love they were with each other and didn’t want to come between them

Ruben sighed and laid back on the ground. “Damn, I’m exhausted.”

Laura swatted at him. “Dude, you skipped school today. How are you tired?”

“I just am.”

Within seconds he was snoring and Peter and Laura cracked up. Ruben had the uncanny ability to fall asleep in literal seconds and he slept like a log. It’d take hours for him to wake up.

The air shimmered and Laura abruptly stopped laughing. Her eyes widened and she leaped to her feet.

“Peter, is that you?” she asked with clarity, as though she were speaking to him and not from his subconscious.

He surged to his feet, his heart racing. “Laura?”

“Is this real? Are you speaking to me?”

“I - I think so. How is this possible?”

“I have no idea, you’re the expert on these things. Oh, Fates, it’s good to see, I -”

Her image started to fade away.

Tears sprang from his eyes and he lunged forward to try to grab her but she was gone. “No! Laura come back! Come back!”

He willed for his friend to reappear but she didn’t. It felt like he lost his friend all over again. She was right there but she was gone.

Sobs ripped from his throat and he sank to his knees, holding his head in his hands as grief crashed over him.

“Peter! Peter!”

He gasped and opened his eyes. Hannah was shaking his shoulders, a scared expression on her face.

He coughed and slowly sat up. “W-what happened?” he asked groggily.

He felt something wet on his face and realized tears were streaming down his face.

“You were yelling and crying in your sleep,” she said, gazing at him with worry. “What were you dreaming about?”

He closed his eyes and sniffled, more tears trickling down his face. When Laura disappeared it was like losing everything all over again.

He took a deep breath to try to calm down and thought over the dream. It had been like talking to Laura and he wondered if it were real. With everything that happened in his life, he knew he couldn’t discount anything and knew that it hadn’t been a mere dream.

He told Hannah everything that had happened and her eyes widened more and more as he explained to her what happened.

“Holy shit,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“I think I know what this means.”

“What?”

“You and Laura could be dreamscaping.”

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