Chapter One: Good Morning, Nina Ashford
My body ached. That was the first thing that I noticed when I woke up; My legs were sore, my arms were tired, and there was an empty, hollow feeling in my chest. Looking around, I saw nothing around me but the stars, and a stone platform below, with a five-pointed star beneath me. I was lying in the middle of the star, and as the points began to glow pink, I felt a surge of energy wash through me. I felt comforted, though I couldn’t speak. A silhouette of someone appeared – she was see-through and pink like a hologram, with an askew crown, and sad eyes. I couldn’t see much more than that, but I knew that whomever she was, she was important.
“It’s time to wake up.” She said in a distorted voice, and as I opened my mouth to protest, my body moved of its own accord. I took her hand, and she pulled me up to her feet. The platform below us began to crumble.
“It’s time for you to remember.” I held onto her hand for dear life, but the stone beneath me crumbled and cracked and I plummeted down into the inky darkness …
And landed flat on my back on my bedroom floor, with my alarm blaring at me!
“Oww…” I groaned, before getting up onto my feet and pressing pause on the alarm. Uh oh, did it really say it was 8:30AM already?! My first day of classes at San Diego State University started at 9! Hurrying over to my dorm room’s mirror, I looked at myself. The same old 21 year old Nina Ashford looked out at me. My dark brown, almond-shaped eyes, straight brown hair, and pale skin looked just as tired as I felt. I’m kind of a big girl, but the fat rolls on my stomach and stretch marks don’t bother me. I am five foot three inches exactly. I should know, given how much I measured myself when I was a teen, hoping I would grow a little more each year. I brushed my hair and pulled it into a ponytail, changing out of my pajamas and into a standard t-shirt and jeans with my favorite pair of sneakers, they had a rabbit decal on the sides and they were a cute baby pink color. My shirt had a carton of strawberry milk on it, and my jeans were plain old blue. My socks, which were polka-dotted, were hidden by the shoes. I put in my favorite rabbit-shaped earrings, and then I ran to the bathroom sink to brush my teeth and wash my face, patting my cheeks when I looked in the mirror. I put on just a little bit of lip-tint and eye shadow, finishing the look off with some gloss. I didn’t like wearing a lot of makeup, but I did like the color pink.
“Good morning, Nina!” I said to no one in particular, “I have the feeling that today is going to be great!”
I grabbed my keys and headed out, locking the door behind me. My roommates had already left for their morning routines and classes. I could get coffee and a muffin later. My backpack was full of notebooks and textbooks, and my phone fit snugly in my palm. I checked it and saw a message from my best friend, Susie, asking me if I’d gotten up yet! I answered with a hurried ‘yes’ and continued my way across the SDSU dormitories, hopping into my hand-me-down 2024 grey Subaru, and starting the engine.
As I made my way to the campus proper, I couldn’t help but wonder what my dream was about. Had I eaten too much the night before? It made no sense. Who was that figure with the sad eyes? And what did they want with me? I had no time to ponder it as I parked, but as I got out and adjusted my backpack, I felt my heart race. The campus was bigger than I expected, and I’d never seen so many towering palm trees swaying in the hot summer breeze. The desert plants and bushes and shrubs were so different from where I’d grown up in rural Alaska, and I already felt myself getting hot underneath the California sun. Maybe I should have packed an extra water bottle. The tall and white decorated buildings glimmered and I took my heart-shaped sunglasses out of my backpack to help me against the glaring light of the morning sun.
My teaching degree would take me a long time to complete, but I was excited for the day, and especially for the friends I would make along the way. I felt a chill run through me when I stepped onto the campus and witnessed all of the students, teachers, and teacher’s assistants hurrying around, but I chalked it up to freshman year jitters. I was miles away from home, and my mom was just a phone-call away, but I felt lonelier than before when I walked across the campus, seeing a myriad of people who had no time to pay attention to me. I checked my phone again and saw no new messages, clicking the volume off before I walked into the first building where my general education classes were held. This morning, it was college Algebra.
I hated math growing up, but maybe that would change now that I was an ‘adult’ and ‘grown up.’ I’d never been very good at division as a child, and Algebra had the added annoyance of having letters in their numbers, which had always confused me. I wasn’t as excited for this as I was for my English classes, but I squared my shoulders and walked in, sitting down confidently. I got out my notebook and before I knew it, class had begun.
Little did I know ... that my life was about to forever change. The memory of the dream ebbed away, until it was little but a sore back and a falling sensation.
