EIGHTY EIGHT: I Don’t

"I'll sleep now, and when she comes back, I'll ask about the emperor."

That was Kel's original plan, but when the librarian returned with a cheery 'good afternoon,' her eyebags had only grown darker. 

After the librarian had left the first time and almost as soon as she'd pressed her face into the soft pillow on her bead, Kel's mind and body had been carried away with sleep. Unlike the peaceful, deep sleep she'd been hoping for, however, she ended up becoming caught in a restless dream.

It started with a younger version of herself, standing in a golden field. The grasses had all dried up and turned hard, prickling at her legs with each step she took.

"Dash! Dash!" the dream version of herself called, running toward a teenage Dash.

The boy, his sandy brown hair worn much shorter than the way it swung freely around his neck these days, was leaning back against a large stone, a crumpled piece of parchment crackling in his trembling fists.