[CONTENTID1]Hana’s POV[/CONTENTID1][CONTENTID2][/CONTENTID2] 

[CONTENTID3] 

I saw those hands reaching out towards me once again, asking for my hand once again but I refused to give in. I took a step back and suddenly the around me felt heavy. I remained focused on those hands although I felt two hand wrap around my neck, suffocating me, it was too harsh on me but I didn’t care, I had to get away from her.

 I watched the woman before me advancing forward. She was so persistent.  The air was getting thinker, heavier and panic shot through me as she inched closer, closer, closer. I opened my mouth in order for my lungs to draw in more air but it just didn’t seem enough. I needed air but my airways seemed to ignore me completely; they collapsed and slowly tightened, squeezed and I started to choke but suddenly, those hands touched mines.

Frustration and panic had washed away in an instant. I was left undisturbed and I felt a sense of peace filling me inside out. My lungs and my airways had released the restraint on my breathing and I was easily drawing in air, it was a feeling of freedom, something that I was never able to reach. It seemed impossible to anyway, and besides this feeling is too good to even be true. I kept staring at those hands, those familiar hands and wondered how the pain went away just like that; every single worry and sentiment that was hurting me disappeared. It was like I’ve been touched by an angel.

It would be wise to look up at her, try to get a look at her face but I couldn’t. I was frozen, too captivated by the hands that I’ve known for a lifetime, they were to captivating.

I didn’t feel anyone else around me, it was just us. ‘’You’re going through a tough time aren’t you?’’ I heard a benevolent voice fill my ears. I knew that voice. I moved my once frozen neck and directed my head upwards; I wanted to look at her, to see if she had changed. I wanted to see what she looked like.

My eyes finally met hers and I witnessed a smile, a warm hearted smile. But I on the other hand I was shocked, speechless. It really did pull every single one of my heart strings out, one by one. This woman was…

I felt tears stinging my eyes and my heart flinch at the sight of her. She was… I couldn’t believe it, this must be a dream, there is no other explanation to this. I realised how the setting had changed drastically, from a blank scenery, to something that sort of reflected this woman in person.

A field covered with a blanket of fresh green grass, a huge willow tree just behind her in the distance with its leaves dancing to the rhythm of the wind gusts, the sky changed colour and from white it turned into a clean baby blue colour, and the sun was shining bright. Her white dress also swished in the wind, moving from side to side, slowly along with the red ribbon that formed a bow which was tided just above her waist.

It was an impossible dream, really. To have this scenery and this woman standing in front of me was something incredible.

 Her hair, a perfect reflection of mines was rustled freely in the air and a movement which both of us had taken; moving our hair away from our faces was shortly performed.  We found ourselves laughing at the synchronisation of our movements as we looked in each other in the eyes again. She loosened her grip on my hand and I felt that she placed something on my palm and made me hold on to it. I looked down and I saw a white rose. I looked back up at her.

This woman standing before me was my mother. She hadn’t changed one bit.

I realised something that I didn’t think was real or true before, the red rose in her hair was missing, her lips were no longer stained red and certainly she wasn’t wearing as much make-up as she was just last night. Her clothes had been replaced by the white dress and her eyes no longer pierced through me, they were kind and gentle.

 I realised that she could have been the woman that looked into my future The fortune teller. I wanted to ask her if it was her but it was too evident, these were the same hands that I saw before but I was unable to recognise them. It was hard to believe. But I still had one question… how?

She looked at me and blinked a few several times as she scanned me up and down. ‘’Look at you, you’ve grown so much, beautiful just as a rose’’ she said and I felt myself blush at the comment, hearing those words and from my own mother made me feel proud.

 ‘’I hope you’re listening to your uncle and that you’re doing well in school, you know, I’ve been watching you all along.’’ she said whispering the first part while leaning in and raising her hand up to her face cupping it around as if there’d be someone else trying to listen. She wasn’t really taking the first part seriously, I knew it by the way she said it, she was giggling, how inappropriate. Although she seems defiant, like me, she’s still trying to instruct me like a good mother, at least she’s trying. I only smiled back.

‘’And you know what? I expected nothing less from you, in fact, you’re just like me. Just like my own reflection, you even get annoyed by the same thing, the hair being in your face because of the wind…. It really is weird but I’m glad you turned out this way. I’m very proud of you and these words have come from your father as well’’ she said and her smile grew wider, tears came out of her eyes and my heartstrings were once again pulled apart, harder this time. I hated to see her cry and for no reason at all. I went over to her and hugged her. ‘’Don’t worry mum, I’m all well and although I miss you both, I had some other people that took care of me, but at the moment I’m not on such good terms with one of them, just one.’’ I said. She had pulled me closer as she wept on my shoulder louder.

 ‘’I’m really sorry, I didn’t intend for all of this to happen, it’s just overwhelming. You’re doing so well even though you have found out the truth about your father and you chose to ignore it, and you know what? I can feel that you’re not even angry at us, in fact you still love us.’’ she said.  She pulled away and gave me another smile.

 ‘’Don’t be too hard on yourself mum, you know, it really isn’t your fault. Things turned out well in the end didn’t they?’’ I asked and she looked at me puzzled but soon replaced it with a nod. ‘’Hana.. promise me that you’ll be careful about choosing your friends.’’ She said and I nodded. ‘’ I will.’’ I said. ‘’I have so much to tell you’’ I continued as her smile grew wider, she wiped a tear off of her face.

‘’I’m sure you do..’’ she looked back at the big willow tree. Something was calling her back; I could feel that she needed to go back. But it’s too soon! I protested in my head but before I knew it she had already said those words.

‘’I have to go Hana; I’m glad to have meet you and was lucky to meet you twice. Thank you for everything and keep going. I’m sure things would go as planned.’’ she said and turned away. She walked back to the willow tree and I only stepped forwards to get closer to her again. I wasn’t going any closer to her; in fact I was getting further and further away, no matter how many times I called her she wouldn’t turn round. ‘’Wait! I have so much to tell you about… I didn’t get to the part where- PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME.‘’ ‘’Hana!’’ she yelled at me, interrupting me and my cries out to her. I waited, standing still and I stopped breathing just in case I thought I’d miss what she was about to say. I always reacted like this when she’d yell out to me when I was younger.

‘’ It’s fine, I know everything, but just remember one thing. I will always be with you, wherever you go, whatever you do. I’ll always be in your heart.’’ she said while bringing her hand up to her heart and the kept walking. And this time she never turned around again.

 I wasn’t going after her anymore, those words had imprinted in my mind. She was right, I thought as I brought my right hand up to my chest. She’s was always here. I was never alone from the beginning.

It was now all coming apart, the green grass was turning yellow and the willow tree behind her was disappearing, she too was disappearing along with it, I lost sight of her and watched the world crumble before me. I took notice of my breathing rate picking up and I gripped on to the white rose in my hand.

I abruptly stood up from my bed. I opened my eyes and noticed something that I predicted before. It really was a dream. I was breathing really fast and sweat beads formed on top of my forehead.

I woke up still in the middle of the night to the rain tapping on the roof of my house softly, a sudden flash of light outside informed me about the weather conditions and it shortly came on cue, the strong growl of thunder. I only creep behind my covers agai