Orenda

It's my eight dream in a series of many. It continues on a timeline that exists outside of my waking life and the only way they connect is through two people. They're a set of twins that have been in my life since I was in middle school. It just feel strange because I've never met them. I remember hearing a while ago that you cannot dream of a stranger twice. The strangers you see in your dreams are all the different people you've seen in the real world and your database-like brain just collects these faces. Using their faces in dreams is how your head copes with everything, or so I've heard. So to see these two strangers in my dreams continually pop up is very strange to me, but the weirdest part to me is their names. The circumstances themselves even make this feel off, but also this makes me feel like I'm writing a fanfic in my local Hot Topic. They told me their names were Satan and Lucifer all of those years ago. I should tell you too that the devil really does show up looking like everything you could ever want. When I first met them, it was only Satan. I lived in a world where dinosaurs were still around and the carnivores only came out at night. He was mischievous and lacked emotion. He saved me from one of those creatures and then let loose poisonous snakes which bit my mother. To try and save her, I ran out in the middle of the night to find Satan. I turned the corner and found myself against a Velociraptor. Satan then took me and whisked me away to a safe place. I remember as he was carrying me away, I was singing Fireflies by Owl City.
In the second dream, Lucifer played a rigged game of Wheel of Fortune. He made a deal with this giant green blob creature that looked like Starfire's racist fiance from the old Teen Titan's cartoon. The deal was that if he won, he would have proved to all of hell that I, a human, was worthy of marrying the king from hell. He somehow won against all odds and ever since then, he's called me his fiance. I've had mixed feelings about this seeing as I barely know him and my newfound profession.
In the third dream, Satan does his best to scare me. I laid in my bed at my parents' house and he pulled me out. He dragged me through the room to try and get a good laugh. I ended up trapping him by holding his hand and he couldn't escape unless I let go. I remember we were walking around and I only let go when I found this giant wooden obstacle coarse. Satan also appeared in the fourth dream. I was lost in a hallway when he found me. He was with another woman which he called his fiance. Earlier I had found these bright pink apples which looked so delicious. I was so hungry and wanted to eat them, but Satan didn't know if they were safe to eat. He thought they might be poisonous. He took them from me and told me he was going to run tests on them. I wonder if he started to care for me now that I was his brothers' fiance. However, in the fifth dream Lucifer asked if I loved him. I didn't know how to respond and he ran away.
They were only mentioned in the next two dreams. In the sixth dream, I was at the zoo with some friends. There was a festival there with many games and activities. My friends and I participated in some competitions. When my friends had won, an old man gave me a letter. By the time I opened it, he was gone. The note said Lucifer was in trouble. It was the seventh dream where I learned about his demise. I was lost in haunted house and unable to get out. After all these struggles, my friends and I escaped. When I finally got out, I got a text by the old man. He told me Lucifer was dead.
Now I'm on dream eight. I barely realize I'm dreaming when these happen. I have all five senses in my dreams, but knowing that Lucifer or Satan is in the dream is a quick little tell on how I know which world I'm in. I don't resist it.
I stand on the steps of my grandmother's porch. Mom and I wanted to visit her. We pick up the mail and go inside the house. Several letters were addressed to her, but a package was meant for me. I open the decorated box and pick up a slew of correspondence letters. They are from Satan and the old man. They discuss me and Lucifer. I am only referred to as “The Princess.” They haven't found a body and are looking for him, but he is so far pronounced dead. They speak about protecting me, but not knowing what I am or why everyone is so drawn to me. There is connection there that no one is sure how it came to be.
Inside the box are also a few gifts for “The Princess.” I pull out over a dozen specimens of Pyrite. They sparkle in the palm of my hand as if they were made of glitter. Following my instincts, I throw them into the table. As they reach the surface, they slow and hover ever so slightly. They radiate a bright white glow and raise into the air. Together, they form different constellations from the sky. Lucifer knew how much I loved the night sky and the stars. Now I can be mesmerized by them up close.
The second gift is a hard, clear piece of plastic. As soon as I pick it up it glows and many different faces appear on it, just like a screen. My mom and grandma take the tablet and click a few faces. You can read everything about their lives without any biases. If you double click, their face turns black and white. Once the picture changes, they cannot get color back to them. I quickly realized that once a person loses their color, it means they are killed. Once the person dies, they cannot come back to life. I cried out to my mom and grandma to drop the tablet.
My phone vibrates next to me, causing me to wake up. I've always been a light sleeper. I try to ignore it, but it keeps buzzing. Normally I don't mind being sent a thread of messages, but I do mind it when I'm trying to sleep. I lift my head and peek at the illuminated screen. The text reads, “Hey! It's Kadin! I got your number from Ralph! I look forward to hunting with you! When do you think we can meet?”
“maybe at a time that isn't seven in the morning,” I reply.
“Harsh. Were you sleeping?” Kadin writes.
“Yes.”
“Did you have any dreams?”
“Yes.”
“Was I in them?” I set the one to do not disturb mode and leave it on the side table. I close my eyes and go back to sleep, not even caring I left this person on read.