Darkness. That was it; unfortunately, that was what was all around me. It was so cold, I could tell, but I couldn’t tell where I was. I couldn’t move, it hurt too much to do so. My body was sore and all I could tell was that I was just laying on a cold, tiled floor. 

 

“You said we would be amazed.” 

 

My ears picked up the faint sound of talking coming from, what seemed like, all around me. Where was it coming from? With all the strength I had, I managed to sit up in the darkness and force my aching head to look around, but there was still nothing. “Hello?” I called out, my voice echoing back at me. “Is anyone there? Where am I?” 

 

Silence. I could’ve sworn I heard someone speak. Or was the dark playing mind games with me? Then, there was pain. A sharp searing pain shot through my body in an instant as it traveled through my spine and out towards my toes and fingertips. I let out a scream into the darkness as I quickly clutched my chest in a weak attempt to stop the pain. My skin, what I felt then and there, was my skin being ripped apart like paper. “Somebody help me!” I screamed out again as my hands quickly went to cover the skin, but what I felt was not blood, or muscle, or bones underneath the skin. It was scales. 

 

I curled up to try and stop what ever that was happening to me but it wasn’t working at all. I brought my hands close enough to my face and tears started to well up in my eyes as I realized that my fingertips and nails were now replaced with claws. Sharpened black talons replaced my nails and dull grey scales made my hands look like that of a dragon’s claw.

 

My quiet sobbing turned into whimpering as I looked down at my body that was now doubling in size and scales covered my body like little grey shields. I brought up my claws to my face only to feel that my face had morphed too. It was turning into that of a scaled muzzle as my eyesight began to sharpen.

 

“She’s never going to be a regular human. She’s a weapon.” 

 

 

__________________________________________

 

"Ahna! Wake up!" I heard another voice as someone shook my body and I instantly snapped my eyes open to look up at the worried facial expression made from my mom. I quickly threw my blanket aside and noticed that I was still in my own body, that there were no scales. With a sigh of relief, I relaxed once again in my bed and shook my face. 

 

"It was that dream again, wasn't it?" My mom asked, sitting on the edge of my bed and I nodded. 

 

"The same one." I replied to her, looking out the window near my bed and sighed as the moonlight found its way into my bedroom. Suddenly, I felt my mom's soft hand on my head as she ran her fingers through my hair to help me relax as she quietly sang softly to help. 

 

 

My name is Kim Ahna. I am half-Korean and half-American and just recently my mother and I moved to Seoul, Korea where she had grown up herself. After my father left us when I was younger, my mom wanted to move back for reasons that she won't tell me still even though I'm eighteen now. I've been having these dreams every so often, but now they're becoming more frequent during the week, not letting me sleep well at night. It's one thing to be tired; fortunately, I have been home-schooled my entire life because my mother didn't want me to be out in the public so much. She might be a little bit over protective, but I still love her. She's always there for me and so I feel like I should always be there for her in return. 

 

 

"Mom, why do I keep having these dreams? What's it trying to tell me?" I asked, looking back at her, now, softened face that was full of worry only a moment ago.

 

"I'm not sure, dear. I'm no expert in dream meanings." She replied with a small smile and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Try to rest now, we have to go out shopping in the morning." She said as she stood up and smiled again before she walked out of my small room and closed the door behind her. I quickly got out of my bed and walked over to my body-length mirror that was hung on the back of the door and sighed in relief again as my own reflection was reflected back at me and not some kind of monster that was in my dream. I ran my fingertips along my arm and up along my neck before resting my hand on my cheek, feeling the soft skin underneath my hand and smiled slightly. 

 

"It was just a dream." I said to myself, running my hand through my long, brown hair and ruffled it a little bit out of habit. "Just a dream." I repeated to my self again as I brought myself back to my bed and wrapped myself in my blankets and dozed back off to sleep.