Beautiful Souls by Sarah Mullanix Page A

              I laid in bed for a little while, going over the day’s events in my head. I knew that I’d never get any sleep the way my mind was racing. I pulled out my iPod from the drawer in my nightstand, and I finally closed out the thoughts and images from my mind, falling asleep to the music pounding in my ears.
                       That night, I dreamt of myself in the woods. The dream was so vivid and clear. I was standing in the middle of tall trees. Although they were so thick that I couldn’t even make out the night sky from where I was standing, I could tell that it was first light because of the glow of a few thin rays of pink sunrise piercing through the arch of thick branches overhead from the surrounding trees.
                       I was standing alone with a beautiful swirl of tiny glittering twinkle lights all around me. They looked like tiny bits of dust shining in the moonlight and the oncoming morning glow. The tiny lights completely engulfed me and had begun swirling even more quickly than before, lifting my feet along with my entire body from the ground below.
                       Soon enough, I was moving at a speed so fast that I could no longer make out the images of what I knew to be trees flying past me at such an incredible speed; yet, I was distinctly aware and in control of my every movement.    
                       I had never felt anything like it. So real. It was the most superlative feeling of being alive, and strong, and at peace.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 3.
    Just the Beginning
     
    be-gin-ning
    /bi’gigiNG/
     
    Noun
    The point in time or space at which something starts.
    Adjective
    New or inexperienced.
     
     
                       I woke the next morning abound with feelings of exhilaration and contentedness. The dream had been more real than any I’d ever had before, and I was more excited than ever to get to school and officially meet Zoey.  I would have to have better control over myself today; I had to, in case the visions were to return.
                       I got myself dressed, brushed through my hair, and quickly swept it up in to a ponytail. I barely looked at myself in my mirror as I brushed on a light coat of blush and wiped the clear lip gloss across my full lips.
                       I recalled how differently I felt just yesterday morning when I made my way through this very same morning routine; however, at a much slower pace. There was such a vast change in me, caused by the events of the last twenty-four hours, that the two mornings felt worlds apart.
                       I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my bag, and bounded out of my room and down the stairs; I even skipped the bottom step with a little hop onto the hardwood floor to save some time, and to also release a small sliver of pent up energy that was a result of last night’s dream.
                       I entered the kitchen and my mom looked up from her coffee mug with wide, unexpecting eyes, obviously surprised by my early arrival for breakfast. Without a word, she slipped her heaping plate of scrambled eggs across the kitchen table toward my regular seat, continuing to stare at me with her unbelieving eyes.
                        She finally spoke, “There’s plenty left. Are you hungry?”
                       “A little,” I replied, even though I was too amped up and preoccupied by my own thoughts and daily agenda to eat a single bite.                   “Sit down and eat a few bites. What’s the rush?” She continued to sip her coffee.
                       “Oh, nothing. I just woke up early this morning, so I thought that I’d go ahead and get ready for school.” I gave in and sat down in my regular chair at our kitchen table across from my mom, taking a few