#kyle remen

“Hey,” he mumbled. Did the thunder wake you up? Kyle shook his head. “I’ve been up for a while now.” How come? Another flash of light and a boom. Kyle flinched at the sudden noise. “Another nightmare.” Oh. Uh, you should probably tell Aponi about that. She said that if you ever felt anything or had any more bad dreams to go straight to her. “I know, I know,” he sighed. Kyle kicked the bed sheets back and stood up. A large gust of wind howled outside. The wind is really angry tonight, thought Kyle. He opened the door and lumbered over to the next room. No light came from the room. Do you think she’s sleeping? thought Kyle. It’s only like 11 P.M. right now. It’s that early in the night? Kyle groaned. It’s gonna be a long night. Unfortunately. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. It’s gonna be a really long night. Well, aren’t you gonna knock? Alright, alright. Kyle knocked lightly on the door. The door opened slightly.

“Yes, Kyle?” whispered Aponi from behind the door.

“Oh, y-you’re awake.” stammered Kyle. Told ya.

“Yes, I am awake. Do you need anything?”

“Well,” Kyle sighed. “I had a bad dream again.”

Aponi opened the door wider. She stepped out of her room and closed the door lightly. Kyle held out the candle. Aponi was still wearing her armor. Does she ever take her armor off? “Sit,” she muttered. Kyle sat down on the floor. Aponi sat across from him. “Put the candle in the middle.” Kyle did so. “Now, tell me about your dream.”

Kyle sighed. “I was in my home city. I was with my family and friends.” He paused. Lightning flashed, followed by thunder. “Then, the Dark Assassin came out of nowhere and started killing them. I found a sword and tried to fight him, but then he cut my sword arm off. Then he cut off my other arm. Then my legs. I fell down on the ground and couldn’t move. All I could do was watch as he mercilessly slaughtered everyone I knew and destroyed the entire city. Then I woke up.” Oh. “Yeah,” he muttered. Aponi closed her eyes.

Lightning flashed again. Thunder followed right behind it. “You’re scared,” she said.

“Can you repeat that?” asked Kyle.

“You’re scared that the Dark Assassin could pop up out of nowhere at the time when you’re the most vulnerable.”

“Well, I-”

“And you feel that if that happens, you’ll be helpless to save those you care about which why he cut off your limbs in the dream.”

“OK, how did you figure all this out in a few minutes? Are you like a dream analyzer or something?”

Aponi smiled. “I guess you could say that,” she said.

“So, what should I do with this information?” Another lightning strike followed by thunder. The storm just doesn’t want to give up.

Aponi closed her eyes again. “Kyle,” she said. “I know facing an enemy is scary. Believe it or not, I was once afraid of facing some opponents.”

Not possible. “No!” gasped Kyle. “I don’t believe that for a second. Even the Narrator doesn’t believe you”

Aponi chuckled. “It’s true. One simply isn’t born with instant courage and zero fear. Not even the mythological gods had total bravery. Heck, you said that the Narrator was afraid once.” OK listen, that was when the Dark Assassin appeared out of nowhere and I thought that I had forgotten something then I started freaking out on how I failed at being a narrator then the Author was like “Narrator who is this guy?” and then I really started freak out because SOMEONE ENTERED THE STORY AND COMPLETELY CHANGED THE EVENTS AND THAT’S VERY BAD BECAUSE THEN THAT MEANS THE ENTIRE PLOT IS MESSED UP AND-

“Can you stop?!” yelled Kyle. Oh, ah, uh, whoops. My bad.

“Sorry about that, Master,” said Kyle. “The Narrator was trying to justify their reason for the one time they freaked out and then they started yelling and it really bothered me.”

Aponi smiled. “My point is,” she continued. “it’s OK to be afraid.”

“Yeah,” Kyle mumbled. “But what if I can’t defeat him?”

“Are you blind?” queried Aponi. “Who are you looking at right now?”

“You?”

“Kyle,” Aponi placed her hands on Kyle’s shoulders. “you are not alone. You have me, the Narrator, even the Author is helping you. The Author! And soon, we’ll have more allies to help you. The Author will make sure of that.”

She’s right, Kyle. You’re not alone. I may not be able to help you fight, but I can help you with other stuff. Thanks Narrator, thought Kyle.

“Do you understand, Kyle?” asked Aponi.

Kyle nodded. “Thank you, Master,”

Aponi stood up. “Now go get some rest. Or at least try to.”