The week passed quickly. Soon it was Friday after school. Skylar, her mom, and I were all seated in their living room wondering what we were going to do to prove my innocence. Skylar and I had explained my dream to her mom, but we still weren’t sure what it could mean. “Tell us just one more time,” Skylar requests.
“I told you three times already!” I laugh.
“Just one more time!” she pleads, “You’re such a great storyteller!”
“It runs in my family I guess. My dad is, I mean, was a storyteller too.”
“We’re going to find him Robin.” Skylar's mom assures me. I give her a weak smile and then look over to Skylar. She was looking at me with puppy eyes, begging me to tell her the story yet again.
“Fine! One more time,” I tell her. She smiles triumphantly. “Once! That’s it!” She nods.
“I was in an empty garage. There were men there, surrounding these two chairs. I walked closer and saw that the people sitting in the chairs were my parents. I was so shocked that I tripped over a can of paint, and the men heard the noise, but they didn’t see me. Then the men told my parents that they knew about the myth and my family legacy and they said they would find me. Then I woke up.” Both Skylar and her mom nodded thoughtfully.
“I was thinking,” Skylar said, “What if it wasn’t a dream, what if it was something else?”
“What else would it be?” I asked, intrigued.
“A warning? A message?”
“Skylar,” her mom put in, “This isn’t a fantasy tale, it’s just a murder mystery.”
“Oh yeah,” I laughed, joking, “Just your average murder mystery. I’ve been solving those since I was old enough to walk.”
“But what if you actually were?” Skylar says, playing along, “I mean, the men did say something about a family legacy, didn’t they?” Then she laughs. We all laugh along. I knew it was ridiculous to think that this was anything more than just an average crime that police deal with on a daily basis, so I pushed the thought from my head.
“Off to bed with you!” Skylar's mom orders, throwing pillows at me and Skylar. Skylar laughs and throws the pillow back at her mom. “I shouldn’t have let you both watch all those movies. Now you think this is some sort of adventure.” Skylar and I both look at eachother. It was true, I was beginning to think this was some sort of adventure. By the gleam in her eyes I could tell Skylar felt the same way.
After getting ready for bed and Skylar and I were about to turn off the light I sat up and looked down at her. She had insisted I continue sleeping one the bed, while she used the sleeping bag. “What is it Robbie?” She asks.
“What if I get another dream?”
“I’ll be right here,” she reassures me.
I smile and nod. “Thank you.”
“Always.” She smiles back and then flicks off the light.

This time I was in the mountains. It was cold and snowing. Up ahead I could see two people trudging up the mountainside. They were wrapped in ripped shawls, and it didn’t appear to be keeping them very warm. They were shaking and trembling all over. I walked closer. I shivered as well, feeling the frigid gusts of wind and snow whip my face. I wrapped my arms around myself but continued on. I caught up with the two people and saw that they were my parents. I didn’t call out to them though, I was still mad about what they had done.
I followed them up the mountain until we got to a cabin nestled in a crook of the valley. My parents opened the door. I heard my mother sigh in relief as the gust of warm air hit her, My father called, “Ben? Ben are you here?” Uncle Ben? I didn’t think he lived in the mountains. I thought he lived in Tennessee. But sure enough, he appeared in the living room. I watched through the window. “Kevin!” he exclaimed when he saw my father, “And Elizabeth! What are you doing here?”
“It’s Monarch,” Dad told him, “They’re back and they want Robin.” Uncle Ben’s face creases with concern.
“We hadn’t seen Monarch in so long. I thought they wouldn’t be a problem,” Uncle Ben says. “Tell me what happened.”
Mom and Dad began to catch him up on all that happened. “We heard they were back and so we framed Robin for a murder,” Mom said. Wait. Framed. I thought they just turned me in. I was shocked, but I kept listening. “We knew that if she was in jail they wouldn’t get to her. They would never show themselves to the police."
“Smart,” Uncle Ben nods appreciatively.
“Then they captured us. We only barely managed to escape and I’m sure they’re looking for us. I’m so sorry to endanger you by coming here, but we had nowhere else to go and Robin isn’t safe.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Uncle Ben said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Dad added, “We just need to stay here the night, and then we’ll be out of your hair to go look for Robin.”
“On no,” Uncle Ben protested. You both need to lay low. Stay here, they won’t find you. I’ll go looking for Robin. I’ll protect her.”
“We would never ask you to do that,” Mom said.
“Please,” Uncle Ben pressed, “I want to. I love that kid too. In fact, I’ll go right now.” Mom and Dad both nodded, defeated, although they looked happy that someone would be coming to me as soon as possible.
I looked away from the window. I hadn’t realized how cold I was. I shivered uncontrollably. I admired my parents for climbing up the entire mountain. Another gust of wind blew through the mountains. My teeth chattered wildly. I tried to clamp my jaw shut, but the cold was stronger than my efforts. I felt overwhelmed by the freezing temperatures, and just as I was unsure of how I was going to survive here I woke up.

I was still shivering when I woke up in Skylar's bed. I heard Skylar sit up on the floor. “Robin?” She asked, concerned.
“I’m okay,” I managed to stutter out. My body was shaking fiercely. Skylar stood up and leaned over me.
“Robin!” She gasped. “Your lips are blue!”
I’m just c-c-cold.”
She pulled more blankets over me. By the time I stopped shivering enough to talk, I explained my dream to her.
“So you’re telling me that you’re this freezing because that’s the temperature it was in your dream?” She asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes!” I exclaimed, “Like I told you last time, these aren’t just dreams. They’re like I’m actually there, but invisible.”
Skylar looks at me skeptically. “Maybe Mom was right last night. This is all too far fetched. It’s not like this is fantasy. This is real life, not a story.”
“You don’t need to tell me that!” I protest, “This is all just as ridiculous to me as is to you!”
“Hmmm...” Skylar looks at the floor thoughtfully.
“What is it?”
“Maybe we should take you to a doctor.”
“What? Why?”
“This isn’t normal Robbie.”
“I know. So why would a doctor be able to figure it out?”
“There has to be an explanation, right? It seems like something a doctor could figure out.”
“Skylar,” I say quietly.
“Yeah?”
“I thought this was our adventure together.”
“Aww Robin, it is!”
“Then why don’t you believe me about my dreams?”
“Of course I believe you!” I look at her doubtfully. “Look, taking this to a doctor doesn’t mean I don’t think we’re having an adventure. It just means we might have more clues to where our journey might take us.” She wraps an arm around my shoulders.
“I guess you’re right.” I frown, “But that means trusting someone else with my story.”
“That’s true.” We both think silently for a minute. “Hey, what about Heather's parents?” Skylar suddenly perks up.
“What about them?” I ask, confused.
“They’re doctors!”
“Really?”
“Wow, you really were not paying attention to anything two weeks ago.”
I laugh. “Do you really think we can trust them?”
“They’re Heather’s parents Robin, come on! We trust Heather don’t we?” I don’t respond. “Don’t we?” She asks again.
“Yes, yes. We trust Heather.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll call Heather tomorrow.” She seemed happy that we had come up with a plan. I nod, agreeing with the idea, and then we both fall into a deep sleep.