“Look, the moment of our triumphant win was captured!” Ivy declared as they finished watching the video. “Yikes, send it to me. Send it to me. I must have this and keep it for life.” Andrew took her phone and wanted to send it to himself.

“Chill, chill I will send now.” Ivy took her phone back.

“Who recorded it?” Sandra asked curiously. “Oh, erm…” Ivy hesitated to reveal Jason to them as they would try to pry more about things she preferred to keep in private.

“Must be that ten pound twig you scolded that day right? Is he your boss? What is a boss doing coming to their employee’s house on a weekend and even capturing a video of the employee during non office hours?” Andrew asked with a joking tone while putting both his arms on his waist. Ivy laughed loudly at Andrew’s actions while Sandra couldn’t help but to giggle.

“How did you end up working for someone you hold a grudge with Ivy?” Sandra teased.

“He came to the house to ask if I had agreed to his internship offer and he recorded this while he was on business with the college. It was just all a coincidence.” Ivy quickly hushed their suspicions as she watched Sandra’s expression change becoming more tense the moment she saw Lance, Laura and Belinda were approaching them in the lecture hall.

“Yo, Ivy…” Laura greeted first this time as Ivy sat up straight while Andrew and Sandra sat closer to Ivy. “What’s up?” Ivy looked away from them as she waited for an answer she expected.

“Lance’s birthday is coming up. You know what to do. The usual…” Laura kept her request short as though she was forced to speak with Ivy after she overheard Lance’s confession that night. Laura indeed was forced to speak with her and was still jealous about Lance’s confession which she overheard but she forced herself to put that aside because she needed more cash to throw a lavish party for Lance in hope of winning his love for once.

“Same rules as before. Invite us or else …” Ivy retorted as she could tell Laura was getting agitated but Lance was holding her from behind.

“Fine.” She snarled as she walked away with Lance who looked even more guilty than the last time Ivy ever saw him. Belinda, this time stood far away as though she didn’t even want to mingle with Ivy anymore.

“Who do they think they are? Seriously, this is so absurd!” Andrew was pounding on the table in anger. “Chill it! Not the first time. Besides, there wouldn't be many chances left and since I have been doing my internship on a part time basis so there’s no need to worry about the money.” Ivy forced herself to explain cheerfully although she felt upset at the way the trio treated her after all that she had gone through with them.

“So, you have been busy working because of their birthday parties after all?” Sandra questioned her sheepishly.

“No… not really. I shall stress again and again. I have been working to decide on my next faculty and to gain relevant experience to help with my accounting which I took as an extra subject.” Ivy said with a strong conviction.

“Wait, wait… let me guess… Is that ten pound twig interested in you?” Andrew teased while their science lecturer walked in and everyone hurriedly settled down.

Ivy snarled at him which made all of them giggle at Andrew’s tease. Ivy was too distracted all along with her exams preparation and coping with her sleep disorders to think about the possibility of that to happen as she shrugged it off knowing it was impossible.

After lectures, Ivy was so tired from an entire afternoon of lecture that all she wanted was a nice dinner. She lamented at the fact that Andrew and Sandra already had dinner plans with their respective families that they went off separately after the lecture.

Her mind was drawn back to Sandra and Andrew, nagging her about her fake trio of friends. Deep in her thoughts, she didn’t realise she had driven to Jason’s place. She sighed at her absentminded self while she alighted and decided to visit Lucky for awhile. She sat with Lucky by the balcony enjoying the gentle evening breeze as she sighed at her efforts of trying to salvage her nearly broken friendship with Lance, Laura and Belinda.

Jason stepped into the balcony area after seeing her car parked at his garage when he arrived home. He was surprised to find her on a non-tutor day in his house and knew something must have happened.

“Hey, didn’t expect to see you here today?” He greeted while disrupting her thoughts.

“Oh, hey! Sorry, I was just thinking of taking my mind off things by visiting him.” She pointed at Lucky as she hugged Lucky closer.

“It’s alright.” He sat next to her on the same bench. “Come, spill the beans. What’s up?” She laughed a little at his sudden playful self asking her in a comical tone. Her hesitation was then pushed away by her thoughts of him being a great companion and listener lately that she was willing to open up a little.

“I used to have this trio of friends who were nice and caring during our kindergarten days but puberty hit in and somehow impaired our friendship. Well… one of them was the guy who confessed to me that night.” She explained as Jason interrupted. “Lance, was it?”

“Oh you remembered. Well yes and the other two girls are... one obviously knows the guy had feelings for me but she liked him so she hates me.” Ivy continued to explain but ended up mumbling the last line to herself. “How is this my fault really?”

“Ahhh… Laura was it?” Jason heard her mumble but pretended not to as he tried recalling their names while Ivy patted his head and nodded in agreement.

“The other one, Belinda. She became stuck up when her parents divorced, probably seeking attention.” Ivy spoke without trying to filter her thoughts as Jason shifted closer to her.

“Let me guess… they tried to pick on you today?” Jason asked as Ivy shook her head.

“Not really… I mean not just today. Well, they have been picking on me ever since their puberty years. They don’t do it very obviously. I am enduring it only because I don’t want them to harm my two close friends, Andrew and Sandra whom they discriminated against for being poor.” Ivy explained as Jason reacted as though he was in disbelief but it was a little exaggerated.

“Stop it. You’re so funny, Jason.” Ivy laughed. Jason noted in mind that she mentioned discrimination of wealth which made him curious if there were anything related to her father.

“Then why aren't they discriminating against you? Aren't you equally… poor?” Jason questioned. Ivy was hesitating to tell for a moment as she was afraid of telling him too much but thought no harm of just telling on the surface details. “My grandma left me some fortune… you know the spicy noodles franchise…” Ivy shrugged as Jason nodded. It calmed his nervous mind thinking Ivy might have known about her father and his fortune but turned out it was her grandma’s.

“Well, I am sure you know well enough what is right and wrong. So, you should know what to do?” Jason exclaimed as he was trying to understand her point.

“I guess so… I hope I am doing the right thing too. The thing is whenever either one of those three birthdays are close they would ask me to chip in to their expenses and mind you their parties are luxurious. They never invited Andrew and Sandra but since I know it’s going to be their last year studying here, I made them invite Andrew and Sandra to two parties now.” Ivy explained as she showed him two fingers. “Guess that just made them hate me more…” Ivy mumbled to herself again and Jason heard it but stayed silent.

“I am sure one last one is coming up. And thanks to your part time job’s pay, I don’t have to worry about finances ever again. How much can a student spend on birthday parties right?” Ivy said in a more relaxing manner as Jason finally figured out the need for her part-time job.

“You’re such a silly girl.” He said as he messed up her hair she smacked his hand. “Stop it!” She giggled as he stood and ran downstairs to the kitchen while she chased him.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner? I will cook?” He offered as she nodded. “I will help!” She offered as she went to prepare the chopping board.

When Ivy went in for her next internship session on Thursday, Jason’s accountant, Ann, was beginning to let Ivy take on more important tasks such as passing journals into the accounting system. Because of the efforts she put in to study for accounts, Ivy was beginning to get her basics right so she decided to attempt the accounting exam at the end of the following week with confidence.

She hoped not to fail any subjects this time round while she drove to Lance’s birthday party right after her last paper. When she arrived, Andrew and Sandra were already seated inside separately from the trio who were snapping pictures among themselves as usual. She sighed at the sight when she entered the private room and made eye contact with Lance who was half delighted but seemed to succumb to peer pressure that he suppressed his happiness and looked guilty. The girls this time didn’t bother to even greet her as she walked over to Andrew and Sandra who were deep in conversation. She knew they could be discussing psychology topics again which always intrigued her.

“... a place where you could be in vividly and you control every element of it.” Andrew explained to Sandra while Ivy grabbed a bottle of cider and sat opposite the both of them acting as though she was listening intensely at them which amused the both of them.

“Ivy!” Andrew and Sandra greeted each Ivy in unison. “When did you arrive? We didn’t even know!” Andrew exclaimed.

“Just awhile ago… Go on.. Your topic seems very interesting this time.. What vivid stuff which you control every element of?” Ivy asked curiously while she helped herself to some mixed nuts.

“Imaginary world…” Sandra explained while she picked some mixed nuts to nibble on too.

“Imaginary world? Oh…” Ivy wondered if her dreams were a part of this. “Tell me more about it… What is it about?” Ivy pestered while Andrew and Sandra helped themselves to some macaroons.

“In psychology they have another term called paracosm. It’s basically an imaginary world someone creates and could live in it.” Andrew explained. “How?” Ivy asked.

“You could imagine it in the real world like now in daylight or in your dreams. Basically, it’s pure imagination. Anytime, anywhere type. Well, in some cases imaginary friends are also considered part of it. You control everything from how the world is or who could be in it. The best part is, it doesn't have to be logical.” Sandra explained further.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Yep, most studies show people who have this world tend to lack something in real life. The development of this imaginary world is solely depending on the creator themselves.” Andrew said while sipping his cider.

“Can anyone just create one?” Ivy asked. “Having fantasies is common these days isn't it? Reality most of the time isn't smooth as planned…” Sandra’s remark somehow made everyone turn their heads to take a look at the trio who were still oblivious of their presence. It was beginning to upset Ivy who was enduring it since she had paid quite a big sum this time and it would always be a waste to not enjoy the food and drinks she had paid for.

“In the paracosm, it’s purely created based on the person’s imagination. For some, it could also occur from the person’s young age. Guess I didn’t keep mine till now…” Andrew shrugged as Ivy wondered if her so-called nightmares were these.

“What are the after effects?” Ivy asked again as she twirled her bottle of cider. “It depends on what the imaginary world was created on. If it’s bad then it best to abandon it before it could affect the person emotionally but if it’s a good one then the person could keep it and develop for the benefit of their own mental health.” Andrew explained before popping some tarts into his mouth.

“You’re so interested in this? Are you having any weird dreams again lately?” Sandra asked suspiciously while pointing at Ivy.

Ivy suddenly became conscious about her curiosity which was made obvious as she took a macaroon and ate it as an excuse from being unable to reply with a mouth full while she shook her head in reply.

“You better be telling the truth. If you ever still have those weird dreams, I will come and sleep with you every night.” Sandra warned while she took a sip of her cider.

Ivy choked on the last part of her sentence before drinking some cider. “You… don’t have to… Please don’t...” Ivy forcefully said in between her coughs to clear her throat while they laughed as they all knew Sandra’s bad sleeping habits could make the person sleeping next to her fall off the bed the next morning.

”Are we done? Shall we just leave? They don’t seem to care about us anymore… The last birthday party I forbid you from paying. No point.” Sandra grumbled as Ivy hushed her and quickly led her out of the private room with Andrew.

As she dropped Andrew and Sandra each to their own house, in a moment of solitude, she realised she was not really in a good mood to step home. She was rather upset and sad as she slowly drove herself to Jason’s house for her tutor session since it was a Friday.

She received a text message from Lance which thanked her for coming. She could sense a thousand unspoken words from Lance just from a simple text message but she knew she should stay away from the trio sooner the better. She quickly replied with a formal you’re welcome message before alighting to meet Lucky and Jason. Just the thought of them both had delighted her gloomy mood as she looked forward to more fun time with them with a grateful heart.

Her mood was instantly lifted the moment she saw Lucky and played with him without noticing Jason’s whereabouts in the house till she heard his electric guitar strums. She then remembered he had a band competition tomorrow as she ran upstairs and decided to help him practice. This time, she played on the drums after listening once to his guitar tune. Jason was very impressed at her drumming skills compared to her piano as he gave her a round of applause while she bowed to play along.

"It's a sad song isn't it?" Sandra asked as they rested by the piano bench with Lucky on her lap.

Jason gave it a thought. The lyrics sang happy and contented words. The tune was haunting but lively because he wrote it to be that way in the first place. The memories brought him back to the purpose he wrote the song.

"You're right. How did you know?" He could not hide being surprised at her precise depiction of the song’s hidden meaning.

"The tune gave it away. Its' lingering, awry darkness hovered by soft but yet lively guitar combination. It wasn't enough to hide the deep sadness and disappointment. Although the lyrics were well written in such a way that the positivity was probably hiding the truth that the person has moved on. Probably was in the midst of letting go of a toxic relationship." She stared at him, half waiting for an explanation but half did not want to intrude on his privacy considering the brief time they knew each other.

"It's absolutely a good piece. I am sure your band will win it." She smiled staring back at the walls as she softly hummed the tune of the song.

He thought to himself about Nancy, his ex girlfriend again. The inspiration for composing the tune came from her, who is the band’s lead singer but she will never know. Lately, he noticed he was struck by a bittersweet moment lately too many times whenever he was with Ivy as he thought to himself about Ivy, someone who heard the song very little times but could figure out the hidden meaning of it when the person whom the song was written for, had been oblivious about it all along.

"Thank you. Come and watch us tomorrow." He said gently as though someone had pry open a long knitted wound away, bringing out his vulnerable self.

She was taken aback by this part of him she had never seen as she nodded with a smile. She knew what she said could have stirred old wounds or memories in him and although she was dying to fill her curiosity if there was a hidden story behind the song, she respected that the fact he didn't explain, it meant it wasn't time to pry further into his personal life either.

Her yawn made her sleepy as she put aside her plans to have a tutor session with him. After all, she had just finished her monthly exams today and a short break would be great. She stood to head to the guest room without Lucky. She carried Lucky and put him onto Jason’s lap for him to cuddle. "I will call it a night. Thanks for letting me join in. Goodnight, Jason."

He was zoning out for a moment as he nodded when he realised Lucky was on his lap. He continued to drown himself in his past memories with Lucky falling asleep on his lap while he patted him.

A soothing tune was serenading the dog kingdom as Ivy stepped into the purple iris plains when she opened her eyes after heading to bed. She recognised the lovely tune when Phoenix pledged his freedom to her and was searching for Phoenix instead of her grandma. She could see a harp at the far end as she skipped over. The sight of the golden harp was getting more vibrant but she could make out not just one unfamiliar shadow but a few of them surrounding the harp.

She halted half way as she turned around to look for her grandma’s cottage but it was nowhere to be found. “Ivy…” An echo was heard and she knew it was Phoenix.

“Phoenix…” She whispered as she looked towards the harp’s direction but instead the echo was from the opposite direction.

“Come over here...” She was glad at his urge as she ran faster to catch the sight of everything she wanted to see in the opposite direction; her kingdom of dogs and puppies surrounded Phoenix and her grandma’s cottage which made her mind wander to grandma who was still resting in seclusion. Ivy had longed for such a sight every day she returned home as she ran to claim her long awaited embrace from Phoenix although she wished it was her grandma.

“Phoenix!” Ivy closed her eyes to feel the warmth of his embrace and forced herself to remember it for a long time and never to forget how it felt. “Easy princess… Your injury hasn’t fully recovered.” Phoenix reminded her of her poisoned self by the serpents as she let go of him.

“Princess…” Phoenix echoed as he let his harp play on its own. “Ivy... Just call me Ivy.” Ivy smiled sweetly at the mesmerising sight of him. Phoenix hesitated to call her by name but mustered up the courage to do so. “Ivy, would you like to come with me on a walk?” He asked as he held out his hand. Ivy grabbed it as he led the way to the overhanging cliff.

“Are you alright? Did you get enough venom for your portion? What were the missing ingredients?” Ivy asked as she recalled the incident from the last dream. Phoenix sensed her anxiety as he stopped walking and turned to face her. His eyes were fixated at her injury which Ivy then realised had a scar on her right palm which had recovered but her body was weak from the poisoning previously.

“We are almost close… But I don’t intend to fight the serpents anytime soon. Not until you’re stronger.” He explained as Ivy held his hands.

“Don’t worry about me. I will heal in no time. You should harvest more of these serpents’ venom whenever they appear since they only produced very little but are of great use.” Ivy urged as she watched Phoenix‘s charming eyes look sad today.

Phoenix had recalled bits and pieces of his memories when he sucked the venom out from Ivy’s injury to save her and downed the bottle portion. He recalled his mission of being assigned to wipe out the kingdom of dogs instructed by his mother, the queen of his kingdom and not the king, but he couldn’t remember how he ended up forgetting about his mission the moment he found himself awake in the kingdom. He decided not to tell Ivy about his memory recovery as he didn’t want to upset her.

“Don’t you worry, Ivy. I will always protect you and the kingdom.” Phoenix gently pulled her in for an embrace. “Phoenix, the embers on the ground… do you perish every time you turn into your mystical self?” Ivy asked as she stood in his embrace listening to his heartbeat.

“Yes…” He echoed. “Then, how do you get back to your human form?” Ivy asked as she looked up at him.

“A phoenix perished into the ember and rose to be reborn again from the ember, Ivy.” Phoenix echoed as Ivy recalled she had read about it before. “Hence, the reason for having the ember dance…” She mumbled to herself as Phoenix nodded while they oversaw the aurora lit sky.

“Phoenix, aren't you worried about the other two ingredients?” Ivy pestered again. “Princess, I already found them.” He echoed.

“What are they?” Ivy looked up at him. “The roots of the irises and your…” Phoenix hesitated for a moment as he looked away. “What is it?” Ivy pestered impatiently but instead all that she saw in front of her was blurring. She heard squeals from her younger self calling out to her mother while she felt herself falling off from a high area. She could see a long hair figure in front of her while falling off in the mid air.

“…your blood.” In the midst of the chaotic squeals, she heard Phoenix’s answer while she fell off the high area which sent chills down Ivy’s spine as she continued to hear the deafening squeals of younger self calling out to her mother desperately.

Ivy woke to find herself staring right into the eyes of a floating figure with long wavy hair up in the ceiling. She couldn’t move herself as she panicked and squealed, soon, letting her tears of terror flow freely on their own. Jason who was about to head into his room after a long time pondering on their conversation which brought back lots of memories, heard her squeals in the nick of time as he entered her room to check on her. “Ivy?”

He saw the faint shimmering hues of pink from her bracelet as her squeals grew loud. He walked closer to her and realised she couldn’t move. “Ivy! Are you alright?” He rushed to pull her up from bed and shook her but she kept squealing and had a hard time breathing.

“Ivy! Ivy, breath!” He screamed as Lucky hopped onto bed to be by her side. Jason’s first instinct was to pinch her cheeks to get her reaction but their bracelets were attracted to each other again. He noticed both of their bracelets were glowing in their own respective color; hers in hues of pink while his in hues of green.

He had to use his left hand to pinch her cheeks instead. She felt the first shot of pain hit her cheeks as her hands muscles instantly smacked his hand away in pain before she forcefully ran out of bed to the side of the room and stood under the moonlight shining in the window to catch her breath. The force was strong enough to unattached their bracelets from each other that it left some scratches on Jason’s wrist which went unnoticed as he was very worried about Ivy.

Her nightmares were overwhelming for her this time as she wondered what had triggered it considering she had nights of peaceful sleep lately. Jason rushed over to her side as she held on tightly to the window pane while catching her breath.

“I’m sorry… That must have hurt you. I’m sorry.” He tried hard to apologise as he shifted her to face him when he noticed she was quietly sobbing with her eyes closed. Ivy was shaken that her dreams were beginning to frighten her when the deafening squeals felt so surreal. She wondered why she was calling her mother that way as though she was begging her to save her life but was ignored. She couldn’t explain how she was so affected by the feeling of being unwanted and left in the cold being hopeless. Deep in her thoughts and wonders, she didn’t realise she was sobbing in Jason’s arms as they sat on the ground illuminated by the moonlight. His gentle pat on her shoulders was the only assurance she could let her guards down and seek refuge from it. Lucky sat by their side as though he knew the troubles of Ivy.

“Ivy… could you tell me what’s going on? Is this sleep disorder something to do with you grieving over your grandma passing?” Jason asked when she calmed down after a while but realised he had asked a very personal question. Ivy shifted in his arms to sit up but he quickly held her back into his embrace.

“Stay. It’s alright. It would be more comfortable to at least let me know what’s going on.” He explained as he waited while Lucky crawled in between them and fitted in just nicely as Ivy cuddled him and giggled a little at his ticklish fur. Jason was glad to have Lucky at that point of time helping to ease their tense moment.

“I always had strange dreams from when I was young that I had always slept with my grandma… Most of the time, I would wake up and cry my lungs away. When I was a teenager, I grew to not keep my grandma worried so I slept alone. I would wake up in tears and sometimes I cannot move for a while staring back at creepy long hair figures or eerie serpents... I have gotten used to them but I have never hurt myself in my dream other than that one time...” Ivy slowly explained while Jason patted her.

“Ivy… you need to seek medical help.” Jason gently said.

“It’s useless for sure… they would say it’s depression and prescribe packages of antidepressant medicines but that’s not my case. These dreams are so vivid that I live in them. I could even hear my desperate squeals for my mother to rescue me but was left not responded which was so surreal... I couldn’t explain why…” Her voice cracked for a moment as Jason tightened his embrace. “It’s alright… It’s alright” He wiped her tears away from her cheeks.

“...I couldn’t explain why the warm embrace I felt from my grandma in my dreams seem so surreal every time that I always long for her to hold me in my dreams longer…” Jason rocked her a little as she sobbed again while Lucky tried to lick her to comfort her.

“Ivy… from now on, you have me.” He held her right palm. “I will hold your hand to sleep and leave only when you’re deep asleep. Lucky would guard by your side every night too. On days you’re not sleeping here, you could bring Lucky to accompany you…” Jason offered as she eased further into Lucky’s fur for comfort and he understood it was her way of agreeing. He continued to comfort her till she fell asleep and tucked her into bed, holding on to her hand while Lucky slept in bed with her.

He wondered if he should start to tell her father that he had found her to escalate their business dealings and at least, he could give her the family she deserved. However, a part of him was worried she might misunderstand him. He hoped for her to have a family while he got his business deals but he also wanted their friendship to last. He pondered on ways he could do so while he fell asleep by the side of her bed.