FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Alex grinned as the two men he had hired to help him brought a large plush couch into his living room, his blue eyes gazing happily at the large spacious room when he felt something shove him from behind. Turning, Alex moved out of the way to let an older woman in, upon her back was a lounging chair. Alex shook his head at how his 51 year old mother was still doing these kinds of things at such an age and reached to grab the back end of the chair.

"Hang on mom." Alex called as he finally got a hold on the chair. "Lemme help you. You're starting to get old and I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Alex heard a loud snort as the two carried the heavy burden across the living room and placed it down on the ground next to a window. The late afternoon sun shone off of both Alex's short black hair and his mother's long brown hair. The two then slid it into the corner before standing up and stretched.

"The day I break something in this body of mine..." The woman began to reply, putting her hands on her lower back and pushing forward until a crack was heard. "...Is the day you find a girlfriend Alex!" At this she began to laugh as Alex glowered at her.

"Mom, ya know I never even liked any girls that I've come across like that!" He complained loudly, and the two men behind him began to snicker only to stop when Alex shot a glare at them. His mom turned back to him and laughed in her musical voice, grabbing him around the head and rubbed his head with her knuckles as they walked towards the men. Here she allowed Alex freedom and pulled out her wallet to pay the movers.

"Thank you kindly Mrs. Durley." The two buff men replied as they walked out.

A strong and proud woman, Amanda Durley joined the Canadian Army at the age of 18. Here she was sent overseas to deal with terrorist outbreaks where she met Alex's father. The two quickly fell in love and he returned to Canada with Amanda and together they got married. The couple union was what created Alex but one day, Alex's father suddenly left and Amanda was remarried two years later to a man named John. She's been with him since Alex was five years old. Amanda finally left the army over a year ago and still retains her athletic body to this day, even wearing her old combat outfit every once in a while such as today. She suddenly turned to stare at Alex with her green eyes and smiled.

"I do hope you know you will need to pay me back for that as well." She said, indicating the movers as the two followed the men outside onto the deck. Alex merely shrugged as he placed his hand on the railing.

"Yeah." He said, smiling as he felt the wind blow through his short hair and his white shirt. "I'll pay you back for the house and for the movers, don't you worry." He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye as she walked up next to him.

"I'll admit it does feel good to be back here." Amanda sighed, basking in the warm sunlight. "Hard to imagine that it has been nine years since we left this place."

She was talking about the house nine years ago before She, John and Alex moved into town. Alex remembered being unhappy about the situation but he could not remember what the reason was. In the end however, he was forced to go along and regretted the decision ever since. He loved this two story home, with its front and back porch, Backyard Lake, and dense forest save for the various pathways they had cleared years earlier. It was even quiet as the building was in the middle of the country.

"I'm certain you'll be able to, once you begin selling those drawings of your huh?" His mother asked suddenly, causing him to come back to the present.

"That and with the help of my job at the garage, I'm sure to get your money real soon." Replied Alex as he watched the movers drive out of his driveway and turned down the road. Amanda shook her head with a smile on her aging face. Though he worked as a mechanic, his real passion was in pencil art.

"I find it hard to imagine how much you've improved over the years." She began happily. "I remember when you first began four years ago, me and your father just laughed at how it came out wh-"

"HE IS NOT MY FATHER!" Alex screamed suddenly, cutting his mother off as his fist clenched on the railing. His face went suddenly dark as he began to take deep breaths of air. "Don't you ever mention his name here, do you understand?!"

Amanda stared in shock at her son's rage. Though it was obvious plenty of times before that he disliked John, never had she seen Alex like this. It was as though he had his rage and anger buried deep down for years, keeping it a secret until just now, at this moment. After what seemed like an eternity, Alex finally calmed down and began to walk down the steps slowly.

"I'm going to be gone for a while. Lock up the house after you're done here." He said with a lack of emotion, walking towards the blue car that was his own. As he threw the door open, he heard his mother begin to sob and he stopped to gaze sadly down at his car seat.

"Do you..." She began to slowly. "Do you really hate him so much that you wish his name never to be spoken at your own home?!" Alex winced at how hurt she sounded, but he did not look up at his mother's crying face.

"I'll talk to you later, when we've both calmed down." With that said and done, Alex hopped into the car, started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, heading towards town with a heavy heart.

The fact was that Alex didn't even know himself why he hated John. He couldn't even remember what initially ignited the flames of hate. Alex just...hated him and he couldn't explain the reasons. There were always times where John tried unsuccessfully to win his affection, like fishing, hunting, or even video games but each and every single thing ended up with the two bickering and arguing. That was what caused Alex to move out, the constant arguing between him and John.

He sighed as he continued down the road. He felt bad for what he did to his mother, she didn't deserve to see him like that but he just couldn't stand to even think about John. And of course, Alex didn't balme himself and instead blamed his stepfather.

I'll apologize later to her. Alex told himself. She loves him and it wasn't right for me to yell at her. Argh, why are you such a dick John?

It was starting to become night as he drove into the driveway, quite glad that his mother had left before he did so. Pulling the car over, Alex reached over to the back seat and grabbed several bags and a bottle of vodka. Carrying most of the burden in one arm, Alex walked up to his door and unlocked it, switching on the lights as he made his way to the kitchen. Here he unpacked several things, such as food, and placed it away. The only things he left out on the counter though, was a bottle of mountain dew and the vodka.

He poured an ounce of the alcohol into a cup and filled the rest with the soda before taking it with him into the living room. Here he began to take sips as he surfed through the channels. He was depressed, this time about how he was going to pay his mother back for the house as his job didn't earn him much money and he knew for a fact that he wouldn't get money through his drawings. Sure he was said to be the best pencil artist around the town, but he just couldn't sell a single one. They always came out with something missing, something that he couldn't figure out.

And another thing, Amanda was right about him never having a girlfriend. He just could never find the one and after searching for four years straight for his 'one', he finally gave up. Alex believed he would never find the one he would call his 'soul mate' and that fact depressed him heavily. He was very close to just straight up giving up his art career, believing that they weren't selling because he never found someone to love.

Where are you? Alex questioned silently, taking a rather large gulp of his alcoholic drink. And where can I find you? He felt tears begin to form into his eyes and he quickly blinked them away. After a little while, Alex finally settled on a sports channel and continued with his drink. Soon he felt the effects hit him and he settled into its embrace willingly as he grabbed some more vodka.

Sometime later, Alex stumbled up the stairs and into the bathroom where he began to get ready for bed, but it was hard as he kept on causing his toothbrush to slide out of his mouth and across his face. Swearing loudly, he finally finished up and walked back out, down another hall, and into his bedroom where he tossed his shirt and pants off to the side in a hamper. He grinned stupidly as he gazed at his bedroom.

A soft looking bed with two layers of blankets was sitting across from him. On either side of it were two end tables, both of which had two fancy looking lamps on them. Next to him was a wardrobe and he continued to gaze affectionately before he suddenly stopped. Just next to the bed was something he did not bring here, something he had never seen before: A mirror. Curious, Alex walked over to it and placed his hand on the cool glass, wondering how it got here. He was soon answered when he spotted a note on his end table and he reached over for it, carefully trying to read the notes letters through his drunken state.

Alex, I found this sitting in one of the closets in the house. I didn't know this was even here but since it seemed old and valuable, I decided to hang it up in your room since you like fantasy so much. But anyways, I forgive you for earlier but I still want you to apologize to me! I will see you soon and I will always love you.

-Mom.

Placing the note back down, Alex turned back to the mirror to inspect it some more. Alex was quite surprised at its size as it stood about the same size as a door. Though there was nothing out of the ordinary about the glass itself, he couldn't say the same about the border around it.

Made entirely out of gold, the border seemed to have been split in half. On one side was the image of a dragon appearing to be flowing through the air, one of its claws going in an arc to touch the hand of a human near the top. The human figure covered the other half and was completely naked, but its left leg kept its sex out of view. Both had their eyes closed as they grasped their hands firmly together. Bending down, Alex could see what appeared to be writing on the bottom, but could not read it as it appeared to be a language of some sort. If he had known better, he would've guessed that it was some kind of fantasy language made up for the mirror.

Alex merely shrugged as he stood up. His mother was right about one thing though: it did seem old and valuable so he decided that it could stay in his room until he figured out where it came and whether he should actually keep it. Alex hopped into bed and covered himself with a blanket as he reached over and turned off the end table light next to him. As he placed his head on the soft white pillow under his head, Alex was suddenly overcome with grief.

"Damn it all..." He cried softly as he turned his back away from the mirror. He didn't want to see himself like this. "...Why haven't I even found someone to love yet? Why?" He was feeling something that a lot of people will feel sometime in their life: Loneliness.

"I just want someone to hold onto, to protect." He wailed gently. "Am I to be alone forever?" As he cried, he felt the drowsiness hit him hard and he quickly fell asleep, the mirror appearing like a guardian over his still form.

He was running through the brush, happy as though he had never once smiled in his life. He heard a girl calling out to him to wait for her but he ignored it, wanting her to chase him for a little while longer. After a moment of running, he felt the girl tackle him from behind. Alex as well as the person went tumbling head over heels down a small hill. They stopped at the bottom, the two giggling as Alex stood up and brushed the dirt and twigs from his clothes. He suddenly heard his mother calling for him and he turned his head in the direction of her voice before turning around to say good-bye to his friend. He stopped however, when his eyes met a blurry shape. His eyes went wide, as though the shape before him was a monster.

_ "Who are you?" he whispered, horrified that he couldn't even make out its face. The shape cocked its head to the side as though confused._

_ "Alex, don't you recognize me?" It asked in that feminine voice as it reached for his hand gently. Alex backed up, pulling his hand out of reach as he opened his mouth as wide as it could go..._

_ _ "WHO ARE YOU?!" Alex screamed sitting up in his bed. He blinked, looking about as he realized it was a dream. He rubbed his head and found sweat rolling down his head. "Jesus, not again..." He murmured as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed. That dream had been haunting him for years, yet every single time he never once saw a clear image of the girl's face. It was really bad though as h hadn't had that dream in over three years

Standing up shakily, he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen where he grabbed a cup of water. He drank it down greedily and soon found it empty. Alex filled it up about three more times before he was finally finished. He sat there for a moment, staring at his reflection in the glass of the window above the sink before splashing cold water over his face.

"Just who is she?" he muttered as he turned around and made his way upstairs. He couldn't help but feel like he recognized the girl yet he could have sworn he had never even knew any one that played with him back when he had previously lived here. "And why did I have that dream now, when I haven't had that dream in over three years?"

He was still confused about the whole thing, but he soon began to calm down when he walked into his bedroom. Alex took a seat on the bed and began to rub his face with both hands, giving out an audible exhale of air of frustration as he did so. As he sat there he began to sing softly.

There once was a girl named Cyyybil,

_ Who once was my closest friend._

_ There once was a girl named Cyyybil,_

Where, oh where have you gone?

Alex didn't know where he had learned that song. He just suddenly began to sing it a few years after leaving the same house he was in now. The song seemed to calm him, but it didn't seem to be in a good way as it seemed...depressing. Then something came over him as he thought about the song: Was the girl in his dream the one named Cybil? If so, where could he find her? Alex felt that he needed to know the truth about who she was, that maybe she was the one he has been looking for.

But just as he determined he would try and find this girl, a sudden glow followed by a soft hum filled the room. Confused and slightly scared, Alex turned slowly to see that the mirror was glowing. Alex stood up and stumbled back into the wall, his eyes wide in surprise.

What the hell?! Alex screamed in his head. What the hell is this?! Damn it move! And move he did, but not in the direction of the door. Instead he was moving around the bed, towards the mirror, suddenly very curious about what was happening. Thoughts were flying through his mind as he approached the mirror, questions such as: What is happening? Why is this happening? Did his singing have something to do with this?

Yet none of this was answered as he sat before the mirror. The hum and glow did not disappear and he could have sworn, through the light that he could describe as 'divine', that the dragon and human were moving. His mind still not satiated from its curiosity, Alex began to reach towards the glass with his hand until his palm was pressed against the glass. It was cool to the touch despite the glow emanating forth from it. Almost as soon as his hand touched the glass, the mirror returned to normal and Alex felt strangely disappointed.

He sat there for a few moments, watching his own face as he waited for something to happen. Nothing did and he turned back to his bed as he began to slowly slide into bed, but stopped when he heard the voice of a woman sing forth from the mirror.

There once was a boy named Alllex,

_ Who once was my closest friend._

_ _ Alex sat there, surprised as the voice continued. Who was it that was singing? Slowly, Alex turned his head to look back at the mirror over his shoulder. The reflective glass seemed to meltaway as the voice sang.

There once was a boy name Alllex,

_ Where, oh where have you gone?_

_ _ Now Alex could see past the melting glass and into what appeared to be a medieval-like bedroom. Everything was bathed in darkness and he could barely make out the bed as well as the shape of a slender woman sitting with her arms holding her knees to her chest sitting on the floor in front of it.

There once was a boy named Alllex,

_ Please, oh please come back to me..._

Alex heard the woman begin to cry, the sound of her voice beginning to cry filling him with sadness as well. She had such a beautiful voice, and yet, it also sounded so sad. But what made him really confused about all this though was what she sang. Alex thought he was the only one who knew that song, and yet here was a woman, in his mirror of all things, that not only knew the song but also added her own verse!

"Who...Who are you?" He whispered gently, placing his hand back on the mirror. The girl looked up startled at him and Alex could've sworn he saw something like a tail twitch behind her elegant shape. They sat there, staring at each other until she stood up and he gasped at the object behind her. It is a tail! Just who is this woman?

"Alex? I-Is that you?" She whimpered hopefully as she began to slowly make her way to Alex. He wanted to move, but his mind kept him frozen in place. He needed to know who in the world this girl was. He gasped when her foot entered the light. She had four toes, each nail on them ending in a sharp point and it was covered in silver scales.

"It is you! Oh Alex!" she cried, placing her hand forward and onto the glass in the same place as his. Her hand was small compared to his hand and appeared to be the same as her foot, save for it had no missing digits. His gaze followed her silver arm up to her face, where his eyes immediately felt like they were going to pop out of his sockets. She had the face of a dragon!

There was no hair on her head, but a crest started at the top of her head and it ended at the base of her long neck. It wasn't ridiculously long, but it was definitely longer than a humans. Two horns were located on either side of her skull, moving in an upwards curve towards her back. Yet what caught his gaze were her eyes, both of which were two different colors. One was a sapphire blue while the other was a golden yellow. The two were so beautiful that he felt like he could stare at them for hours but for now they only filled him with a strange kind of sadness.

"Alex?" the dragon asked, cocking her head at his horrified face. "Are you alright? I know you haven't seen you for years but...don't you recognize me?"

He removed his hand and backed up, shaking his head as he did so until he felt the bed behind his knees. "I don't know you..." He whispered, reaching down to grab a blanket off his bed. The dragon stepped back as well.

"No..." She whispered back at him. "NO! You are him! You are Alex, I just know It! Please!"

Alex threw the blanket over the mirror, covering it up as he heard the dragon wail in a said cry. "I DON"T KNOW YOU! THIS HAS TO BE A DREAM!" He screamed as he turned back to his bed and opened the end table next to him. Here Alex pulled out some ear plugs and he slid into bed quickly.

"Alex! Please don't leave me again! I love you!" Alex paused, looking over his shoulder to see a blue eye looking right at him, tears streaming freely from it. He felt...painful in the chest but he ignored it.

"I don't know you..." He covered himself with the blanket as he plugged his ears up with the ear plugs. Even with the aid, he still could hear the sad cry of the dragon wailing his name, but he ignored it the best he could and soon fell back asleep.

Hours later, Alex awoke slowly, the sun shining warmly upon his face through a window next to his bed. Sitting straight up, he looked over to the mirror to see that the blanket was not there, but was now on his bed. Smiling happily to himself that it was just a dream, he slid out of the covers and began to get dressed. He placed on a pair of black jogging shorts as well as a white tank top before heading downstairs into the kitchen. Here he made himself some eggs, sliced ham, and hash-browns for breakfast.

He finished up quickly, grabbing a water bottle as he proceeded into his basement. There he walked into a large room that contained weights, a bench, treadmill, and a wall full of canned goods. Nearby was also a small table with a stereo on it, which Alex walked over and turned on only to frown when no sound emanated forth. The display on the front said that it was on and the volume was halfway to max, so why couldn't he hear anything?

Alex felt a fly land on his ear and he reached up to brush it away only to feel his finger brushed past something lodged in his ear. At first he was afraid that something had crawled into his ear and lodged itself into his ear. His eyes went wide and he tried to remove it gently. He sighed in relief when it came out without a hitch and winced when music blasted into his eardrum. He lowered his hand to see what was in his ear and stopped, his eyes staring blankly at what was in his hand.

An earplug lay nestled in his palm.

"No way..." he muttered. What had happened to him and the dragon was no dream. "Impossible! This-I-Nope! I must have been wasted beyond believe! There's no way that was real!"

Alex began to convince himself that it was some kind of drunken hallucination caused from his overly imaginative brain as he picked up some hand weights. He sits down on the bench and begins to work on his upper arms. But try as he might, he could not wipe the face of the dragon from his mind.

"Just who in the hell was she?" he questioned quietly as he reached over and took a sip of water. Soon his mind was lost in the concentration of the workout as well as what his next image would be. He still had to pay his mother for the house.

To be continued...