[ WP ] Three friends . Four AM . No dialogue

It happened when I was 12. It was the first night that my parents let me have cereal for dinner. I asked every night, but was always denied the bliss of a big bowl of Frosted Flakes. I had gone to bed that night with a full stomach and a big smile. It was n't until I got older and had replayed everything I could remember that I realized that my dad had n't read to me that night and that my mother had given me an unusual amount of goodnight kisses. 
 I could never remember as clearly as I could everything else, but I have a very faint memory of a glistening eye behind the crack in my bedroom door. I think it was my dad. That helps me be angry at him. 
 
 For the longest time, my anger was the only thing that kept me sane. I could only imagine the things that were done to me that night, but there was no doubt in my mind that all of it was violating and abusive. That was my life until I met her. I was, as usual, passively deluding myself by thinking that my walks through the park, avoiding eye contact with everyone and half jogging with my head down, qualified as social interaction. I do n't really know what it was that made me look up. I had never done that before. All I remember is smelling a glorious, sensual scent that put my mind in a moonlit forest alone with someone who made my heart swell. It was crisp and cutting in the warm summer air and I had to stop to turn around. I'm sure I was n't consciously directing my body. I'm sure that I was n't thinking anything. I was just looking, smelling and hearing, unconsciously absorbing this black-haired beauty with skin that seemed to radiate light. Maybe it was her smile, or the silver chain that hung around her elegantly long neck, or her perfectly manicured fingernails or the tiny jewels on the tops of her sandals. 
 
 I could n't tell you what was said that day, or how she fell in love with me. All I can say is that she was the only person I've ever talked intimately to. She was the only person I believed would actually listen to me. She was a wonderful listener. There was no judgement in her eyes. There was no dismissal in her touch. She was the reason I was able to forgive my parents and forget my anger. She was my life. 
 
 For four years we dated. We travelled the world and managed to visit every continent. We managed to form a bond between us that made us impervious to the world. When we finally arrived back home, I proposed. I did n't have to say anything. I did n't have to plan anything. It just happened and she probably knew it was about to happen. 
 
 On the night before our wedding, I had fallen asleep quite easily. I do n't remember at what point I woke up, but when I did, the room was filled with an almost blinding white light. It was happening again and this time, it was infinitely worse. I knew what was happening this time, and it was at the worst possible time. I had come so far, life was actually perfect. I did n't want to believe it was happening again, but I could n't deny that it was. 
 
 When I woke up in my bed again, however, I felt strange. I did n't feel like I had felt the last time. I was angry or fearful. This time, I was filled with understanding and clarity. I was simultaneously aware that I was wrong to be angry with my parents and determined to live the rest of my life saving people. My life suddenly had meaning. It would have been absolute bliss to have gotten married, but that day, I did n't. Marriage would n't have given my life any meaning. 
 
 That's how I ended up in the room where it started, with my two best friends. They thought I needed cheering up, so they took me to Las Vegas. It was a fun day and I was cheerful. I sat up on my bed and watched as the light penetrated the half open blinds. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the clock change to 4:00am. It was a powerful moment for me, to be among this group of three as we changed the world. Then, each of my friends, one by one, burst into clouds of dust that hovered in the air, eerily and yet quite serenely. As they ascended the beam of light, I thought to myself - `` You're going to be saved. I know you'll forgive me, some day.'' With that thought, my eyes closed and the room faded to black again and I slept, happy, content and alone.
