Sleepless King Crimson

Mom always said I was dead to the world when I slept. I would suddenly doze off in the middle of class, while eating, even halfway across the street. My homeroom teacher suggested I get checked at a hospital, but Mom brushed it off with a scoff. "She just stayed up all night on her phone!" After that, my phone was confiscated, the lock on my door was removed, and every time I showed the slightest sign of drowsiness, I got slapped awake. I did not want to be hit, and I did not want Mom to get angry, so I started pinching my thighs, yanking my hair, even downing medicated oil just to stay awake. But when that wave of sleep hit, nothing could stop it. On the day of the final exam, Mom happened to be assigned as one of the proctors. I bit through my lip, silently begging myself, 'Just this once. Just hold on.' But in the end, I still couldn't fight it. The desk was suddenly flipped over. I went down with my chair, crashing hard onto the floor. My head struck the edge of the desk, and darkness swallowed everything in an instant. Mom stood beside me, furious and disappointed. "Cecelia Thorne, are you really so obsessed with sleeping that you don't even care about your final exams? If you're that lazy, then lie there and keep sleeping!" I lay sprawled over my exam paper, my vision dimming bit by bit. Mom, this time, I might really sleep for a long, long time.

Seventeen-year-old Seraphina Knights has been running from her dreams for as long as she can remember—dreams of fire, glass, and a winged stranger who calls her by name. Every time she wakes, a glowing mark burns into her skin… and no one can explain why. Duskmoor Academy was supposed to be her fresh start—a place for students with “unusual sensitivities.” But from the moment she meets Lucan Vale, the quiet, unreadable Literature Assistant, Seraphina’s dreams only get worse. Or more real. Lucan knows exactly who she is. He’s been finding her in every lifetime. And losing her. Seraphina’s past lives are catching up to her—and so is a curse that’s been hunting them both. If she remembers too much, she dies. If she turns away from him, the cycle continues. But this time… she remembers just enough to fight back.

"What did they say?" He asked, almost too calm and very curious. "An animal fled with her." "They are lying! I want them in prison, till they tell me what happened to my daughter!!" He bellowed, clenching his fist while sitting on his blue, gold railed chair, beside his bed. "They are telling the truth." Seansha tried to reason. "No! They helped her hide away. They hid her, they know exactly where she is. And they will be tortured until they tell me the truth!" He barked furiously. • Ruby William is a modern teenage girl with a good family, good friends and a moderately perfect life. Until the night she turns eighteen, and gets stuck in a dream. Ruby fights to go awake, choosing her real life over her dream, which seemed too perfect. Things are opposite the way they appear, as those who are close to her or share a resemblance with those she loves, are harbinger of her demise.

Have you seen anyone die in front of you? No? Well, I have, more times than I can count. I seem to have a morbid attraction to . Maybe it's like a superpower or maybe it’s a curse. Particularly the Crimson curse, as I like to call it. You would think that doesn't affect me anymore. You are right to think that because that is what I had thought until a week ago. I guess seeing your parents get murdered in front of your eyes and seeing their blood and life slowly drain out of their body isn't the same as seeing your neighbour die from a heart attack when you were 9.One more thing you should know about me is that I can make you sleep with one touch. My parents both were doctors and put their abilities to best use. My father could heal everyone other than himself and my mother like myself could drop a person to sleep with just one stroke of the hand.Now I am off to Aliam academy for mastering my supernatural ability, apparently for which my mother enrolled me before dyeing. Well, looking at the bright side, there is one boy with violet-blue eyes and curly black hair and I am falling head over heels for him.

Crimson widened her eyes as the tall sturdy figure stepped an inch close to her. With her face staring at his chest that was broad and looked like that of an athlete, she dared not look him in the face due to the mess she has created. " Kevin we can talk about this in private, I've really toyed with your name this much please don't sue my company, they had nothing to do with this, it was me who claimed that on my own, i'm very sorry." Crimson apologised to the cold looking man as she bowed continuesly. "Why should you be sorry? I didn't know untill today that I had a fiancee. Grandfather is asking when the marriages would be hold." Kevin snapped coldly, Crimson summoned up courage to look up at his face as she didn't want to miss the smirk that was plastered on his face. "You heard me right.. you've claimed me yourself why do you look like a chicken?" Kevin mocked as Crimson scratched her head in frustration.

My husband, Matt Miller, suffers from severe insomnia. He can't stand a little bit of noise while he's asleep. After six years of marriage, I've gotten used to the quiet. I don't watch TV after 9:00 pm. I don't make calls or eat. I even walk on tiptoes. Everything feels worth it when I see him sleeping soundly. Until one day, when I go to his office to deliver some documents, I realize the door isn't tightly shut. His secretary, Faye Davis, is sitting cross-legged on the carpet while eating potato chips. A variety show is playing loudly in the background. Meanwhile, Matt is asleep on the couch. Just as Faye reaches forward to turn down the volume, he raises his hand and strokes her hair, all the while keeping his eyes closed. "It's okay. I sleep better with the noise." I stand outside the door, recalling the bad cold I had last month. Afraid that my coughing would wake him up, I had buried my head into the pillow all night. The next day, he frowned and complained, "You were breathing so loudly last night. I couldn't sleep at all. Keep it down next time." Amid the crunching sounds of potato chips and Matt's steady breathing, I slowly step back. Turns out the cure to his insomnia isn't silence, but a woman. Only that woman isn't me. I guess I won't be bothering him at night anymore.