Aroma’s Adventures

Aroma had a vision of a giant snake that coiled gently around her and whispered safety into her ear. Its breath was warm against her skin, and she could feel the slow rhythm of its heartbeat through her ribs. When she opened her eyes, the echo of that heartbeat remained — steady and grounding — as she stood before the entrance to an abandoned mine.

Cool air breathed out from the darkness. She stepped inside.

The tunnel wound through the earth, damp and echoing, until it opened into a wide chamber where many paths met. The air carried the faint scent of minerals and stone dust. A cat appeared at the edge of her vision — a silent shape, its fur shining faintly in the dim light — and disappeared into one of the smaller tunnels. Aroma followed.

At the end, the path widened into a natural cave. The walls were covered in tiny crystals that grew like sandpaper moss, glinting faintly in shades of pearl and quartz. Their glow was gentle, like moonlight filtering through water.

From the ceiling, three bats descended. They were small — half the size of hummingbirds — and their wings beat with a whisper. Aroma lifted her hand. The bats landed lightly on her fingers, their tiny claws cool against her skin. They sank their fangs into her with delicate precision, drinking only a few drops before releasing her. The touch was painless, almost reverent. Then they lifted off again and vanished into the glittering dark.

When she stepped back into the open air, night had settled across a quiet forest. The trees whispered in the wind, the scent of moss and pine wrapping around her. She sat near the mine entrance for a while, letting the stillness settle inside her.

Then the wolves began to appear. One by one, they emerged from between the trees — gray, white, and black — their eyes soft and knowing. They made no sound, only circled once before lying down nearby, as if choosing to rest beside her.

When she finally rose to leave, she began to run. The wolves ran with her, their paws thudding in rhythm with her heartbeat. Together they crossed the dark forest, and the movement felt like memory — wild, free, and whole.

When she reached home, she ate dinner quietly, the night still breathing in her chest. Then she went to bed.

~~~

Sometime during the night, she half woke to see several Native Americans standing around her bed — one wearing a headdress, all of them drumming softly. The steady beat seemed to echo the pulse she had felt earlier from the serpent, uniting everything into one long rhythm.

The sound carried her back into sleep.

~~~

Author’s Note

This chapter was created from several of my dreams. I wrote a draft based on them and then had ChatGPT polish the flow. The giant snake comes from a dream where a huge serpent wrapped around me and whispered in my ear, and instead of fear I felt completely safe. The abandoned-mine setting is inspired by recurring “bat dreams,” where a cat guides me underground to hand-feed three tiny vampire bats, each no bigger than half a hummingbird. The wolf elements come from dreams where I can talk to wolves, understand them, and run with them while still in human form. I also sometimes dream of Native Americans surrounding my bed, drums beating, one wearing a headdress. All of these images blended together to form the atmosphere and tone of this chapter, creating an unexpectedly vivid foundation for the story’s emotional texture.