Dreaming

“Hey Rita, what do you want this early?”

“Haha, as cold as ever, I see. I have a request. Can I go inside?”

Say no, please say no!

“Okay.”

Damn it! What if she finds me here? I still can’t talk, so I won’t even be able to explain myself.

“What is it?”

“So, do you remember Jinko? You played badminton together that one time.”

Me? Why is she bringing me up?

“...A little. Why?”

“Well, the short version is that he’s been going through a lot recently. And well, after you showed up to play that one time, he seemed a little interested in you. We were trying to get him to come to badminton again, so I thought that if we told him you were coming, he would be more motivated to show up. What do you think?”

WHAT?! Why would you ever say something like that to her? Now she’ll think I’m some kind of creep! Oh, how I just want to jump into a hole and bury myself.

There was silence. Then, out of nowhere, my phone rang. It took me at least two seconds to reject the call, but by that time, it was too late.

“...Sorry, that was my phone,” said Rui, hoping Rita would let it go. However, we weren’t so lucky.

“But your phone’s on the bed. Also, I think I recognize that ringtone...”

The next thing I knew, I was looking into Rita’s eyes, still wearing my pajamas.
We looked at each other for who knows how long, before Rita managed to speak up.

“I... Uhm, I see I’m interrupting something, so... I better get going.”

No! Wait, I promise it’s not what it looks like!

But it was useless. Even when I opened my mouth and tried to scream, there was only silence. Then Rui spoke up.

“Rita, wait.”

“No, no, it’s fine. You should have told me you have company. I’m sorry to be interrupting.”

With that, Rita rushed out and shut the door behind her as fast as she could.

Well, this is just great, just what I needed. Now she’ll tell everyone I was here, and they’ll all think I was just faking this whole ‘sometimes my body goes numb’ thing...

Defeated, I slumped down on the floor when my phone started ringing again.
This time, I saw who the caller was. It was Matt.

Awesome, another misunderstanding I need to deal with. And I still can’t talk.

I hung up and immediately went to send a message.

“What’s up?”

“Where are you? The door is open, and you’re gone.”

“Sorry, I probably forgot to close it. Is anything missing?”

“You’re lucky it’s not.”

“That’s good then. I’ll be back a bit later.”

“Sure.”

Well, at least that worked out. Lucky for me, Matt is so laid-back.

I laid down on the floor, took a deep breath and thought about what I would do about Rita and how I would get home without any proper clothes.

I turned to Rui, but remembering what Rita mentioned, I quickly turned away and instead typed on my phone.

“Do I try to speak again, or should we call it a day?”

I showed the phone to Rui, who answered immediately and decisively.

“Let’s give it one more try. Simply fall asleep again, and if it doesn’t work, you’ll just have to make do with the fact you can’t talk for a while.”

“Okay.”

Since I really didn’t want to be mute, I tried falling asleep again, but for some reason, I couldn’t. Maybe it was because I already slept and woke up so many times, or the fact it was already morning, or it could have been what Rita said before discovering me in the closet.

Why? Just why? Why would she ever say I’m interested in her? I mean, I was interested. She was really good at badminton, I was curious about why she was hiding in the café and who those guys were, and she just seemed like an interesting person in general. But am I interested in her like that? I don’t think so. We hardly even know each other. How could I like someone I’ve barely even met? It doesn't make any sense.

I couldn’t relax at all, therefore I wasn’t falling asleep, which Rui noticed.

“Why are you not asleep yet?”

She looked me in the eyes with her usual expressionless face, but I couldn’t do the same. I avoided her eyes and typed my answer on my phone.

“I’m not tired at all and can’t relax either. I don’t think I can fall asleep right now.”

“Hmm... Should I just knock you out?”

Eh?

Before I could type or even realize what was happening, I felt a short but sharp pain in my neck and lost consciousness.

*

I was standing alone in a vast forest. I could hear birds singing and leaves rustling. To my left was a small but crystal-clear stream, flowing down from the hill in front of me. Other than that, it was quiet, peaceful. The sun was rising above the hill and trees, illuminating the forest.

All sorts of flowers were blooming around me. I took in a deep breath and smelled their fragrance, calming my mind even further. There were many I recognized, like violets, roses, dandelions and a lot more. But there were also some I didn’t recognize. They wee bizarre, yet so pleasing to look at. One in particular caught my eye. It was a little shorter than the other flowers and had no leaves coming from its thick stem. It had orange stamens in the middle, surrounded by silver, pointed, and hairy petals that gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

“Mommy!”

I heard the cheerful voice of a young girl, calling out to her mother. But when I turned around, the beautiful scenery was gone. What I saw instead was a large wildfire. The once enchanting and peaceful forest was on fire, almost entirely destroyed. The tall trees were falling over each other, and the beautiful flowers were wiped out, without even a single one remaining, their pleasant aroma replaced by a suffocating smoke.

My once relaxed mind was now panicking, but for some reason, I couldn’t move.
I stood there, watching in horror, as the once magnificent forest had turned into a hellish landscape.

“Mommy! Mommy!”

Once again, I heard the little girl’s voice. But it wasn’t cheerful this time. There was fear, terror, and anguish in her words instead.

I turned around and saw a small, blurry figure, crouching down in the middle of a destroyed garden. In front of them was another person, lying on the ground, motionless. I wanted to run towards them, but the instant I took the first step, everything went black.

*

Panting, I shot up from the floor, sweat running down my face. I looked around and saw I was still in Rui’s room.

A dream? It was just a dream. That felt so real though.

I slowly stood up and saw Rui lying unconscious on the floor. I wanted to call her name, but my vocal cords still weren’t working. Instead, I kneeled down on the floor and tried shaking her awake, but she wasn’t responding.

She’s breathing, so is she just sleeping? But why on the floor? Did she pass out?

I shook her some more, but she just wasn’t waking up. It felt wrong to just leave her on the floor like that, so I picked her up in my arms and put her on the bed.

She’s frowning... Is she having a nightmare? I wonder what could scare someone as strong as her. It must be really horrifying.

To pass the time, I tried searching up how vocal cords work and where they are in the human body, so I could control them and speak again. Surprisingly, it worked, and after practicing a little, I could almost speak normally.

I wonder if I’m completely cured of whatever was happening to me. I still feel like my body is a bit stiff, and my speech isn’t perfect, but generally, I feel fine.

Not knowing what else to do, I simply sat down on the single wooden chair in Rui's room by the desk and watched her sleep in silence, waiting for her to wake up.