To Shuffle off this Mortal Coil.
I saw her again tonight.
I love to see her serene face with her hair cascading and framing her face.
It was like a feverish dream.
It had become routine for me to be the one to make dinner for myself, although it would be better if Brad didn't lie around the house. I was hoping that Kokoro had gotten my text. I felt like I needed to talk to her.
"Hey kid, how long until dinner's ready?" Brad asked.
"Not much longer. Sorry it's taking longer, but Kokoro said she will be joining us."
"Ok." He noted. He didn't really open his eyes, or shifted his body much since he had been complaining about soreness. It at least gave me a day in between practices.
"Eliot, your girlfriend is here." Brad said mockingly.
"She's not my girlfriend." I replied.
"Whatever. I saw you two eating face the last time she was over here." He said. I walked out of the house to greet Kokoro. It had been a long time since she was last here. She wrapped her arms around my waist.
"I missed you, Eliot."
"I missed you, too." It was hard for me to say that. We walked back into the house and she sat down at the table. I quickly went back to the stovetop and turned it off. I gathered a small handful of plates and started to lay the food on them.
"Would you like some help?" She asked.
"No, but thank you." I said, "I wouldn't want your beautiful dress to get ruined."
"Thank you." She blushed a bit. Once I set out our dinner, I called Brad over to the table and we started eating.
"Eliot, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked. Her face had a genuine sense of worry, which made me feel more tense.
"He wants to ask you out." Brad interjected. Her eyes grew wide.
"Brad, shut up! That wasn't what I was gonna ask her." I said, "I actually was going to ask you… have you ever had the feeling like you're floating right outside of your body?" The two of them grew quiet.
"I don't think I have, why?"
"I was just wondering. About a week or so ago, it felt like I was just right outside of my body. I couldn't get back in it for a while though. I wandered around the house for a while, then I can vaguely remember going to your house. I couldn't go inside, but I just watched from your window. I just remember seeing how peaceful you looked while you slept. Then, I don't remember anything after that. I just woke up." They still were silent.
"So you basically had an out of body experience?" Brad asked.
"Yeah. It was so odd. When I wandered the house, I remember Brad was talking to someone on my phone. It was a girl." Brad didn't answer, but he quickly looked away and rubbed the silver hairline. I had the feeling I was right.
"That is odd." Kokoro said, "What was it like when you were at my house?"
"I just remember feeling nervous and flustered. I also felt a bit of dread since it felt so wrong to watch over you while you slept." The nervous tension still resided, but it feels like weight has been taken off my shoulders.
Once we had finished dinner, I took the plates and set them on the counter to be washed later. Brad had moseyed back to his room for a while, which left me and Kokoro alone.
"Eliot, you don't need to feel nervous." She said. She rested her head against my chest as we sat on the main room floor.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"I've dreamed about you, as well. Not to the extent of an Out of body experience, but it felt so real."
"Really? How did they go?"
"It was just you and me. We just sat here in silence, just like we are now. You would occasionally try to kiss me, but something was holding you back."
"What was holding me back" I asked.
"I don't remember." She said.
"Why don't I make that up to you?" I said. I lead my hand to her cheek, and pulled her closer to me. She placed her hands in my lap. I placed a chaste kiss on her lips. The kiss lingered for a few minutes before either of us moved. She pulled her head away for a second, before coming back for more. She guided me down as we laid down. She took my hand into hers and placed it on her chest. Her kimono was open slightly, and her skin was warm in comparison to my cold fingers. My heart started to race once again. It felt so sudden, but it also felt like the right time.
After Kokoro left with Helena, I saw Brad sitting at the front window in his robes. When I walked back in, he was drinking and he paid no attention to me.
"Eliot. You remember what said about you and Kokoro?" He asked.
"Kind of."
"Well, I was sort of pulling your leg. Although I did see you two kiss. Maybe not as much as you have tonight, but it was still a kiss." He said.
"Why are you bringing this up?" I asked.
"Not exactly sure, to be honest." He paused, "But that woman I was talking to was someone I knew from years ago. We were in love, but she was heartbroken after every time I went off and wandered without letting her know. I saw her the last time we went to the city to get groceries. She was so lively, and she was the sweetest woman I've been lucky to come across. What I'm trying to say is don't miss your chance, kid. You two could be something I you really put some heart into it." He rested his back against the wall and tried to get more comfortable. I let him continue with his story since he sounded like he wanted to tell at least one other person. It felt so weird hearing Brad being so serious about something like this.
And to be honest, it was nice.
Author's Notes: Well, first Dead or Alive piece and I originally was planning to use this as a warm-up so that I could go off and write something else that needed to be written by December 20th. The title actually was supposed to just reflect the part about Eliot's out of body experience (Since that was the original idea.) It is actually a reference to Shakespeare's Hamlet (The Whole "to be or not to be" part.)I hope you enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it.