~~Didn't get a good reception, eh? Maybe I would say that line to get a pity review: "If no one even cares, I'm going to delete this story."
Not happening, like that's going to happen...
...but something like that is happening in this site, but seriously, if you get no review doesn't mean no one reads your story. Think about those silent reader (me included) and those one who is lazy to leave a review (me included). But no! Don't do that! Be a good reader (because I'm not, sorry) and tell your world *shot* your opinion!
What a way of saying "Review please!" Please enjoy.
Chapter 2
"A dream." He repeats easily. "And I don't know how did you get here but this is the place where you can decide what dream you want."
I only half believe his words. I never have been in such 'dream' before, especially this one where you can choose your dream...
"You were going to open a 'happy dream'. Do you want to continue with that or you want to choose something else?"
I think of nothing but one.
That boy is saying ridiculous thing. And I'm not going to 'continue' and 'open the door'.
"I'm going nowhere." I say sternly. "First, I can't believe in you because I have no idea who you are. Second, what's the difference between this dream and the ones behind the doors? Last, you're asking me to go through the door but you're not going in?"
He shifts his gaze away from me for a split second, "We need to have a little talk, but not here. And as you can see, I can't go anywhere."
"Why?" I ask, though my question gets answered without a word.
There are chains on his arms and legs. I can't see where those got chained, but maybe it's really chaining him.
"But there's one place I can go." He says shortly before the whole scene changed, from a room with doors to a pale colored room with some comfortable chairs and nice furniture.
I try my best not to think about how illogical this whole thing is. It's just a dream.
And from my own experience, it's not usual at all for me to be able to think in my dream. Usually everything goes in order, the people in it just follow the order. Just like dolls. Maybe I had a dream about being an adventurer (those ones in RPGs, I mean), and I don't even question it. How?
But this time, it's different. Everything is too real to be a dream, but has the logic of 'dream'. And he had said that this is a dream.
"Have a seat." His voice snaps me out from my thought, and I do what he said instantly.
After we have a seat, however, the atmosphere becomes awkward with no single voice comes from any of our mouths.
"N... Nice room." I comment.
He looks around and adds a comment as well, "Have no idea how this place exists from the first place. Now about your questions..."
Ah yes, we're supposed to talk about that. "So, what's your explanation?"
"For the first one," He starts, "I understand if you don't believe in me, I'm okay with that. Perhaps this talk might make us know each other better, only if you got the chance to see me again."
I only nod.
"For the second, it's nothing I could explain—this whole thing isn't what I used to know."
"Are you saying that you don't belong here?" I ask dumbly, I don't even know I can be that dumb.
"No, though I do realize this is a dream. I'm dreaming, just like you."
People meeting inside a dream, is that possible? Or maybe it's just a new thing for me...
"But how?" I ask. Really, asking thing that shouldn't be asked... I'm doing a complete useless thing.
"I never meet anyone else, actually." He says.
Then how does he know that the doors in the previous room lead to various dreams when he can't go in and never meets anyone else before?
But I decide to keep that question, not speaking it out. I shall not add the question list from 3 to 4 when one last question hasn't been answered.
"But yesterday I saw you here, and that's my first time seeing someone else in this dream." He says. "It must be a lucky fate for me."
Right, I remember.
My dream in the previous night was walking in the hallway, found a door and met him inside.
With that, I wake up from my sleep, once again facing the real world with the dream drawn well inside my head.
Nothing I want to forget.
For the rest of the day, everything goes smoothly. I am in a good mood and the weather reflects it, nothing else is needed to complete this already perfect day...
But Miku.
I have planned to go to her house to do the project, but she said, "My house? It's a bit painful."
I don't fully understand what she meants by 'painful', but it implies that she doesn't want to do the project in her house. So I just have to go along and choose that other option—to do the project in my house.
Both my parents are still working out there, and I'm the only child. So the house is empty but me and Miku. The project is to make a display so we do that in the living room where the space is bigger. At least bigger than the very-narrow empty space in my room.
"You house is nice, Rin-chan." Miku compliments.
I smile at her, "Thank you Miku-chan, though I do nothing to the house—all done by my parents, from the color of the wall down to the tiles."
"Your family sounds nice." She says. "And are you the only child?"
"Yeah." I say while nodding, "Sometimes I imagine what it feels to have a sibling, but I'm okay with being the only child for now... And ever. And Miku-chan, do you have any siblings?"
"No, I'm the only child as well." She says with that usual soft voice of her. "I'm looking forward to be able to deliver child because there's no way for me for getting a sibling."
I guess she's talking about 'my parents are too old already to have another child', and I can see that she likes little children. They're innocent and naïve. I would probably give the same opinion about children, they're adorable.
"Children are lovely, especially the little ones." She says. So I was right about that... "I just realized that I love seeing little children when I saw my friend's sibling who was really cute and small." She giggles a bit after the 'small'.
But don't think that giggle of yours could hide the sadness I see in your eyes once you mentioned that, Miku.
...though I'm pretty glad that she actually giggles in front of me, though it's just to cover her sadness. At least she opens up more to me.
But what had made her sad and become like that is one thing I need to know.
"Rin-chan, may I ask something?" She asks in a curious tone.
"No need to ask for it, just go right to the point, Miku-chan..." I say, waving my hand.
Her mouth forms a little smile, "What made you so happy today? Something good happened?"
"Of course, I had a nice dream last night and I can remember it well." I say, not mentioning that the dream feels real and it's ridiculous but still, meeting someone in the dream is something I've never done before.
"Oh, I see..." She says as she continues to cut the paper with the scissor. "It must be nice to have a nice dream..."
Then it's my turn to give her a weird stare, "What do you mean by that?"
"Nightmares used to eat me, Rin-chan." She says calmly. "Not that often lately, I'm partly glad of it."
Continuing to look at her face, I pause from my work for a moment.
She adds after that, "Maybe it's the time to keep my head faced forward so I don't have to look back anymore."
"...eh?" I utter lowly, confused with her words. Does she mean that something happened in her past?
She smiles at me, "Nothing to worry about, just pretend that I never said that."
A part of me wants to do what she said—to forget what she had said earlier—but I can't.