Chapter 11: Dreamy Confusion
May looked across the table at the young woman on the other side,
who had be crying in earnest since they had bumped into each other
on the street. It had been hard, leading an obviously distraught
woman to the cafe, but with a cup of tea in front of her and seated,
Reika was a little easier to handle. At first, May thought she should
flat out ask what happened, but she decided that maybe she would wait
and let Reika say what she wanted to, when she wanted to.
After a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Reika looked up and asked
May the question that had been running around in her head all
morning, "What kind of person am I that I'm dreaming of marrying
my fiance's best friend?"
That question was so different from what May expected that it
shocked her. She drew in a breath so quickly that she started
coughing on the tea that was in her mouth. After a few minutes
of coughing, May asked, "Excuse me?"
It wasn't apparent that Reika heard her. Knowing that at some
level she had a non-judgmental audience that seemed familiar,
Reika just tried to put her thoughts in coherent words, "I think
I just broke an engagement over mere dreams! Okay, that's not
true...I've had doubts for years, like part of me was in denial
and waiting for someone. But these dreams of weddings and Mamoru
and...could this just be stress? Or I am really some kind of bad
person?" Reika choked on a sob, "He just looked so hurt when he
asked me if I meant I couldn't marry him. And I can, and I can't,
and...I don't know anything anymore. I just-" Not being able
to explain all of her confusion, Reika just escaped into tears,
putting her head in her hands on the table and sobbing.
Feeling at a loss, May looked at her friend. For some odd reason,
seeing the young woman sobbing over a broken engagment seemed familiar.
Yet, May brushed that off to think of what to say to help...if
anything could. After a few minutes, she had figured out what she
was going to say, but those words of comfort are not what came out of
May's mouth.
Instead of merely sympathizing and offering to listen, May put her hand
on Reika's head and said, "Daniella, I cannot wave a wand and make this
a perfect world where true love always wins. But I can promise you that
you won't go through this alone."
Lifetimes ago that statement brought a sobbing duchess some comfort.
In the present, however, it brought renewed fear to a confused heart.
Reika froze upon hearing May's words. She slowly lifted her head and
stared at May. "No," she whispered. "No, you couldn't have called
me that. You wouldn't have known to call me that...unless it is all
true. Somehow, it must all true." Reika drew away from May. "Who
are you?" she asked quietly, "And who am I?" she followed up in a
whisper.
May blinked in surprise at Reika's reaction...and then her eyes widened
in shock as she proccessed what Reika had just said. 'She remembers...
something at least....So no what do I do?' May thought herself. After
taking a deep breath, May had decided upon her course of action and
opened her mouth to speak...
To never get the chance as she heard her name shouted from behind.
Turning toward the door she saw Terry and Yusuke coming straight
toward her, looking a little worse for wear. They were both dusty
and Yusuke had obviously scraped his hands on something. Yusuke
looked angry...Terry's emotions were unreadable. "What happened
to you two?" May asked.
"Some bitch freak fired an energy ball at us!" Yusuke ground out.
"A freak fired an 'energy ball' at you?" May managed to get out
while staring at the boys in front of her. "You have got to be
kidding me."
"No," Terry said as he shook her head. "With some kind of
whispered command she sent a ball of energy right toward us.
It probably would have killed us if it had hit us. I couldn't
see her clearly, but everyone around us kept muttering about
sailor 'senshi'-"
"The senshi?" Reika interrupted, clearly puzzled. "But they
protect the city from monsters and evil. Why would they
attack you? It doesn't make any sense."
"Look lady," Yusuke said as he leaned into Reika, "I did not just
imagine being target practice today. She was trying to take us out!"
"Back off, Yusuke," May reprimand. "Reika's having a bad day,
and she wasn't the one that aimed anything at you." When Yusuke
didn't look like he was going to stop, she threw him a nasty
warning look. "Actually, Reika, maybe you can help us. Who are
these senshi?"
At first Reika looked a little surprised at the question, but,
after a few minutes she attempted to answer the question. "No
one knows much about them. A few years ago Toyko began having
problems with monsters and energy drains. These sailor suited
warriors appeared, gradually, and began to fight these monsters
to project us. They have awesome powers and seem to be interested
in our well being. No one knows who they are, although many
have speculated." She shrugged, "I'm sorry. I don't know
anymore."
"Saving people from mysteriously appearing monsters? That's a
little too convenient," May mused aloud.
Terry snorted, "Protectors? These people fight evil?" As
Terry continued, his anger came out in his voice, "What
kind of protector of the city fires at anything with that
many innocent bystanders around?! She could have easily
killed anyone on the street that day!"
Reika said quietly, "I don't understand much of anything, anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke shouted.
"Boys, sit down for a moment," May requested. After the Terry
and Yusuke sat down, May took a deep breath and said, "Reika
is remembering her life as Lady Daniella."
This statement shocked Reika into silence as she stared at the
three people who had effectively trapped her into the boothe.
The other people in the boothe, however, burst into conversation.
"How?" asked Terry.
"Mostly in dreams, it seems...like the rest of us. Unfortunately,
in her case, it is causing a few complications."
Terry narrowed his gaze at May, "Our dreams caused complications, too."
May returned the look, "I know they did, but not in the same
way." She sighed, "Look, things are more complicated here.
Reika is going through a lot. She really needs support in
this."
"Tremaine? Arlington?" Reika asked in a quiet voice as she looked
at Terry and then Yusuke.
The two boys were surprised at first to hear themselves being referred
to by the names from their past, but they did nod in acknowledgement.
"So, you all know who you were?" Reika asked.
"Not all of us," Yusuke said as he threw May a look.
"May doesn't remember who she was, just that she knew us well,"
Terry elaborated.
Reika's shocked gaze swung to May and then back to Terry and
Yusuke. "And you two don't remember who she was?" she asked
the two young men, clearly surprised.
"No, but obviously you do," Terry answered.
"So, yeah, who was she?" Yusuke asked.
Reika opened her mouth to answer, but May cut her off, "As
great as it would be to find out who I was, we have more
important things to deal with. One, we have to find a way
to protect you two," she turned to Terry and Yusuke, "from
energy blast from random city protectors. Two, we need to
be ready to offer support to Reika. And three...well
three I have to do on my own."
May turned back to Reika, "I realize that this is amazingly
overwhelming...and we may not be the people you want to
hang around at the moment. If you just need some space,
that's fine. In fact, here." May pushed a piece of paper
across the table to Reika, "That's our address and phone
number here. Call us if you need anything." Reika nodded
and moved to leave. As Terry let her out of the boothe,
May added, "And one more thing. Regardless of who I was
back then, Reika, I am your friend now. And I'm here if
you need to talk."
Reika smiled sadly as the memory of a hurting queen comforting
a broken-hearted duchess floated through her mind. "You
were there for me then, too, May." Then, with much on
her mind, Reika walked out of the cafe on her way home.
Not much had changed in that twenty minutes, and everything
had changed in that twenty minutes. 'The only way I'm going
to get closure,' Reika thought to herself, 'is to talk to
Mamoru myself about everything. Tomorrow.'
- to be continued -
Warning: I have seriously rewritten this story again. (I
keep changing my mind about the order of stuff.) If you
have been following this story for a while, it is a good
idea to re-read chapter 9 on...or just start from the
beginning. I'm trying to make this a better story...and
with each change I think it is getting there.
And for those of you who are a little lost, I'm working
on a way of making things a little clearer. Thanks for
reading.
~December
May looked across the table at the young woman on the other side,
who had be crying in earnest since they had bumped into each other
on the street. It had been hard, leading an obviously distraught
woman to the cafe, but with a cup of tea in front of her and seated,
Reika was a little easier to handle. At first, May thought she should
flat out ask what happened, but she decided that maybe she would wait
and let Reika say what she wanted to, when she wanted to.
After a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Reika looked up and asked
May the question that had been running around in her head all
morning, "What kind of person am I that I'm dreaming of marrying
my fiance's best friend?"
That question was so different from what May expected that it
shocked her. She drew in a breath so quickly that she started
coughing on the tea that was in her mouth. After a few minutes
of coughing, May asked, "Excuse me?"
It wasn't apparent that Reika heard her. Knowing that at some
level she had a non-judgmental audience that seemed familiar,
Reika just tried to put her thoughts in coherent words, "I think
I just broke an engagement over mere dreams! Okay, that's not
true...I've had doubts for years, like part of me was in denial
and waiting for someone. But these dreams of weddings and Mamoru
and...could this just be stress? Or I am really some kind of bad
person?" Reika choked on a sob, "He just looked so hurt when he
asked me if I meant I couldn't marry him. And I can, and I can't,
and...I don't know anything anymore. I just-" Not being able
to explain all of her confusion, Reika just escaped into tears,
putting her head in her hands on the table and sobbing.
Feeling at a loss, May looked at her friend. For some odd reason,
seeing the young woman sobbing over a broken engagment seemed familiar.
Yet, May brushed that off to think of what to say to help...if
anything could. After a few minutes, she had figured out what she
was going to say, but those words of comfort are not what came out of
May's mouth.
Instead of merely sympathizing and offering to listen, May put her hand
on Reika's head and said, "Daniella, I cannot wave a wand and make this
a perfect world where true love always wins. But I can promise you that
you won't go through this alone."
Lifetimes ago that statement brought a sobbing duchess some comfort.
In the present, however, it brought renewed fear to a confused heart.
Reika froze upon hearing May's words. She slowly lifted her head and
stared at May. "No," she whispered. "No, you couldn't have called
me that. You wouldn't have known to call me that...unless it is all
true. Somehow, it must all true." Reika drew away from May. "Who
are you?" she asked quietly, "And who am I?" she followed up in a
whisper.
May blinked in surprise at Reika's reaction...and then her eyes widened
in shock as she proccessed what Reika had just said. 'She remembers...
something at least....So no what do I do?' May thought herself. After
taking a deep breath, May had decided upon her course of action and
opened her mouth to speak...
To never get the chance as she heard her name shouted from behind.
Turning toward the door she saw Terry and Yusuke coming straight
toward her, looking a little worse for wear. They were both dusty
and Yusuke had obviously scraped his hands on something. Yusuke
looked angry...Terry's emotions were unreadable. "What happened
to you two?" May asked.
"Some bitch freak fired an energy ball at us!" Yusuke ground out.
"A freak fired an 'energy ball' at you?" May managed to get out
while staring at the boys in front of her. "You have got to be
kidding me."
"No," Terry said as he shook her head. "With some kind of
whispered command she sent a ball of energy right toward us.
It probably would have killed us if it had hit us. I couldn't
see her clearly, but everyone around us kept muttering about
sailor 'senshi'-"
"The senshi?" Reika interrupted, clearly puzzled. "But they
protect the city from monsters and evil. Why would they
attack you? It doesn't make any sense."
"Look lady," Yusuke said as he leaned into Reika, "I did not just
imagine being target practice today. She was trying to take us out!"
"Back off, Yusuke," May reprimand. "Reika's having a bad day,
and she wasn't the one that aimed anything at you." When Yusuke
didn't look like he was going to stop, she threw him a nasty
warning look. "Actually, Reika, maybe you can help us. Who are
these senshi?"
At first Reika looked a little surprised at the question, but,
after a few minutes she attempted to answer the question. "No
one knows much about them. A few years ago Toyko began having
problems with monsters and energy drains. These sailor suited
warriors appeared, gradually, and began to fight these monsters
to project us. They have awesome powers and seem to be interested
in our well being. No one knows who they are, although many
have speculated." She shrugged, "I'm sorry. I don't know
anymore."
"Saving people from mysteriously appearing monsters? That's a
little too convenient," May mused aloud.
Terry snorted, "Protectors? These people fight evil?" As
Terry continued, his anger came out in his voice, "What
kind of protector of the city fires at anything with that
many innocent bystanders around?! She could have easily
killed anyone on the street that day!"
Reika said quietly, "I don't understand much of anything, anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke shouted.
"Boys, sit down for a moment," May requested. After the Terry
and Yusuke sat down, May took a deep breath and said, "Reika
is remembering her life as Lady Daniella."
This statement shocked Reika into silence as she stared at the
three people who had effectively trapped her into the boothe.
The other people in the boothe, however, burst into conversation.
"How?" asked Terry.
"Mostly in dreams, it seems...like the rest of us. Unfortunately,
in her case, it is causing a few complications."
Terry narrowed his gaze at May, "Our dreams caused complications, too."
May returned the look, "I know they did, but not in the same
way." She sighed, "Look, things are more complicated here.
Reika is going through a lot. She really needs support in
this."
"Tremaine? Arlington?" Reika asked in a quiet voice as she looked
at Terry and then Yusuke.
The two boys were surprised at first to hear themselves being referred
to by the names from their past, but they did nod in acknowledgement.
"So, you all know who you were?" Reika asked.
"Not all of us," Yusuke said as he threw May a look.
"May doesn't remember who she was, just that she knew us well,"
Terry elaborated.
Reika's shocked gaze swung to May and then back to Terry and
Yusuke. "And you two don't remember who she was?" she asked
the two young men, clearly surprised.
"No, but obviously you do," Terry answered.
"So, yeah, who was she?" Yusuke asked.
Reika opened her mouth to answer, but May cut her off, "As
great as it would be to find out who I was, we have more
important things to deal with. One, we have to find a way
to protect you two," she turned to Terry and Yusuke, "from
energy blast from random city protectors. Two, we need to
be ready to offer support to Reika. And three...well
three I have to do on my own."
May turned back to Reika, "I realize that this is amazingly
overwhelming...and we may not be the people you want to
hang around at the moment. If you just need some space,
that's fine. In fact, here." May pushed a piece of paper
across the table to Reika, "That's our address and phone
number here. Call us if you need anything." Reika nodded
and moved to leave. As Terry let her out of the boothe,
May added, "And one more thing. Regardless of who I was
back then, Reika, I am your friend now. And I'm here if
you need to talk."
Reika smiled sadly as the memory of a hurting queen comforting
a broken-hearted duchess floated through her mind. "You
were there for me then, too, May." Then, with much on
her mind, Reika walked out of the cafe on her way home.
Not much had changed in that twenty minutes, and everything
had changed in that twenty minutes. 'The only way I'm going
to get closure,' Reika thought to herself, 'is to talk to
Mamoru myself about everything. Tomorrow.'
- to be continued -
Warning: I have seriously rewritten this story again. (I
keep changing my mind about the order of stuff.) If you
have been following this story for a while, it is a good
idea to re-read chapter 9 on...or just start from the
beginning. I'm trying to make this a better story...and
with each change I think it is getting there.
And for those of you who are a little lost, I'm working
on a way of making things a little clearer. Thanks for
reading.
~December