Chapter 11

With a Hint of Solipsism

-~:{+}:~-

"Hello again, Nightmare."

Looking around, Elise was once again in the strange dream realm she found herself in a previous night. The silver-haired man was floating above, just as before.

"Why hello to you too, Elise. So glad you bothered to drop by, especially after your little misadventure." replied the incubus.

"H-huh? Wait, how did you hear about that? Information spreads too quickly around here. Almost as bad as a high school." She practically spat the last statement.

{Ughh. This does remind me a bit of that hellhole, now that I mention it.}

It did remind her a bit of high school. There were some good points, but the way rumors spread was definitely not one of them. The thought just made her annoyed, her face even twitching a bit.

"Was school that bad for you?"

"Ack- Oh, I forgot you could read my thoughts…" Annoyance filled her voice.

"Even if I couldn't, that expression of yours would give it away."

"Well, either way, that place was filled with assholes that I'm supposed to refer to as classmates. They weren't so bad towards me, but…"

"But you're friends, right?"

Elise just stared at her feet. Her look was a mix of annoyance from her mind being read and a silent yes. She was thinking about her friends back home. She missed them. And she worried about them, some more than others. The things people do, and why they bother to hate others so, it always confused her. Especially-

"Especially Violet?"

"Don't bring that up! That's none of you're concern! Don't read my thoughts like that Goddamnit!" she snapped. At that, Elise was on the defense, an Nightmare then decided to stay silent. She quickly calmed herself down.

"You know…" She started to whisper, "When you know you're hated, you think people have a reason behind it. Justification... Then you realize... they don't." Then she stared down the silver haired man. "Tell me, Nightmare, regardless of what this world really is, why am I here?"

"Hmm..." He directed her attention towards a light some way away. "Answer me this, when you reach the end of a dream, what is there?"

{Answering my question with a question?}

"Well, it ends. There is just what's beyond when you wake up. Reality."

"Very good, that's right."

"But how is this important? Don't give me pointless answers when I'm in this shitty mood!"

"Well, do you find it scary, even a bit?" He said this inquisitively. It seemed a bit unnerving in itself.

"Does it matter? Dreams change, dreams end, and I can always make a new one."

"But isn't it hard to let go of certain dreams?" He had her there. She couldn't come up with a good answer so she refused to reply.

{I'm really starting to hate talking to this guy…}

"Really now, hate is such a strong word. Weren't you just talking about that?"

"Hey now! Stop doing that!" Elise just about had enough of this guy, whose collar was floating within her reach. She grabbed it, as if to threaten him.

"Ack!" Nightmare just coughed up blood.

"Ah! Blood? A-are you alright? Christ! I didn't think I shook you that much! Do you need to get to a doctor or something? Should you go to the hospital? How do you get to a hospital from a dream?" She sputtered words rapidly, panic starting.

"No! I hate hospitals!"

"wut."

"I am not going to the hospital!"

"But you're coughing up blood! Isn't that often a 'cough of death' type thing? I could have sworn that was a sign of tuberculosis. Or whooping cough. Or internal bleeding? I'm no expert but that's not a good sign. It's never a good sign!"

"I already told you, I hate hospitals! I'm just a sickly incubus, and I refuse to go to such a place."

She just let out an exasperated sigh. "I've never heard of anything so ridiculous…"

{If I knew where to go, I'd literally drag him to the hospital...}

"Now that's just cruel!" He retorted, wiping the blood off his mouth with a handkerchief. "Really, in a world where we're all inclined to love you, you'd think that you'd be a bit kinder!" he whined.

"What..?"

"Ah!" Apparently, Nightmare had said a bit more than he initially intended. Seeing though as he had already said it, he decided to continue on anyways, perhaps also to regain some composure.

"Well, in this world, the role-holders are inclined to love foreigners. Although it may not happen right away, the more you interact with them, the more they will start to like you."

"What? Just what sort of sick world is this?"

"Sick? Well, regardless of what you think, that's just how things work here. This is a world where you will be loved."

"I don't want something like that though! There might be some people who do, but I'm not one of them. If this is some place where I'm supposed to be happy, then forget it. There are people who would be more suited for this place than me. Love tends to be the root of all kinds of trouble anyway."

"Is that what you think?"

"Yeah. I've heard plenty of tales involving lovers who either kill or be killed. And quite a few happen to be true. I consider myself to be part history-student, so I know this stuff. One of the world's most memorable stories was a satire that ended in tragedy, the two young lovers committing suicide for the other. I can understand things like family, friends, and sometimes even love that is a choice, but that romantic passion can cause problems for people not even in the relationship. I would rather avoid that."

"It's just the nature of the inhabitants here. You'll understand why soon enough."

Reflecting on the conversation for a moment, Elise's next move was a bit unexpexted. She held out her hand with a smile. "Well, if it can't be helped, then I wouldn't mind being friends with the people here. That's a form of love I can accept easily."

And Nightmare coughed up more blood.

Notes: Solipsism and such thinking is something along the lines of "I know my mind exists, but as for the rest of the world or anybody else…"

So yeah, the sickly incubus. He was kinda caught off guard, so yeah... Totally works that way. The play referenced was Romeo and Juliet, of course. There are alot of events throughout history that involve things like lovers on the run, murder innocents for the one you love, assassinate presidents to impress your crush, kill the mistress, star-crossed lovers, and double suicide. Even the Romeo and Juliet circumstances have actually happened, though the one I heard of wasn't a suicide ending, it was running away to another country on foot but getting shot down together at the border.

And yes, I spelled it 'wut' because that's just the way she spoke it. Understating it to make a statement. Like using terrible English to make a point.

As always, reviews are appreciated. I grew up an artist, so I have tough skin. All comments are appreciated~