Later that night, I nursed my mug of tea, my fingers warmed by the heat radiating from the decorated ceramic. A clock ticked reliably in the background. My eyelids fluttered drowsily, but my insomnia refused to wane, so I flipped another page in my calculus book and continued reading. The numbers swam on the page, and I rubbed my eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that night. Grumbling slightly, I slapped the book closed in sleepy annoyance; slipping it and my mug onto the table, I leaned my head back onto the arm of our couch and closed my eyes for a moment. Finally, my body broke through the wall of my mind and took control, slipping me into a dark slumber.
He smiled and waved as he walked away, my handkerchief sticking out of his pocket slightly. "We'll meet again soon, Ib. I promise," he called over his shoulder, his voice faded by the wind. But there was something off in his voice. Something wrong…
"Garry!" I cried and ran after him, "Don't go, Garry!" I tried to follow him, but it seemed like I was stuck, unable to move. He kept getting farther and farther away, his jacket disappearing bit by bit in the distance. I tried harder, forcing my feet to move, but it was as if something was holding me down, pulling at my legs. I looked down- and screamed.
Their faces twisted into ugly smiles, and another scream ripped from my throat. There were so many of her, so many Marys tugging at my legs, holding me back from him. "Stay with us, Ib. We'll be together forever. Stay with us, Ib." Their voices echoed, melding together.
Then the fire came. They began to twist and melt, the green of their dresses bursting into flames, their blonde curls shriveling quickly as the fire consumed them one by one. But still, their mantra never changed. "Stay with us, Ib. We'll be together forever. Stay with us, Ib."
The fire came closer, and her twisted face seemed to become more and more eerily gleeful the closer it got to me. "No! No, let me go! Let me go! Garry, help me! Please! GARRY!" I screamed, tears falling from my eyes, dripping off my chin into nothingness to sizzle as they fell into the flames eating each Mary one by one.
The heat grew more and more intense, and one Mary climbed up my body, her nails digging into my skin, her melting, plastic-like flesh dripping onto my skin and burning marks where it cooled. She continued to climb until she was looking me in the eyes.
"Wake up, Ib. Wake up," she mumbled through half melted lips. The left side of her face slipped from her bones, the skin falling away, leaving a gnarled form with a sickening grin staring me in the eyes. Her fingers dug into my shoulder, hot plastic dripping down them to sear my flesh. She shook me fiercely, that same smirk plastered to her fake face. "IB! Wake up!"
My eyes snapped open in horror, and I gasped as my body shot into a sitting position- and almost collided with Sybil. She moved back just in time to avoid getting smacked in the forehead.
"Ib, are you alright?" She reached out to me but I flinched back, the dream still fresh in my mind. I could still smell the plastic melting, and the odor of burning flesh refused to vacate my nostrils.
"J-just a dream… All a dream.." I muttered. Slowly, I sank back onto the couch; my hand moved to cover my eyes, and I felt the wetness of tears staining my cheeks. "I'm sorry, Sybil. I didn't wake you, did I?"
"I'm surprised you didn't wake the whole complex, hon. You were screaming bloody murder in your sleep," Sybil said, her voice soothing. She reached out again and I held still this time, allowing her hand to stroke my hair, "What were you dreaming about this time?" My body tensed, and I sat up. I wiped my blurry eyes, then tried to find a clock.
"What time is it?"
Sybil sighed, then levered herself up off the couch, her slippered feet padding their way into the kitchen, "5:30."
"Ugh. Coffee?"
"On it."
"Thanks…"Finger combing my long brown hair, I stood. The need to stretch overtook me, and my back popped with a startling CRACK.
Sybil shot me an alarmed look, "That was disturbing." I had to bite my tongue to stop from laughing hysterically. She had no idea what 'disturbing' really was. Shaking my head a little, I headed towards her and the counter, my butt sinking into one of the cushioned stools normally tucked under the breakfast bar. Bracing my elbows on the counter, I let my head fall into my hands. A few minutes later, a mug brimming with black coffee slipped under my nose, the scent of freshly brewed beans bringing my mouth to full water.
"Coffee, dear," Sybil said, pushing the snow white mug further towards me over the counter. I fell upon it fiery brew burned my tongue and the back of my throat, but it was so satisfying.
"Make sure to breathe every now and then," Sybil giggled. I pulled back, took a very loud, very obnoxious breath, then returned to gulping. She laughed at my antics, the sound peeling from her tongue and bouncing out of the mug raised to her lips to reverberate through the room.
We remained like that for a while, Sybil leaning against the counter lazily as I lounged on my stool, both of us just enjoying the quiet in each other's company. That was another reason Sybil and I had decided to live together. We were both supremely comfortable in silence. It was only about a pot and a half of coffee later that Sybil spoke up from her new spot on the other side of the counter, looking up from the book she'd retrieved somewhere after her second cup.
"You have orientation today, right?"
Pulling my gaze up from the sudoku puzzle book I always kept on the counter, I sighed, "Yeah. Nine o'clock in Messner Auditorium. They're gonna talk at us for a bit, and then split us into groups so some upperclassmen can show us around."
She shrugged, "It won't be as boring as you think. The upperclassmen generally do pretty well, make it entertaining and all that."
I bit back a laugh. "I'm sure it'll be great, Sybil." I would have been sarcastic, but I could tell that Sybil had something invested in this. She was talking about it like she knew something, so I could only guess that she was somehow involved.
Sybil cast a glance down to her watch, "Well, it's seven now. I'm gonna go take a quick shower and then get my stuff around. I'll be out in twenty, in case you wanna get stuff around for yourself. We can head in about, oh, eight forty-five ish? Sound good?" She popped up out of her seat and took her mug to the sink, running the water briefly to wash it before turning back to me.
After I'd nodded my concession, she headed off in the direction of her bedroom. I waited until I could hear the muffled sound of the shower running full blast from the bathroom until I made my way into my room. My unused bed sat perfectly made and neat. I eyed it warily. 'I used to think you were the cause, but it seems I get them no matter where I sleep. Maybe the nightmare is just my brain.' I meandered my way over to the closet and opened the photo littered folding doors, searching for clean clothes that looked semi decent.
Shrugging, I reached in and grabbed a pair of crisp white jeans off the shelf, dragging a black tank top and a knitted silver sweater out with them. As I did, I noticed the almost imperceptably tremble in my hands. A grimace crawled across my lips; it was hard to tell where the shaking came from anymore- whether it was the caffeine, or the nightmares. It'd been a constant for so long. 'Maybe I just need to eat?'
Suddenly, the shower knobs squeaked and the muffled sloshing of raining droplets ceased. Sybil cracked open the door from the bathroom to my room, her ocean of dripping ebony hair making a puddle on my carpet as she peer through the opening."It's free, if you want it."
"Thanks," I replied, silently filing the eating idea away for later. 'Not that hungry, anyways.'
Orientation had gone by quicker than I'd thought it would. True to my earlier speculations, Sybil had been involved in it; she was in charge of it, actually. The entire event ended up taking about an hour and a half, almost two. After that, Sybil took me to sign up for classes, and then we headed out to have lunch.
"So, where do you want to eat?" Sybil asked me joyfully as she bounced next to me on the way to her car.
I shrugged slightly, "I don't really know. Not all that hungry." Sybil's petite brow furrowed.
"When was the last time you ate?"
I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped after a moment. "I… can't remember. Hm."
Sybil looked at me in absolute horror.
"Well that's not a good thing. You've got to remember to take care of yourself, dear," she admonished. I rolled my eyes. 'I'm not a child anymore,' I thought, perhaps a bit too viciously. I knew Sybil cared about me and was just trying to keep me safe.
"Yeah, I know," I replied, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear almost guiltily.
"Why don't we go to that coffee shop you like?" I could almost feel my eyes light up, and Sybil laughed at my unspoken excitement. "I'll take that as a yes." I laughed sheepishly, slightly embarrassed by my childlike behavior. 'Okay, so maybe I still act like a child- but only a bit,' my brain reassured itself.
By this point, we'd reached the parking lot. I propped myself up on my tiptoes, my dark eyes scanning the parking lot for Sybil's bright green Elantra. We'd opted to go together this morning; taking one car to saved gas and it was pointless to use two when we lived together and were going to the same place at the same time.
Spotting it, I headed towards it and Sybil followed close behind, trusting my superior height to lead us in the right direction through the crowd of cars.
Once she'd unlocked it, I snapped open the door and plopped down on the soft leather passenger seat. Ellie, as Sybil so lovingly called her car, welcomed me, the seat warm from the late summer heat. Sybil slid in on the other side, started the car quickly, and then we were on our way.
Seated in The Sanctuarium, I nursed a mug of delicious aromas, the caramel mocha latte warming my numb fingers to a tolerable temperature. I shivered under the vent above me, grateful for the beautiful warmth coursing into my palms. I briefly remembered how my mother used to fuss over me in the winter to make sure I was warm, even when indoors. My circulation has always been bad, I guess. It seemed like the icy waters of the Abyss had sunk deep into my bones, anchoring in my soul and refusing to dissipate even after the nightmares ended… So, I was always grateful when any kind of warmth became available.
"Earth to Ib."
My attention snapped up from the light, creamy brown of my coffee, Sybil's face slamming into focus. "Yeah?"
She raised a brow, "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" My shoulders dropped slightly.
"Sorry," I mumbled, my voice fogging the dark surface of my mug as I brought it to my mouth for my first taste. A small moan of appreciation shoved it's way out of my throat. This is why I loved this place.
"Take it easy there, speedy. You're gonna scald off all of your taste buds before you even get your food," Sybil cautioned, her tone attempting at stern but failing miserably when her laughter broke through. At that moment, the day waitress made her way over with their trays. I didn't know her very well because I'm usually a late night patron.
"Okay ladies. I gotta beef and veggie stew with a baked potato on the side, and a BLT with swiss on reuben. That sound right?" She drawled, her accent distinctly southern. I nodded as she placed my sandwich in front of me, and then slid a packet of paper next to it. I looked at her quizzically.
"Sofie said to give this to ya if I seen ya." I nodded as she flounced away, my brows still drawn together in my confusion. Picking up the packet, I read the sticky note stuck to the front page.
'Hey there, honey. The owner and I were talking and we both thought that this would be a good idea. Just get it back to him as soon as you can. See you tomorrow, just like always :)
Sofie'
Now really confused, I removed the obstructive yellow square. When I read the heading on the page, my eyes widened. Sybil stopped with her spoon halfway to her mouth, the dark and savory broth of her stew suspended above the bowl.
"What is it?"
I didn't answer at first. I turned my gaze over to the swinging kitchen door to see Silas grinning brightly at me from where he held it propped open. He nodded almost imperceptibly. I couldn't help the grin that broke across my face. A hearty laugh pulled free of him as he disappeared back into the opening, the door swinging shut behind him with a slight squeak. The combinations of sounds drew Sybil's gaze, but she seemed confused.
I held up the packet, turning it towards her so that she could read the heading. Her eyes widened a little and then sparkled as she smiled. I returned it.
"Guess I've got a job now."