THE WALK HOME
Chatper 3
“You look like a nerd, you know.”
I jumped, startled. I had been standing outside Jess’ window for about a minute, and had started daydreaming. “What, the glasses?”
“Yep. Sorry, were you waiting long? I was in the bathroom. Since when do you wear glasses?”
“Just a minute or two, and since I was seven. I didn’t feel like putting in my contacts this morning.”
Jess giggled. “It’s fine, it’s cute, I like it.”
I blushed and looked at my feet. “Thanks.”
“You don’t really look like a nerd. It’s... refined. Dignified.”
“Shut up!” I laughed. “I look like a nerd, and it’s fine, I am one.”
“Great, me too. What’s your nerd about?”
It took me a moment to parse the question. “Oh! Uh... believe it or not, sci-fi and fantasy. I used to pretend that I could write.” I had notebooks and journals in a box in my parents’ basement, alongside an old computer hard-drive simply full of writing I did when I was a kid. I hoped to never see it again, but my parents wouldn’t throw any of it out.
Jess’ smirk was in her voice. “You can write. You did a great job yesterday.”
“Huh?”
“The dream, silly.” I heard a little rustle. “’Tall, thin, pale, long black flowing hair, sharp blue eyes and nose like a hawk, angular face and body.’ I was taking notes.”
“You were...” I flushed harder, looking up at where her eyes would be. “Taking notes?”
“Of course I was! I couldn’t pass it up. ‘She has a beautiful smile that makes her whole face glow and shows right through in her words.’ That’s poetry, Pree, and I couldn’t let it just disappear into the night.”
I turned away, embarrassed. “If you say so,” I mumbled, or something like it.
“Mine’s tabletop,” Jess said, her voice light.
I turned back. “What?”
“My nerd. It’s tabletop,” she explained. “Dee-an’—dee. Wargames. Roleplay.”
“So a bit of sci-fi and fantasy, too?”
“You bet!” She giggled, and I felt instantly more comfortable. “I’ve always liked being part of stories more than just reading them.”
I nodded, understanding. “I get it, that’s part of why I like writing.”
“Yeah! I bet that’s why you were so good at describing her.”
“Her?”
“The girl in your dream.”
“Oh, right.” I hadn’t been thinking of that image as a girl in my dream, I had been thinking of that picture as Jess. “Yeah, I guess I did do pretty good.”
“You said her smile, uh, ‘Makes her face glow and shows through her words,’” Jess repeated my fantasy back to me. “That’s brilliant.”
“Stop it!” I said, covering my reddening face with my hands. Still, there was that little thrill, the joy of being appreciated.
“I want more,” Jess said matter-of-factly. “And you want more, too.”
I swallowed. I nodded. I did. “I do.”
The silhouette tilted her head coquettishly. “Why?”
“Because even that little bit felt... really creative. Creative in a way that I haven’t felt in a long time.” Not since high school, in fact. Not for four years.
“Uh huh.” Jess nodded. “It’s because you can dream here.”
I blinked. My face still felt hot. “Yeah, I... I guess that’s it.”
“And last night, did you have a dream?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“About the girl?”
I nodded again, swallowing.
“And you want to tell me all about it.”
I did want to. “I do want to, yes.” Speaking aloud made me feel a little more in control of myself. Besides, it felt like further silence would be an admission of... of something. I screwed up my courage and grinned. “I might be making some of this up...”
Jess giggled. “Great! I love playing pretend, in case you missed it.”
“I caught on, I think.” I laughed.
“Alright, Pree, so why not close your eyes and relax and tell me what you see?” It seemed utterly natural, the way her voice shifted from laughing to light to lyrical over the course of a single sentence
I leaned against the building, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. “I see bright blue eyes staring out at me from the dark.”
“Uh huh, but if it’s dark, where are you?”
Where was I that was dark? “It’s not dark, it’s just my eyes are closed. I’m dreaming about those eyes.”
Jess laughed again, it made me smile. “So did the girl wake you up?”
“Huh? Oh! yeah! I was lying under the tree, taking a break, and I must have dozed off.”
“And she says, ‘Let’s go on an adventure!’”
I nodded, still picturing it all in my mind. “And I guess I get up and go with her?”
“Just like that?” Jess asked. “A stranger walks up to you and you drop everything and go away?”
“Worked for you,” I said with a grin.
Jess laughed in reply. “I’m not taking you away from anything. I’m just... delaying you a little while.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “So what are you saying?”
Jess paused and I swear I could hear her thinking. “There must be something more. It can’t just be that I say something and you decide to just not come home.” Her voice got low and conspiratorial. “She must have put a spell on you.“
I gasped over-dramatically, having real fun with this. “You’re right, Jess. While I was sleeping—”
“Or maybe that’s why you were sleeping. It’s not like you to just stop for a nap when you’re supposed to be working.“
I nodded enthusiastically, giggling. “I stopped under the shade of the tree for just a minute, and then suddenly felt a powerful urge to close my eyes.”
“Because in the shadows of another tree, a sorceress—”
“No,” I shook my head. “A mischievous spirit.”
“A clever sprite, I love it,” Jess giggled. “Then from the branches of the same tree, the sprite sprinkles down her sleeping dust on you.“
That was it, I could feel it. Just like when I was writing, when an idea hit me just right. “And so I ‘decide’ so just sit down under the tree, and I close my eyes for just a second...”
“And then she can sit next to your ear, and whisper lovely words straight. In. To. Your. Mind.”
I could picture it, the magical sprite sitting beside me, leaning up against me to put soft thoughts in my head. I could feel the weight of her light arms pressing on my shoulder just like I felt the tree behind my head (when did I sit down?) and I could hear her little whispers telling me what she wanted me to know, what she wanted me to feel. “There’s... there’s an evil sorcerer. In a tower,” I said. I heard encouragements, the voice of the sprite pushing me towards an understanding and a conclusion. “He’s killing the forest. Burning it. Tearing down the trees. Terrorizing the wildlife. Spreading magical blight. The fairies and sprites and mythical creatures of the forest need a champion.”
And they had chosen me.
“And they chose me.”
So come on, Jess’ voice said, and...
I opened my eyes and smiled up at the window. “Let’s go on an adventure.” The image started to dissolve into mist, but the memory of it lingered, and I continued to play with it.
“And so thanks to the sprite’s magic, you leave your water pail hanging on a branch, and take her hand, and follow the river south—”
“West,” I corrected her. I grinned at a private family joke. “Trouble always comes from the west.”
Something about that made Jess laugh. “Alright, you follow the river west towards the Great Forest.”
“And,” I said, stretching out and getting to my feet, “I think I’ll have to dream more about it in bed tonight. I had a long day and I’m fading fast.”
“Don’t worry about a thing, Pree,” she said. The smile in her voice practically illuminated her, and for a moment I imagined that I’d see more than just a passing shadow when I looked up. “I’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Me too,” I said, giving her a wave, and watching as the silhouette did the same. “What do we do about my days off?”
“We can decide then,” she replied. “Until tomorrow!”
“Until tomorrow.”
I turned and walked towards home, and maybe I just imagined it, or maybe I heard Jess furiously scribbling as I walked away.
Still, I had to admit, I was hooked. I was already planning my next night’s walk as I wandered towards home, and hoping for tonight’s dream to offer some inspiration for it. I’d never anticipated sleep so much; home, yes, and bed, yes, but sleep itself? Never cared a lot about it. Sleep meant spending a lot of time in my safe home, in my nice, warm bed, and that I could get behind any time, especially those days, but right then I wanted the sleep for its own sake.
Well, still not for its own sake. For the sake of the dreams. I guess I still wasn’t that thrilled about sleep itself, a fact that didn’t stop me from actually being excited to get into bed. I definitely had the energy to put on a nightshirt, and I considered it strongly, but decided against it. I was starting to enjoy my new habits, even if they were only two days old at that point, so I thought I should continue with them, and that meant stopping by Jess’ building on my walk for a short chat, walking home thinking about that chat, stripping down to my underwear, and flopping into bed and...
Sure enough, my phone told me a text message arrived from Jess.
- Jess:
enjoying your adventure, Water-Bearer?? :)
I grinned. Looked like the sprite had given the hero a nickname. I typed out a quick reply.
- Priya:
I’m about to see what happens next.
- Jess:
bet you see blue eyes in the dark
I snickered and put the phone down before lying back on the pillows. Those blue eyes were so much fun, anyway, magical and hypnotic and controlling. I could hear the sprite’s whispers again, and feel her slight body leaning against me as she came closer to put her words directly into my mind.
There was something subtly sexual about it, I had to admit. If the sprite could influence my, er, the Water-Bearer’s thoughts so deeply and so easily, what else could the sprite make the Water-Bearer do? I imagined opening my eyes to kisses, to caresses, to...
My hands were at my chest before I even realized it. I enjoyed for a moment, at the thought of the sprite manipulating the Water-Bearer like that. Then, taking control, I stopped playing with myself and gripped the blankets. I certainly wasn’t going to share that part of the night with Jess. I pressed my eyes closed, trying to will myself to sleep, embarrassed despite no one there, no one watching. Maybe shirtless had been a bad idea after all.
I took a deep breath, thinking back to the night before when Jessica had helped me to find a dream to share with her. I recalled what she had said to me.
You had a dream last night, no, don’t say anything, we’re just making this up as we go along, you had a dream. Agree with me.
“You’re right, Jess,” I muttered into my empty room. “I had a dream.” I took a deep breath, trying to relax. “I saw a long river, blue, brilliant, fast, shallow. In a wide open plain. A few trees here and there. An eagle overhead. Nice, big shady trees. It’s a hot day.”
And I was watching. Watching myself from afar as I sat under that nice, big shade tree. Watching the sprite in the branches. Watching the whole scene as she poured magical dust on me, as I slumped against the trunk of the tree, as she slipped down out of the branches and climbed down to whisper in my ear.
“Let’s go on an adventure.” The sprite had Jess’ voice, her laugh, her smile, which made sense, since the sprite was wearing the form I imagined for Jess. I let out a shuddering breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding. The idea of that whisper in my ear sent shivers down my spine and made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. My grip on the blanket relaxed and I shifted uncomfortably.
“Let’s go on an adventure,” I breathed, echoing the sprite’s—no, Jess’ voice. Her giggle in reply sent another wave of goosebumps through me, and... and something else. My hand was at my breast again, and this time I was too tired to worry about stopping myself.
Besides, there was a forest to explore. There was a wizard’s tower to bring down. As we ran through the field hand-in-hand, following the river west, off on our adventure, I didn’t even notice that I had drifted from imagination into dream until my alarm woke me in the morning.