Dreamrunner was now sitting inside of a small living room, reading a book as he sat in a small chair. It looked soft, but Dreamrunner couldn’t feel anything. He was just sitting in it due to thinking he needed to.
“So, how does that make you feel?” Dreamrunner asked.
A middle aged woman was lying on the couch. Her skin was smooth and had no wrinkles whatsoever. She softly chuckled and opened her eyes as she sat up.
“I was wondering when you would show up again.” She said.
She looked over at Dreamrunner with a smile while Dreamrunner smiled back, shutting the book.
“You’re the only person whose dreams I revisit.” He said.
“Yeah well, sometimes I do actually need your help.” She said as she walked over to the kitchen.
“Any new patients?” He asked, still sitting in the chair.
“Only one suffering from PTSD. Went on a mission and his entire squad was killed in front of him.” The person replied.
Dreamrunner looked at the wall, seeing multiple framed diplomas.
“Could I give it a crack?” Dreamrunner asked.
“I can only give you a name.” She replied as she walked back with a bottle of red wine.
“That doesn’t really help me all that much.” Dreamrunner replied.
“Besides, even this might count as breaching doctor/patient confidentiality.” She said as she opened the bottle.
“I find it funny how you drink in your dreams.” Dreamrunner said.
She sighed and laughed.
“When you can’t do it in the real world. Might as well pretend.” She replied.
She realized she forgot to grab a glass and sighed.
Dreamrunner smirked and waved his hand out.
A glass suddenly appeared on the coffee table.
“Thank you.” She replied.
She poured the entire bottle, which was much larger than the glass and yet the glass held all of the liquid with ease.
She lifted it up and took a sip.
“You ever try this stuff?” She asked.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMJiNu8x80
“I can’t taste anything. Wouldn’t matter.” Dreamrunner replied.
She slapped her forehead and let out another sigh.
“Damn it. I forgot. I’m sorry.” She said.
“No, it's fine. No need to apologize.” Dreamrunner said.
“Still. You’re missing out.” She said as she took another sip.
Dreamrunner leaned forward, curious.
“Do you…taste it?” He asked.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuh1gWz5BQ
She looked over at him with a smirk.
“I have a faint memory of how it tastes. I don’t really remember.” She replied.
“But you’re still sober, right?” He asked.
She nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a chip with the number 4 on it.
“Four years. Been a struggle.” She said, tossing the chip onto the table.
It landed perfectly upright, standing up on the edge as Dreamrunner stared at it.
She laughed and looked over at him.
“Are you doing that to impress me or something?” She asked.
Dreamrunner stopped staring at it, and the coin fell over.
“Maybe.” He joked.
She laughed some more and then took another sip of wine.
“How is your personal life doing? Outside of work.” He said.
“Tried going on dates. Those websites don’t work. I tried speed dating and most of those people were just…” She shook her head, trying to come up with a word.
“Awful?” Dreamrunner asked.
“What’s a word more extreme than awful?” She asked.
“Atrocious.” Dreamrunner replied.
She softly laughed and nodded her head.
“Yeah, that’s good. Atrocious people.” She said.
She took another sip of her wine.
“Seeing how people can be in their dreams…it does usually make it obvious that nobody is perfect. A lot of people aren’t even great.” Dreamrunner said, twiddling his fingers around.
“I imagine there’s a lot of sex dreams.” She said.
Dreamrunner’s eyes went wide as he began to nod his head up and down. She looked over to watch and then broke out in laughter.
“It’s honestly shocking. Is it…is it really something so wonderful that people dream about it?” He asked.
“Depends. I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences with it before.” She said.
“Oh really?” Dreamrunner asked curiously.
“Football player in college. I somehow convinced him into a one night stand after doing his homework for a month. MY GOD it was amazing. Nearly broke my back.” She said while laughing and drinking more of her wine.
Despite it being a dream and the wine not being real, she was beginning to loosen up. Her face was growing red and her eyes were half open. She was becoming drunk.
“Well, from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem very fun.” Dreamrunner replied.
“You just have to give it a try sometime.” She said, fully closing her eyes.
Dreamrunner held back a sigh.
“Fuck…I forgot that this is a dream.” She said, rubbing her eyes quite aggressively.
Dreamrunner softly chuckled.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRIUOWrhng
“I’ve dealt with people who never realize that they’re dreaming. Go on to dream for months…years on end. I think it’s called a coma.” Dreamrunner said.
“Yeah. That would be a coma. Like being knocked out and sleeping for a long time without waking up.” She said.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2u0WEvAe4
“It sounds nice.” Dreamrunner replied.
“You would think so. It's awful. It’s cold and lonely. Being on the outside it’s constantly on the verge of tears. You never know if they’re going to wake up. Maybe they just slip into death and they’re just gone. You wouldn’t even know.” She said, a single tear ran down her face.
“Have you…been in a coma before?” Dreamrunner asked.
The woman rubbed her face, looking down as she smiled yet cried.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Dreamrunner asked.
“I’m in one right now.” She said with tears running quickly down her face.
“I was in a car accident. Head on collision while trying to go into the office after a long night. Wasn’t paying attention and just…”
She lifted her hands up and made fists with both hands, then smashed them together.
Dreamrunner’s face twisted into a sad frown, but he wasn’t crying. He was trying to force himself to cry, but nothing.
He wasn’t really feeling any emotion, but he was trying to force himself to.
“I know you’re not sad. But it just means so much that you’re here with me. I wouldn’t know what else to do.” She said, looking over with tears covering her face.
“Just…can you come…hold me?” She asked, trying to smile as a way of calming herself down.
Dreamrunner swallowed hard before standing up, slowly walking over and sitting down on the couch. He put his arm around the woman, holding her close as she curled up into a ball and put her head on his chest.
She closed her eyes and focused, as if she was listening for something.
“No heartbeat?” She asked.
“I don’t have anything.” Dreamrunner replied.
She had a sad face as she closed her eyes, trying to smell him.
There was no smell of anything.
She could feel him, but that was all.
That was all he was.
A dream that she could touch and talk to.
As she curled up against him, Dreamrunner just stared forward at the turned off television. He could see the reflection of the two of them.
It was as if he really existed.
He could see himself.
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