Closed Eyes - 9

Cece rolled her eyes once more. "Whatever. Anyways, I told her how it had to be a dream, so she told me to go to sleep and when I woke up I would understand. So luckily it was a dream, after all!" Cece didn't feel like sharing how it felt as if only moments had passed since she had fallen asleep in her dream and woken up in the hospital. She supposed that's how it always happened, anyway. 

Patrick smiled and nodded. "I'm certainly glad it was a dream." 

Cece smiled back before yawning. "I'm sorry Patrick, I don't know why I'm so tired. I've been sleeping for how long?" 

Patrick shrugged, concern on his face. "Sometimes when you have strange dreams it makes you feel like you haven't slept in a while. Plus, just because you get a handful of hours of sleep doesn't mean it makes up for all the previous nights you didn't sleep at all."

"I know," Cece said quietly, suddenly feeling more exhausted. She was ready for a real sleep, not one hindered by such a vivid dream. Patrick was probably right- her dream was too vivid to make her feel as if she actually got any sleep. 

Patrick stood from the chair to stand closer to Cece's bedside. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, then gently began rubbing his hand through her hair. "Sleep, Cec. You need it. I'll be here when you wake up." 

Cece sighed and nodded. She felt comfortable with Patrick's warm presence beside her, so didn't feel too much as if she were still in the uncomfortable hospital bed.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on Patrick's soothing hand on her forehead, rather than on the intense burning her skin was still giving off. 

It didn't take long before Cece felt herself drift off to sleep. 

*** 

As soon as she felt herself let go, Cece's eyes popped open. She immediately felt disoriented as she sat up, eyes wide and gasping. "No, no, no, nononononono! NO!" 

Desperately, Cece looked around at the familiar mud hut with the shelves upon shelves of jars and other crazy items, the two rocking chairs in the center of the room, the strange detailed rug, and the wooden stove in the corner of the room. 

"Why is this happening to me?" Cece whispered to no one in particular. She closed her eyes and gripped her head, rocking slightly back and forth in confusion. 

"Child, I told you this was no dream," a familiar voice said. 

Cece looked up and glanced over at Loyie, who was just returning back into the hut. 

"What is going on?" Cece demanded, quickly throwing the light blanket to the side and standing to approach Loyie. She's just a young girl! How would she even know what's happening to me? What kind of dream is this that can keep haunting me!? 

Loyie simply smiled and handed Cece a cloth-bundled item and gestured toward the empty spot on a shelf. "Put that over there, child. My arms are too full." 

Cece grumbled before shoving the bundle onto the indicated spot. She tugged irritably at the ill-fitting dress, wishing it didn't cling to all the wrong places. 

"Tell me what is going on. Now!" Cece had little patience left. She wanted the dream to just end, but apparently something in her mind wasn't letting her go. She hoped that Loyie would answer whatever her mind wanted her to know so she could move on. Never before had a dream been so persistent. 

Loyie raised an eyebrow at Cece's tone, but said nothing as she casually placed several wrapped bundles on different shelves. She seemed to know exactly where to place them, though to Cece's eye there was no pattern or organization to the items on the shelves. 

"Well?" Cece asked impatiently, crossing her arms and tapping a foot. 

Loyie placed the last bundle on the floor and simply stared at Cece for a long moment. Her eyes bored into Cece as if weighing her very soul. It made her uncomfortable, but she resisted the urge to immediately drop her eyes from Loyie's. Loyie looked so young, but those eyes certainly were telling a different story. 

"I have already told you that this was no dream, yet you refuse to accept it. Beyond that, I have no more answers for you. You came here as if born from the cursed sea and have a memory of a newborn babe of this world. I do not know why you are here any more than you do." Loyie's words struck a chord of panic within Cece. If Loyie doesn't know why I am having this dream, then who does my dream want me to talk to to figure this out? 

"Then maybe I'll just leave. If I can't wake up when I want to, maybe I'll walk my way out of this situation!" Cece said, though as soon as the words left her mouth she knew how foolish she sounded.

Loyie only smiled and gestured toward the door. "Then walk. But you are going to need a guide to get out. They set traps around this camp and only one person at a time knows their way around them." Loyie's smile widened slightly, though the change never touched her eyes. "I believe Prince Bramaad's are still in place, if you wish to seek him out." 

Cece shuddered and rubbed her arm unconsciously. She could almost feel the prince's iron grip on her arm as he dragged her to the most secure place they had. Somewhere he'd want to keep an eye on me at all times, probably. Sheesh, why did my mind have to make such a handsome man such a jerk? 

Blushing in sudden guilt, Cece sighed. "Fine. Let's say this isn't a dream. What am I doing here? Why me, of all people? I'm just a motivational speaker!" 

Loyie's eyes sharpened as she looked more closely at Cece. The woman looked like a panther just about to jump on its prey. "A motivational speaker?" 

Cece rolled her eyes. "You know, I get up in front of people and tell a sad story of my own, then start giving advice on how to cheer up. Motivate them. People pay good money for it." 

Loyie's eyes suddenly unfocused, as if she were looking deep within herself. She was inhaling slowly, then suddenly let out the breath as if it were escaping from a balloon. Loyie's eyes snapped back into focus and licked her lips uncertainly. 

"Tell me, child, what is this sad story you tell?" 

The uneasiness from Loyie made Cece's stomach knot. It was the first time she had seen the little woman unsure of herself, which made Cece more worried than before. Loyie was supposed to be the one with all the asnwers so she could get out of her crazy dream! 

Finally Cece shrugged. She had told the story so many times, but when it came to just admitting it to Loyie, she suddenly felt uncomfortable. "My parents died in a plane crash. I was also on the plane, but somehow I survived." Cece eyed Loyie's grayed expression before adding, "Not that you know what a plane is." 

"No," Loyie whispered, "but the loss of family members is always tragic. We have lost many in the war ourselves, so I understand." 

Cece frowned. She felt as if Loyie's expression were saying one thing and Loyie's words quite another.

 

"Come," Loyie finally said, taking a deep breath and gathering herself as if nothing had happened, "let me make more salve for your sun scorch."

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