sour stomach.
CHAPTER FOUR
Disembodied hands, empty eye sockets, naked muscle and bone dominate my dreams mingled with visions of a yummy honey–toasted elf. All of this chased away by a shadowy figure hanging in the fringes, that never comes into complete focus.
Little Princess, you have grown into a queen.
A voice I haven’t heard in almost three decades reverberates across my skin, both chilling and sensual. Vereinen. I try to recall the face of my childhood friend, but it’s just a fuzzy memory. He wasn’t real anyway, just someone my imagination conjured to extinguish loneliness brought on by a lack of playmates my own age.
“It’s kind of inevitable.”
True, but I had hoped to watch the progression.
Is that regret I hear? Doesn’t matter. The gaping loss I’d thought healed rips open and any sympathy I might feel is tossed into the chasm.
“Hey, you’re the one who disappeared on me.”
Not by choice. Now the anger is all his.
“Then why?”
I was...
His words fade as a piercing beep from my alarm gains momentum coupled with the realization my lack of breath is due to twenty pounds of grey and white fur.
Disengaging myself from the cat and tangled sheets, I slap the alarm into silence. Flopping backward, I pull a pillow over my head. C.C. immediately takes this as an invitation to poke and prod me. For him the alarm means two things—get out of my bed and make sure you put food in my dish. For me it means another day—if you consider four in the afternoon the start of the day—one I’m not ready to face.
Remnants of the dream race just out of reach through my sleep–fogged brain. What was he trying to tell me? Something about not his choice. As if things aren’t crazy enough, I’m chatting with a disembodied voice I’d filed under childhood delusions.
Unlike most children, my imaginary friend never took on any solid form. He was a shadow who clouded my mind at best with a voice that resonated through my soul. The Sisters, my grandmother and great aunts, did their best to discourage this flight of fancy. Around the time of puberty, Einen disappeared. I was a little more than resentful about that, but had more important things to worry about.
Puberty for Unchants is difficult enough with that whole body changing thing. Enchants get the cherry on top of that little treat, emerging Talents. It’s no wonder I’d filed my friend away when I’d hit high school. Question is, why is he invading my dreams after all these years?
Having had enough poking and prodding from the cat, I crawl out of bed. Maybe I can skip working out. The disarray of the bed and dampness of my skin, proof that I’d spent the night multitasking. Not something I recommend.
Padding into the kitchen, I start the coffee without thinking. I can drink it black, but prefer it with a little milk, or cream, so I have three choices. Force it down in its natural state, head over to Midnite Expresso, or go get some milk. Looking at a box of cereal on the counter, the growling of my stomach makes the choice for me. First, I have a date with the shower and a toothbrush so I feel slightly alive.
***
I can’t help wishing Rick would give up on Jessie’s Girl and cast a glance my way. A girl never forgets her first crush. Cranking the dial on the 8–track. Yes 8–track, my car is nearly as old as I am and equipped with the finest in late 60’s technology. Thanks to a flea market, I found a little gadget allowing me to play my rather large cassette collection.
I’ve lived through numerous incarnations of music from vinyl to 8–tracks, cassettes to CDs and now MP3’s. Don’t forget music videos. I was there like the rest of America’s youth, glued to the T.V., watching my favorite songs become mini movies. Gotta love American ingenuity.
Speaking of that ingenuity, I dare anyone not to feel instant empowerment behind the wheel of an American muscle car. Even the timid feel