A Sickness, A Doctor, A Cheater ||Dnb|| ✔

40 {Epilogue}

Two days of staying up and this empty house drained the last bit of vitality away from Sapnap. But he knew very clearly that he could not fall, at least not now.

He regretted leaving so resolutely, or he could have at least had someone keep an eye on the whole thing here.

Since Dream was gone, the most common feeling Sapnap would get was helplessness and pain. He recalled more than once the hug Dream gave him when he left. He often imagined that if he had not left that day, if he kept Dream around, would everything be different by now?

No one could give him an answer. Not ever.

If someone was willing to tell him, they would ask him this fourteen years ago, "Will you make Dream happy if he goes with you?" They would ask him this four years ago, "Don't you feel guilty about Dream's true love while you are having fun out there?" "Do you have a heart of stone? How can you be so cruel to someone that you are supposed to cherish the most?"

If only someone warned him once, Sapnap would not make one mistake after another.

He was nearly beaten down by guilt and fear. He did not even know what to do or what he could do next.

In days, he and Wilbur tried every way to find their whereabouts; in nights, Sapnap slept in the car, guarding this garden where Dream once lived.

Day four, there was finally a turnaround. Someone showed up when Sapnap was on the verge of a breakdown.

It was Techno. He alone. He wore a black long coat with a small luggage bag in his hand. After half a month, he'd considerably lost weight. He was so emaciated that Sapnap could not recognize him.

Techno had cone back in the morning. He took a cab back when Sapnap was still there. He did not think twice. He swung open the car door hastily and started to yell at him, "Techno! Doctor Blade, where is Dream? Where is he? Which hospital is he at? Huh? Speak! You are back so who is taking care of him now? Speak!" Sapnap was not in any better state than Techno was. He just shot out random questions, his bloodshot eyes looked scary.

Techno seemed to just realize the other man's existence. His eyes swept over him emotionlessly. He did not have the feeling of hatred nor resentment towards him; it was a kind of emotion stagnancy due to the extreme grief.

Techno took a grab in the air; he repeated Sapnap's words to himself, "Where... where is Dream?"

His voice was quiet, every sound of him seemed to come out of his mouth with the blood from his torn vocal cord. "He's gone... in my arms. Little by little, little by little, he became cold..."

Followed by infinite silence. For a moment, Sapnap thought he was deafened; he seemed to hear nothing. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. The whole world was mute only the sound of breezing winds that blew away all the colors in his eyes.

As if someone hit the play button to a paused video, Sapnap suddenly rushed over and clutched Techno's collar. His eyes were red like a crazed animal. He began to scream incoherent words. His tongue bled as his shuddering teeth bit into it. Every word was spit out with blood and pain, "You are lying to me! It's a lie! Impossible!"

"You said he was fine... Didn't you say that you could take care of him? You are lying, aren't you? You've hidden him away, right? Please... Don't play with me... please," Unexpectedly, Sapnap dropped to his knees in front of Techno, "Say you're lying and you don't ever want to see me again! Say it!"

Techno jerked Sapnap up from the ground and punched him hard as hard as he could. "Is it fun to lie to yourself? Dream is gone... He... He's gone..." He let go of Sapnap lifelessly. He looked down and saw wet tears fall out of his eyes. He could hardly control his emotions.