Ask the Sinners

A Dreamer's Lie review

  *the seven, minus Nemesis, gather around a computer. Riliane, Allen, and Margarita are the closest, as they will read*

  Riliane: So, what's it about again?

  Allen: Basically, it's a murder mystery novel, told using Vocaloid characters. However, it was double as just a murder mystery.

  Riliane: That sounds cool.

  Kayo: Let's read.

  Margarita: Me, Riliane, and Allen will read as Mikuna, Ria, and Leo.

  Gallerian: Let's begin this farce of a chapter.

Banica: That's the cover? It's not bad.

  ' The ticking of the train's clock made me close my eyes for only a second. It was relentless, hounding me even as I fought it off. That overwhelming sense of dread made me feel ill.

'What was making me feel this way? Well, I was going to see a long-time friend, Mikuna Hatune. Why was I going to see her? It was for a book I was working on. And possibly because I missed her.'

Sati: Not off to a bad start.

Allen: It doesn't have info-dumping in the first two paragraphs. Yes, they could be longer, but that's just Kestrel's style.

Riliane: We don't have permission to read this, do we?

Allen: How'd you guess?

Banica: She's gonna kill us for this.

Gallerian: That's only if she finds out.

Kayo: She's gonna find out.

Gallerian: You don't know that.

Sati: She's here to make sure we don't kill each other. She'll know.

Riliane: We shouldn't be doing this.

Allen: I'll reason with her. She's not unreasonable, unlike some people.

'My brother sat next to be, messing with his sleeves. "Are we sure this is the place?" he asked in a low voice. I nodded. "Are you sure, Ria?"

"Of course! I haven't been friends with her all these years to forget where she moved to!"

'Leo winced at my tone. "Jeez, you can just say yes, ya know." I rolled my eyes and went back to reading.

'The book was about a city that had mysteriously died over the course of a month. No one knew why that had happened, and it had happened over one-hundred years ago. An entire city of people, dead. And now, Toxica was in the midst of something similar and just as sinister. People were dying in their sleep left and right, and so while it wasn't really up to me and Leo, we were going to figure it out.

'My brother was attempting to read his book in peace, but his attention span didn't allow it. "Hey, tell me again what happened?" he said to me. I rolled my eyes.

"So, some months ago, people began dying. They were dying in their sleep. Of course, some of these people were old, or sick, so that kinda made sense. But when more and more people died, rumors began of a 'Sleep Goddess'." Leo looked repulsed.'

Allen: At least it's not a ripoff of Margarita's story.

Margarita: You can't ripoff someone's life.

Riliane: Next part. Wait, we're not reading this entire this, right? It's over three thousand words!

Allen: No! Why did you think that?

Riliane: Maybe because none of us are sane.

Allen: Good point.

  'I giggled, covering my mouth with my hand.

'"Of course, there is no goddess. It's all a rumor. But, you do have it written down, no? So, why asked me?" He looked guilty.

'"I like to hear you talk," Leo admitted to me. I smiled softly.

'Then, I faced the window. "Thanks, but we need to focus. Mikuna said that this was urgent in her letter." Trees, grass, blue flowers, all of them whipped by as I stared out the window. The train shot forward at seemingly impossible speeds, yet it all was possible.

'What had Mikuna said in that letter?

'"Still no dreams. I'm tired of the darkness when I sleep. I want to dream."

'I knew that she couldn't dream, but I didn't know why. No one knew why. Mikuna refused to see any sort of psychiatrist or psychologist about this. Any doctor or whomever was shot down when I asked. Luckily for both of us, the train made it to Belphe in just a few hours. Thank the Gods above.

  'We made our way to her house, a large, white manor. Raising my hand, I took ahold of the door-knocker, and pounded it against the tall door. Footsteps scurried to the door, and it opened inwards. Leo and I shared a look with each other and entered.

'Inside the house stood a maid with long pink hair and blue eyes. She smiled at us, and without a word, took us to Mikuna's room. Once there, she left us outside the door. Once more, I raised my hand to knock. And again, the door swung inward, and I saw my best friend.

  'Mikuna was sitting on her bed, her body turned away from us, brushing her hair. Her eyes caught mine in the reflection of her mirror, and I saw her smile. "Hello, Ria, it's good to see you. How are you?" Her voice is just barely above a tired whisper.

  'Leo stepped inside and I followed. "I'm good, and so is Leo. What about you?"

  'My friend turned to us, to me, and smiled once more, but it's wary. "I've been better. Despite all the sleep I get, I haven't dreamt once!" That tone became frenzied and feverish. Her eyes seemed to flash yellow. My brother looked at me.

  ''Is she sane?'

  ''No, she's not.'

  'Leo decided to glance around the room, pretending to not notice us. "You have a nice house," he said. "Ow! What was that for?" He rubbed the back of his head, where I smacked him.

  '"You can't just say stuff like that!" I hissed back. Leo stuck out his tongue. I glared back, then adjusted my hair clip. "Ahem, so sorry about him. We've been on the train for a few hours." I kept my tone light and even, a perfect contrast to how it had been only moments earlier.

  'Mikuna laughed, a dainty, elegant sound. "It's perfectly ok! I remember the questions he would ask as a child." I licked my lips, and stared around her rather large room. It was exactly how I remembered it.

  'Pale blue walls, a large bed with teal curtains hanging down. Anyone who walked in would see whoever was lying on the bed. Vases filled with blue flowers lined the walls.

'"What did you want to talk to me about?" Mikuna wondered aloud, still not looking at either of us. Leo shot a glance towards me, a neutral expression covering his face.'

Riliane: I feel like that's a good point to leave off on. Kestrel will be furious if she finds out that we read her book without her knowing.

Allen: Maybe later on we can react to more of it.

Banica: Yes, maybe. That is, assuming we get permission to read it.

Sati: Permission have never stopped us before.

Gallerian: I know.

Riliane: You all are such strange people.

Allen: Just don't think into it that much. It's not worth your time.