Chapter 4 Dreamer

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After we finish our food we start talking about our futures. I neatly stack my finished meal to the side.
"So, Venni, where are you going for college?" His head shot up from the news article he was reading and adjusted his attention to me.
"I'm thinking about going to Corruzione State in Corruzione City. What about you Michi? Where are you going for college"

I look at him for a moment before answering him.
"I don't know if I'm gonna go to college or not. If I do, I would go to Segui-il Tuo Cuore State". Venni ponders it for a moment.
"Good choice. College is getting less useful nowadays for its cost. Also, that's a good college to go to if you do go".

Our waiter comes up to us with the bill.
"Are we splitting the bill tonight?" Placing the check in the center of the table. I reach for my wallet.
"We will split the..." Venni cuts me off as I'm halfway to my wallet.
"I will be paying tonight". Pulling his wallet out of his pocket and giving the waiter seventy dollars to pay for our meal.

As the waiter leaves to get Us his change Venni places one hundred dollars on the table for the server's tip. Venni gets his change from the waiter and we leave the restaurant. Shortly before we could see the waiter's reaction to the almost one hundred percent tip. We start making our way home. We are still talking about our futures all the way back.

*

Venni turns onto my road and gives me a glance, smirking. We approach my house at an acceptable speed. When all of a sudden he floors it and swerves into the driveway. Scaring the ever living shit out of me. The black SUV screeches to a stop. Venni is trying his best not to die from laughter. It was pretty funny but I can't laugh at the moment.
"Dude, don't ever do that again!" Calming down I start to chuckle softly.

"Not funny man!" I point my finger at him with a semi sarcastic voice.
"Hey, you are home safe and sound. So it's no biggie". He exclaims, his laughter starting to die down. "Have a good rest of your night Michi". His voice littered with shreds of sadness in his voice. Hearing sadness in his voice is new to me.

Venni is usually so collected and mindful of his emotions. Someone who doesn't know him would think he is emotionless. I quickly realized how by not taking action I have made the situation slightly weird. Shift my eyes to match his. I say something.
"Thanks, you too. And have a safe drive home".

I open the car door and get out. As he is backing out I make a snide comment. "Don't forget to drive recklessly!" Shouting it so loud the whole neighborhood could hear me. He laughs it off and floors it the rest of the way out of my driveway. Leaving fresh black streak marks on the concrete. I snicker as I walk inside and go to bed.
*

The next day comes by swiftly. I am woken up by the sweet aromatic mouth watering scent of my mother's amazing cooking. I get up off my lumpy old mattress that sat upon the bed frame my dad had. It is the only thing my dad left before he passed. I work my way through the hallway and down the stairs to meet my mom in the kitchen. "Good morning Mom". Walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the table.

My voice is still a little shaky from just getting out of bed. Without even turning around she greets me.
"Good morning Michi. I made your favorite, pancakes, eggs, and bacon". Her voice tempting me as if it was a siren.
"Thank you!" My energy is slowly coming back to me as I continue to wake up fully.

"You're welcome sweetheart". Her motherly tone is emphasizing that she is in a wonderful mood this morning. "Click!" The sound of Mom turning off the stove burner fills the room. Lifting my spirits up in the process. She brings the plates of food to the table. I noticed this and went to grab the silverware from the drawer behind me and set the table. As we sit down at the table I think back to Venni and I's conversations last night.

After a small amount of wondering if I should tell her or not I come to my conclusion.
"Hey Mom, can I ask you something?" I slowly set down my fork on my plate. Her head lifts up from the newspaper's comic strips.
"You have been with me for eighteen years and you still need to  ask me to ask me something". Although her voice is filled to the brim with her motherly teasing tone it stung me a little.
"Yeah, so?".

Going along with her joke to cheer myself up.
"Nothing, now what is your question Michi?" Finally she switches to a more serious tone.
"I have been having what I believe to be dreams lately and I don't know why. You know, since the doctors said my subconscious doesn't operate at that high of a level right?" Our faces are painted with confusion.

"That is strange. How many times has it happened?" She seems to be fully interested in what I have to say, no fluff.
"It has happened two or three times?" The amount of times it has happened eludes me.
"Do you remember them at all?" Now that I think of it, I remember them vividly.

"Yes I do". She nods at me. Her signal to let me know to start from the beginning. "The first one, I was back in first grade. I was standing up for some girl I didn't even know". She looked like she had an idea but decided to let me finish the story. "Even though neither of us could summon a kokoro-kara yet. I still stood up for her". Confusion is flooding my face and voice.

My confusion isn't from my actions that I took in this dream. It is because it feels so familiar. "After taking one hell of a beating the teachers came. They had the girl I was protecting help me to the nurse's office". She nods her head showing she was listening to me.
"And the next one?" Gently prying forward.

"The second one happened the other day. I was with the girl I stood up for in the last dream. We were sitting against a tree talking about how I want to protect the ones I love". The scariest part of that dream is that it's true. I do want to protect the ones I love. "I also learned the girl's name was Haruko Kara". My mom holds her hand in the air, shushing me.

She quickly makes her way to the living room waving to follow her.
"Sit". Her finger is now pointing at the couch. I sit down and watch her rummage through the photo albums. She finds a small photo album. Or at least small compared to her other albums.

She sits down next to me and shows me a photo shocking and effectively frying my brain. I can't believe it, in front of me was a photo of me and the girl I stood up for, in my dream, playing together. Mom has a grand smile knowing she helped me out big time.
"Mom, who is she?" I ask Ravenous for the answer.

"It's you and your bestest friend in the whole world Haruko Kara". Her tone tells me she is mocking something I said years ago. I snap out of my excitement, still I'm curious about a lingering question.
"That doesn't explain why I've been dreaming these dreams recently". She nods in a fashion I'm too familiar with. I'm only half right.

"No it doesn't and if you want I will schedule an appointment with your doctor. Also, these aren't your dreams sweetie. They are your memories". All of a sudden I'm glad I'm sitting down. Cause if I wasn't I would need too. This is a lot of information to process.
"Yeah, can we...uh...schedule that appointment?" Still tying to process the new information I have obtained.

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