ᴡᴇᴀᴋᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴠᴇɴɢᴇᴀɴᴄᴇ | ᴅᴀᴢᴀɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ✔️

XXXIV: Just a Dream

Your POV:

It was difficult to breathe, you felt as if you were suffocating. You fought the dream you were stuck in, and you finally woke up, gasping for air.

You looked around you.

"There's no way..." you muttered, scanning the room. It was the same; the house you lived in before the apartment. It then clicked...

You threw away the blankets, stormed out of your room and headed to the kitchen. "mom!" you yelled. no one.

Your loud footsteps echoed across the house as you ran to the living room. "mom!" you yelled louder. no one, again. a ruffle of clothes outside the window caught your attention. A huge white blanket covered whoever they were. Then the blanket was placed on the thread, revealing that person.

"This isn't real, this isn't real," you mumbled, tears sliding on your cheeks.

You walked outside of the house to the backyard, where Hotaru stood.

"Finally. You're up, little slug?" he said when he noticed you, a devilish smile on his face. However, his expressions changed when he noticed your tears. You didn't wait for his permission. You went for a hug, wrapping your arms around his sides. "Woah, what's wrong? Yn?" he asked, wrapping his arms around you as well.

He didn't ask again, he embraced you for that hug. you peeked up looking at his face, his eyes, they were so lively. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips. "Just ... a bad dream," you said, feeling convinced of that thought.

"It must be really bad," he said, holding back a laugh. You pushed yourself away from him. "Shut up, don't hold me onto that," you said, laughing through your tears. "Oh, you bet I would." he said, putting the last piece of clothing on the thread. "You wanna eat something?" he asked, clapping his hands together as if he was rubbing off the work he had. you nodded.

"Mom will be home soon..." he said. "mom?" you said, your voice breaking. He stopped in his tracks and looked at you. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "yeah, yeah," you said, looking away and wiping your tears. "I'm starving, let's go eat!" you made up an excuse and walked faster to the door.

Your mind didn't stop thinking as you ate your cereal. Was it really a dream? Their deaths. It all felt real until you woke up. You were too deep in your dream that you only realized the memories were just fragments of your dream when you woke up.

How can I prove that it was just a dream? You thought, swallowing the food in your mouth. "Yn," Hotaru called. You looked up, still in disbelief that he was right there in front of you. You hummed in question.

His eyebrows furrowing; his eyes spoke worry. "You're not yourself today, is it because of that bad dream?" He asked. "I'm fine, don't worry, you can let go of the dream," you said, chuckling, hoping it would lift the mood. "Jokes aside, Yn. What did you dream about?" Determination in his expression, he asked, setting the plate aside.

My god, I miss him. The thought floated in your mind as you looked at the big brother you missed and needed for a long time. "It's just a dream, Hotaru," you said, smiling, even when your voice broke, and tears filled your eyes.

He was even more worried now, you never cried this much around him. What did you dream about that made you break so easily multiple times? He couldn't tell.

"Was it about you? ... about me?" He asked, seeing your eyes change when he said himself.

"I'd rather not talk about it, Hotaru. It felt long and never-ending. It felt ... real," you finally confessed, looking down at your plate. He knew it was bad, so he stopped himself from talking about it, but he still felt the responsibility to make you feel better.

"Do you want to go to the cinema..." he said. "To watch one-star movies... Maybe?" He continued when you looked up at him. Movies... yes. You remembered; how could you forget?

Watching one-star rated movies was a must for both of you to just laugh it off and how those movies were so bad. Usually, the cinema would be empty as well. It wasn't so much of watching the movie, but it was about making memories. You remembered how your mother wouldn't tag along because both you and Hotaru 'didn't appreciate movies'.

Him saying that was the only way to unlock that memory. How much did I forget? You thought. You nodded at him, and he didn't hesitate to get up and get the keys.

。。。

Like a dream, you began to forget what happened in that life where both Hotaru and your mom died. Maybe it was just a dream. You thought.

As the day passed by, you felt as if all the memories you thought were real were just some hazy snippets of your long nightmare.

"Ha-ha, the movie was so terrible," he said as you both exited the cinema. "And that one part, where the camera-man appeared in the mirror," "yes! Ha-ha," you both recalled the parts as you walked your way to the car.

You stood by the car, waiting for your brother to unlock it. It was when you saw a nearby shop, a poster was displayed to show that day's menu. The first one was written in big letters for some discount,

Strawberry crepes.

"Hotaru?" You said before he turned on the car. "What's wrong?" You pointed at the shop near where the cinema was. "Can we get some strawberry crepes?" You asked, looking at the shop. "Strawberry crepes? Since when you like those?" He asked, he was astonished by you the second you came in the backyard to hug him.

You looked back at him, pleading eyes. He couldn't resist his little sister's wish. "Sure," he said, pulling the key out and exiting the car.

"Strawberry crepes, that's...random," he said as he gave the seller the money. He handed you the crepe, then you both walked by the street.

It was a cloudy day, not one that's bound to rain, but where the sun was partly covered. The wind wasn't so chill either. All too perfect to be real.

"I don't know...I saw the sign, and I felt like eating some," you said, not understanding where your need of eating one came from either.

It was silence then, neither of you said anything as you cherished the taste of the strawberry crepes. There was just the sound of people walking by, and cars passing by. You looked down at your half-eaten crepe, and a familiar scene flashed in your mind. You felt like you had seen it before.

You didn't notice your pace becoming slower as you thought of the memories that didn't exist. Like a dream that you forget as the day goes by. You then noticed how Hotaru wasn't next to you anymore. You looked up to see him enter a shop. He held the door open for you to come.

When the door closed behind you, the jingling of the bells caught your attention...

You looked behind you to see bells hanging by the door to make sweet music when someone entered or exited the shop.

You were sure it wasn't the first time that you've heard it.

"Didn't we come here before?" You asked your brother, who was walking to the cashier table. He furrowed his eyebrows as his gaze was fixed in front of him. "No?... I'm pretty sure I only told you about the place," he replied, his attention going back to the girl at the cashier.

"Welcome to the puppies café, what can I get for you?" She spoke.