Dreamcatcher

5

"Two dead, an adult female and male."

"...no, not that I know of...others seem fine with few..."

"Yes, we have the guy...unharmed too..."

"...children....parents...unfortunate situation..."

"...caused by broken glass up the street...driver lost control...couldn't keep steering straight..."

"...Mhm, poor luck. They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Venus knew better. Chase knew better.

The McKellon household included seven children, all of whom were under the age of twenty. There was even an infant not even past the year mark, still unable to speak and only cried when he saw everybody else cry. Every day after the mother got home from work, the McKellon parents prayed to their sole shared dreamcatcher, wishing for a large, happy, and healthy family.

But there was no dreamcatcher on their door anymore.

It had been six hours since the incident. Venus spent most of the time watching the McKellon household, seeing them sort out their incident with the officials. She hadn't spoken to them at all, not even offered her greatest sympathies. How could she? There was nothing to say.

"V, come inside. I made dinner for you." Chase gently tugged on Venus's arm, immediately knowing she would only respond in heavy silence. He was right. "I made dinner for you," he repeated softly.

Venus stared straight ahead. There wasn't even a blink to acknowledge Chase, like he didn't exist and dinner didn't exist and everything and only everything mattered on what was ahead, what had just happened, and what happened two years ago.

"Somebody took it." Venus's voice – it didn't sound like hers.

"...I know."

"It wasn't a freak accident. It wasn't a coincidence."

"Well, you don't know that. There was glass up ahead, remember–"

"I've rarely heard of drivers crashing into houses because of a small flat tire, Chase. Get some sense. Mr. and Mrs. McKellon didn't have any time left, and the Dream Catcher knew it. Death knew it."

"A freak coincidence isn't a far-off possibility, Venus. Things happen sometimes, things that are one-in-a-million."

"It was the same as two years ago. It's not a chance." Venus stopped talking like she had run out of breath. In a croaking whisper, she repeated, "It's not a chance—"

"But what if it was? What if all of this hatred – this anger – was for nothing?" Chase asked. He sounded desperate. "...What if you're just wasting your time?"

Venus finally turned to look at him. Their blue eyes met in a sole glance before she replied, "...But what if I'm not?"

"Those binoculars cost my cousin two-hundred bucks," Chase started, "and you say they broke?"

Aerial flashed him a guilty smile. "I'm not known for being the most coordinated person on this planet. I don't have any money on me currently, but I'll try my best to repay you–"

"It's fine. Technically it was in your ownership the second you took it with you, so it being broken has nothing to do with me anymore."

Aerial paused. "You wanted to permanently give me the binoculars? What, was bird-watching gonna be a weekly thing or something?"

"...Maybe," Chase replied with a smile. "But I guess my plan is ruined now. Aw, what will I do?"

"Oh, thank god the binoculars broke." Aerial let out a tired sigh as she followed Chase's signature move - falling backwards lazily onto the bed and letting the mattress swallow her whole. "But if you still wanna do an activity with me, I'll consider it my replacement birthday gift to you."

"So... does that make us friends?"

"No – just a decent human. Dream on."

"Ah." Chase turned towards the window, its curtains pulled off to the side to reveal the roof of the McKellon house. The sky was a plain light blue, and not even the slightest cloud was visible. As if matching the stillness outside the street, Chase went silent for a moment.

Aerial knew a person could only wish for one of their dreams. Dreamcatchers were the same way – they could only fuel one dream per hoop. That's just how it worked. If Chase knew his dream was unattainable, would he abandon it or continue trying, maybe even consider hanging a dreamcatcher in a truly desperate attempt for a friend? Aerial wondered what kind of guy Chase was.

After a while she noticed his silence and distant look, then asked, "What're you thinking about? Daydreaming about something good?"

Chase turned back towards her with a blank face and no hesitation. He looked so calm, a photo. "I wish. I just have a question for you."

"Mhm?"

"Were you the one who took the dreamcatcher from the McKellons?"

Aerial blinked. "....Yes."

Her voice trailed off into silence. The ticking of the bedroom clock was the only thing the two could hear, and time seemed to drag slower and slower. Chase wouldn't look at her.

Aerial was confused. Was he angry? No, that wasn't it. His eyebrows weren't raised, fists weren't clenched, cheeks weren't flushed. Chase's non-disturbed reaction only made him look like a psychopath, considering Aerial was the reason why the McKellon parents were killed.

Ah, no. I'm the psychopath to him, probably.

Finally the teen opened his mouth to speak. "Don't you feel bad, Aerial? You know they died, right?" Chase looked to be in deep thought, his blue eyes gazing far into the distance towards nowhere in particular. "...Y'know what? Forget it. It doesn't matter."

"What?"

"It wouldn't change a thing."

And there, just in that second, Aerial caught a glimpse of hatred and grave resentment inside Chase's heart. She didn't understand – if he disagreed with her ways of getting rid of the Dream Catchers, why did he try so hard to befriend her? Did he think she would start pushing towards "the right side" and start changing her ways just because of a close relationship? If that was the case, it was better she shut him down then and there.

But Aerial didn't say a word. She couldn't. Like yesterday, Chase was off into another dimension, forgetting the existence of another human beside him. He likely didn't even hear the bedroom door clicking behind him, the soft shadow-like footsteps heading down the stairs. Chase was gone, like he always was, basking in his own dreams and fantasies with his head off into the sky.

Maybe it was better for Aerial to forget about him. Sooner or later Chase would get closer. Not just in a normal relationship way, but with his dreams. Sooner or later they would spread out like the plague, like the fragrance of flowers to butterflies. Aerial would be caught inside against her will.

That wouldn't do. She couldn't be the torn butterfly in the web. She needed to reverse the roles, but in order to do that...

Aerial sighed. It looked like she needed to get close with Chase after all.