Dreaming Together

Chapter 6

Coming home, Max noticed that the tiny size five sandals weren't tumbled randomly on floor, neither was a coat lying over the couch nor was the green hobo bag anywhere to be found in the living room. It was 11:45 PM, the wind rustling fast outside, no music from the neighboring room and the house felt silent as a graveyard.

"Well, okay." whispered Max to himself.

Max laid his jet-black coat on the hanger as he removed the heavy burden of his tan leather bag from his shoulder. He placed the pizza he'd brought for himself on the table, then began flipping through the Netflix series to find something to watch.

It wasn't until 11:55 that the doorbell rung, Lena hanging by the door, one arm on the gate and the other holding onto Dylan's collar, somehow pulling her drunk self together.

"Hi Max" Lena drooped in front of him while speaking. "I can definitely make a family" dragging the guy inside the apartment directing him towards her room.

The two continued to kiss while proceeding to her room.

"Nobody is going anywhere. You, mister, please leave.

"It isn't your apartment, so shut the hell up Max. I pay a thousand bucks equally for my room. Also, stop with your big brother duties here, I ain't Sicily. Silly!" Lena proceeded to further fall in Dylan's arms while closing the door.

Max burst into the room, grabbing Lena's arm and pushing Dylan away.

"I don't know how you know so much, but I would rather appreciate if you know your limits while speaking" threatened Max as he held her tiny chin in his big hands.

"Oh, yes, look who's speaking" Lena retorted as she further closed her door.

It was very easy to hear whispers in the house. It was around 2 am that Max heard some heated arguments floating around the other room.

"Family? are you nutting me? Lena, too much Dom Pérignon for today. Mind if I take the rest of the stack with me?" asked Dylan as he left Lena's room.

Man was studying at an Ivy league but his two cent penny pinching, pathetic attitude could never match up his 200 million dollars net worth.

Max heard everything quietly. However, it wasn't until he heard a knock at his door did he dare to budge into someone's personal business.

"Max?" He saw Lena swaying unsteadily, her body trembling as she knelt on the ground and let out a sorrowful sob. He stepped forward, his voice catching in his throat as he softly murmured her name. No response.

He tried again, "Hey?" He heard no reply, only the soft sounds of her sniffles. He rushed forward, pulling her into an embrace as he wrapped his quilt around her. Lena stayed silent, her tears still flowing, eventually passing in his arms without a word, as the two sat by his door.

"You don't even know what family is, Lena, you never even had one" the phrase continued circling Max's head as if the whispers screamed at him while he held Lena in his arms.

Moments later, he found himself in a garden maze, the petals of the flowers seeming to whisper his name. The path was lined with emerald bushes and he could see the intricate shapes of the hedges that created the maze. In the center of the maze was a tall fountain with a magnificent spray of water. The leaves of the trees rustled in the breeze, and the vibrant colors of the flowers seemed to be calling to him. He explored deeper into the maze, and stumbled upon little chests tucked away in the bushes and footsteps that seemed to lead to somewhere. Everywhere he looked, the beauty of the garden was captivating.

As he continued walking, he heard a sob that sounded familiar, and he stopped to investigate. He parted the bushes to find a small clearing, and he saw his own voice whispering the same quote he had heard before. He knew the maze was not just a garden, it was something more.

Following the sniffles and whispers, as he opened a chest from the bush beside him, he saw a poem in a chest, holding the paper in his hand as he recited it out,

I've lived in an orphanage, been cast aside

Lady Kass was there, she never lied

She taught me love, I learned and grew

Lena Pinkett I became, before I knew

The Pinkett House, with wealth to boast

But I paid the price after every toast

To parties, pain, and hands that took

I spoke up, but my voice was shook

Lena Smith I became with love they share

Eased my fears, pretending  they care

I still hope to build a home one day

Where I can be safe, and love to stay

My journey's been tough, but I keep hope

For my heart desires, to build a home.

As soon as he completed the poem, he was flurried into an old shabby orphanage - broken tiles, flickering lights, the dampy smell in the windows. His gaze shifted to Kass, standing in the middle of the room, her voice low and melodic as she read Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' to the little girl. The kid sat with rosy cheeks and olive eyes, her chestnut hair cascading over her shoulders as she listened in awe to Kass. As soon as the clock struck twelve, the calendar read 21st September, Kass took out  a teddy bear keychain with a pocket in its belly and handed it to the little girl. With eager hands, the girl delved in to find a note with one word: "Sunshine".

Max saw it all holding that paper in his hands. He saw each phase of this little girl's life as he touched the respective words on the paper holding onto them. He saw the girl growing with Kass, he saw the afterparties, perhaps the part that was toughest to hold his fingers onto the paper for he couldn't watch. Witnessed how her toddler glee fading with the years as her bunny was replaced with a Hamley's bear, and she was dressed in gowns far too mature for her age. His hands trembled as he imagined the hands that had moved past where they shouldn't have.

Max was gasping for air, until the moment he laid his eyes on the sight of Lena's return to Kass. He was able to breathe again when Kass tucked a note with the words 'sunshine' into Lena's pocket and hugged her.

"Always useful to have a pocketful of sunshine, ya know."

His chest tightened as he watched Lena move further with Smiths, he was filled with a strange mix of emotions. He could tell that Lena was content in their presence, yet there was something else, something that Max couldn't quite put his finger on.
The last thing before getting thrown back to the gardens that he could see was Lena writing her admission's essay for Harvard. As soon as the keyboard clicks ended, a light flashed taking him back to the grey cobbled paths in the maze.

While continued to wander the garden, his eyes landed on a collection of beautiful dresses with petite cuts and an intricate designs, labelled as "forbidden". Max was taken aback - such a dress was completely out of character for someone who dressed like a druggie on a daily basis. Now, he knew that Lena had a reason behind the label, something that he could never understand before when he saw her wearing clothes thrice her size or before commenting mindlessly on her seemingly devastating fashion choices.

"Max?" he turned around as he heard a voice.

"What are you doing here?" the voice continued.

"I-I dont know. Its - I dont know where I am" Max replied looking out for the speaker.

"Max get out" Lena hurled.

Jolted out of his dream, he woke up by his door with Lena still asleep in his arms. Though snapped out of sleep for a moment, she resumed back to her nap in seconds turning sides.

Stranded at the crossroad of merging dreams and realities, Max continued to pant under his breath while gently running his fingertips over her chunky sweater, feeling the warmth radiating from her body as she lay peacefully in his lap. His thumb tenderly traced the scar on her wrist, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close; minutes before his alarm went off at 5 AM while the calendar displayed the date September 21st.