Let Your Fantasies Unwind

Chapter 20

Did I miss Sunday's upload? Probably! 😅 I'm sorry for that! I don't know what happened! Enjoy!

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Softly, gently, I was floating around in the darkness. It was intoxicating. An object comes slithering out of the darkness. I can't see where I am, nor can I find my way around. I'm lost and trying to find someone, but who? Another snake, one without eyes, slithers up to me, and bites me! I land on a web, and fear for what the snake could do next. I try to get out of the sticky web, and yet, I can't. A baby snake with a head on each of its end slithers up to me, and starts to eat me! While I am being eaten, a spider also falls upon my head, but then it crawls up the wall and starts to spin a web. I hear someone singing, and I start to drift towards them, only to find out that the person who was singing was Christine. I get upset and yet still manage to interact with her, even though I hate her.

I turn over in my sleep, and then slowly wake up. I wake up just in time for Erik to give me another dosage of the medicine.

"Oh, you're awake. I was not expecting that to happen." He says softly.

"Surprise." I say half asleep.

He drifts over to the bed, like a ghost, and hands me the tube. I take it down quickly, and then hand the small glass tube back to him. He comes up to me, putting the small glass tube on the side table, and then looks at the injuries.

"You still have many days to go." He mumbles.

"I know...?" I say, confused.

"Not intended for you." He replies. "Just thinking out loud."

'Honey, we found love right where we are.' I finish the lyrics to an old song.

I watch him drift out of the room, half occupied with something else playing out in his head. Memories of the past, composing music, or thinking about how to get Christine down here...it doesn't matter. His twisted, yet beautiful mind is constantly working, and I ought to thank him.

]~[

A week later, Erik told me I don't have to stay in bed, but I still am not allowed to talk. If I need his attention, I have to make noise in a different way. With that being said, it sounded like he was okay with me maybe breaking something, you know, to get his attention.

I am wrong...

I drop some silverware onto the counter to get Erik's attention, and he responds.

Definitely.

His hands are over his ears, and his eyes are heavy with anger.

"Damn you! What do you want?!" he shouts at me.

I point at my neck to hopefully remind him that I can't talk, and his shoulders lift some weight, but his eyes are still heavy with the anger.

"What is it that you need?" he growls.

I point to a dish on the top shelf, one where it'd be awkward for me to grab if I were to stand on a chair, but perfect height for Erik to just simply reach up and grab it.

"Are you going to be making dinner tonight, then?" I nod. "Fine."

He gets the dish down, sets it on the counter and stares at me blankly, like a robot, and then he saunters out the room in very monotonous actions, still seething with anger.

'I never noticed how stiff his actions were before. Weird.'

I pull down assorted cans, some beans and some relating to tomatoes, and put them in the giant pot Erik had gotten down a few minutes ago. I try to remember how my mom made it, who got it from down the family tree, but I can't remember much after heating up the ingredients and putting the seasonings on, so I decide to make the rest of it up.

About forty-five minutes later, the chili is finished. I take a towel out to set the pot onto the counter and not leave any scorch marks, and then place the pot onto the towel. I stumble over to Erik's chambers and knock softly. He answers quickly.

"I presume the meal is cooked?" he asks. I nod. "Great."

He strides past me and heads to the kitchen. I follow after him, and I see him standing before the pot, body-posture saying he's confused.

"This is...?" he looks back at me.

"Chili." I say hoarsely. I plead him with my eyes to not make me talk any more.

He nods. "This ought to be interesting."

'Is he mocking me?' I watch him work his way around his kitchen, producing a giant soup spoon, two bowls, and two average sized spoons.

I dip my head to thank him, since I still can't talk. He helps himself and settles himself at the table, and I do the same and join him a minute later. He watches me eat the chili down, as if he's not trusting me with my cooking skills. I look at him expectantly, and he is timid about his actions. He takes a spoonful, eats it, and his eyes widen.

"This is great!" he exclaims. He eats more of it quickly.

I tap the table repeatedly to get his attention. He looks up at me, eyes totally innocent and confused.

"Slowly." I rasp.

He nods. "Where did you learn to make this?"

"Family recipe." I cough at the end of the sentence.

He gets up, pats my back, and then scrambles around the kitchen to make another serving of the medicine. He returns a few moments later, and kind of forces down the medicine.

"I'm sorry for not remembering your medicine." He says softly.

I wave it off, and feel comfortable with Erik rubbing circles on my back, soothing me.

'I've already told him, and yet I can't tell him again, because then he'd get super stressed out.' I sigh.

"Is something the matter?"

'I could use a hug.' I look at him and his eyes hold a little fear in them. "Hug?" I barely mumble.

His eyes flicker between looking at my left and right eye. He sighs, and walks out to the living room.

"Come on." He calls.

I wander over to the living room, and he's standing by the couch, and slouching a bit. I get closer to him, and he looks down at me.

"I haven't hugged anyone before." He states.

I take the chance to hug him around his torso, we stagger a bit, and then we balance back out. He's stiff, unsure of what to do, but his arms gravitate down, and eventually find their way to hug me back. His head also gravitates down, and rests upon mine. I hum lightly, and I think I hear him hum in reply.

We stand for about five minutes, before he breaks the hug off.

"My feet were about to fall asleep." Erik confesses. "Were yours?" I shake my head. "Interesting." He responds. "...Thank you for the hug, by the way. It was pleasant."

I bow and a smile finds its way onto my face. Erik chuckles.

"We should probably finish eating our meal." He extends an arm out to me, to escort me a few feet, and the other motions to the kitchen.

I take his arm, and we head over to the kitchen to finish our meal.

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The chili is more important than you think.

And the little details in the dream in the beginning, they all mean something.