This place

7.

I dreamt about water. Just water all night long. I felt cold and lifeless. I heard a few familiar voices calling my name. It was like they were chanting my name.bCalling me, as if I was some lost sheep. As if I was on some sort of trance and shouting my name was the only solution. It sounded like three woman and a young man. They kept on chanting,but it all seemed pointless. I remained lifeless. The waters kept me in bondage. I had no power over them. No power at all.

I woke up immediately with a sigh of relief when I realised it was just a dream. I touched my temples. They were sweaty. Really,really sweaty. That was some dream.

"Are you alright?"Raph asked,fresh from sleep.

"Yeah. It was just a bad dream. A nightmare. I'll be fine."

"By the look in your eyes and by looking at your temples it seems like you were running the marathon." Raph said,jokingly.

"Trust me I'll be fine. You can go back to sleep now. I'll look at the moon 'till I fall asleep."

"Or you can tell me about it. I won't mind. Throw it at me."

"I don't know about you Raphael,but I chose not to take dreams at heart a long time ago. They're the result of thinking about the same old stupid thing all the time so I do not take them seriously. Goodnight." I said while smiling,but my tone screamed out the word annoyed.

"Fine Miss McAthy,I'll leave you to sleep and sweat. You didn't have to be so rude you know."

I just stared at him. He didn't understand me at all. He didn't even know me. Not even a bit. Then again,I was being a bit too hard on him. He was only trying to help.

We remained silent for a while. I could actually hear the wind whistling.

While facing the other side Raph said,"You can still tell me. It's not wise to keep things bottled up inside,trust me I know."

"Yeah right," I said while blushing.

"Going once."

I remained silent.

"Going twice." he said.

I still remained silent .

"Okay woman. You can tell me and I'll remain in this position. I won't tell a soul."

"Not even Ferrari?"I asked.

He chuckled.

"Not even him. And I promise not to make any eye contact."

"Promise?" I asked just to be certain.

"Promise."

I decided to soften up and tell him.

"Here it goes. I had a dream and it was really strange. I never had one like it."

"What happened?" he asked, still true to his word.

"I was deep under water . I had no idea how and when I got there. I felt so cold. Then I heard voices. Familiar voices."

"People close to you perhaps."

"Probably,but I couldn't point a finger at them and say exactly whom they belonged to."

"What made you wake up?"

"I felt like I was in bondage,as if I was a prisoner to the water. I felt over powered. I felt like I couldn't breathe..."

"Yeah. That makes sense since you were underwater."

"Whatever. The point is I felt powerless. I just couldn't do anything. Then I woke up to your snoring."

I heard Raphael chuckle again. Is it normal for a grown man to giggle?I'm just asking.

"That must've been intense. Can I turn towards you now,because I feel so uncomfortable?"

"Yeah," I said while blushing,because I wanted him to come closer.

He had a troubled expression on his face. It seemed like he was going to tell me something serious. Really serious. We both sat upright and faced each other.

"Let me ask you this,do you actually know where you are?" he asked.

"No and I was going to ask you..."

"But?"

"I forgot. Tell me now then. Where are we?What is this place?"

"Honestly I don't know either." he said while scratching his head.

"Really?Thanks for nothing! " I said while facing him with anger in my eyes.

"You should really learn to calm down and manage your anger." he said,trying to be as subtle as possible.

That bruised my ego for a while.
Ouch.

"Can I continue?" he asked sounding slightly irritated.

"Yes. Carry on." I said ,trying to look the other direction.

"Thank you. This place has no beginning or an end. It's beautiful,majestic and so peaceful right?"

"Yes,very."

"But something about it is odd. Days turn into months and months into years in an instant,yet nothing changes. My looks,the seasons,the scenery. Absolutely nothing."

I couldn't believe my ears. I was under the same tree as a madman. People were right. Looks can be deceiving. I turned to look at him,trying hard not to laugh.

"I know you think I'm crazy,but believe me I'm not." Raph said trying to defend himself.

"You're right. I do think you're crazy,because what you're talking about doesn't make any sense whatsoever. It just doesn't compute. Go back to sleep and tell me later. You're clearly tired."

He immediately got up and went to that old worn out sack. He seemed to be looking for something. He finally got what he was looking for. He arrived with some old book.

It seemed to be made of maroon leather. It had the letter J imprinted on it.

"This is some book I found a while ago. I was horse riding ,then Ferrari got stuck in some branches. I got off to try and help,then suddenly I noticed something in the dirt. This book."

"What's in it?"I asked out of curiosity .

"It seems to be some sort of journal. The owner was clearly a man. He seemed to be looking for a way out,but suddenly he stopped writing."

"I guess he found his way out " we both said in unison.

This was strange;but I bet my answers were hidden within it.
I had to read it. That was my lead.

"Have you read it?" I asked.

"Yes,but I had some trouble with making up some of the words." he said looking uncomfortable. I wondered why he had trouble making up some of the words. Perhaps the man had a terrible handwriting.

"I'll help you with it only if you want me to."

"Yeah sure. I need you to. I love the beauty of this place;but I don't belong here. There's somewhere I should be,but I'm not."

"I feel the same way too."

"We have to rest. I feel like tomorrow will be a busy day." Raphael said,before laying his head down on the pillow.

"Goodnight Opal."

"Goodnight Raphael."

I stared at the stars till I fell asleep. Then Raphael started snoring...Again.

Hmm...
Again thank you for reading.
🌟Remember that no matter what there's hope in you.Never give up.
What may not be making sense now will be revealed later.Keep on keeping on.
Ecclesiastes 9:4
Love N.M.M