More Than Just A Dream
Part 1:
You are a slave to what you say.
This statement was more than true to 17 year old Aaron Coledon. That’s because whatever he said came to be. For example, if he were to say, “It’s raining cats and dogs”, sure enough canines and felines would begin to drizzle from the sky. This power of his had such great potential that the government kept a watchful eye on him at all times and relocated him to a small town in Connecticut. The government also provided a set of rules he must abide by every day, every hour, every minute, and every second he lives. He must speak, and most only speak the truth.
But what was truth?
His thoughts used to always be occupied by this matter. Perhaps the government wanted him to avoid speaking poetically as this could alter nature and everything ever known to man. Alas, he was a poet at heart. Because of this, he spent his days writing stories and not uttering a single word to anyone.
But these days his thoughts were occupied with Sheila Williams. She was his only friend and confider. Friendship wasn’t enough for Aaron, though. He wanted her to be his.
Was this lust? It was quite the opposite. Since he was little, he found the very notion of being touched revolting. This dislike of his was what he later found out to be asexuality. Therefore, he knew this was love. He loved Sheila.
Sheila, who was always there for him. Sheila, who was a bona fide beauty until stress and gluttony got the best of her - which showed on her round and acne covered face. Sheila, who happened to be necking with the girl she had been swooning over for quite some time on her front lawn.
If Sheila’s mind had not been as numbed by requited love as it was that she could not sense her father watching then maybe what happened next wouldn't have happened. If Sheila’s father had not been such a religious man then what happened next wouldn't have happened. If he had not been such an alcoholic it would not have happened.
But it happened.
“Hello Daddy," she saluted as she drifted into the house and then the living room.
“Where have you been?” he asked from the sofa with no iota of friendliness.
“I was where I told you I’d be, at Michael’s house to study.” she replied with fear seeping into her voice.
“LIAR!!”
And in the next moment, the furniture was in disarray, Mr. Williams was standing with fists clenched, and Sheila’s body was in a heap halfway across the room.
“You are a disgrace to this family, and I suggest you get your ass out of here before I teach you a rEAL LESSON.”
She staggered away from the house and onto the street in a matter of seconds. She thought of all the things she should do next, and she finally came to the conclusion that she should ring up Aaron Coledon. True, the government did pay her to monitor him, but a friendship had kindled between them and she could trust him to let her stay the night.
Before she could even knock, the door to his house swung open.
“Hey, I was just thinking about you!” he exclaimed.
An hour of tending to her injuries with a first aid kit and making dinner passed by until Aaron decided it was high time he should utilize some of his courage and confess. As soon as the idea of telling Sheila how he felt had showed up, his heart was in his throat. Sheila, whose talent was reading people, immediately saw that something was wrong.
“Are you okay?” she asked with a concerned look on her face.
“I’m fine, really. I just- “ he managed to get out.
Say it.
“I have something to confess.”
No going back now.
But no words came to him. His head was as blank as a piece of paper. The only thing that came to mind were lyrics from a love song he heard long ago.
“You’re what my dreams are made of.” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
A tragedy, a catastrophe, something else, anything else was suppose to happen, but not this. He shut his eyes because he didn't want to see it happening. When he re-opened them, she was still there with a bewildered look on her face. He couldn’t believe he got away with saying something like that.
“You. Um. I- “ she paused so she could recompose herself.
“You’re very courageous. I don’t think I’d ever be able to say something like that to anyone.” she said, even though she had done just that in the same day.
“I’m very sorry. My heart belongs to someone else. But, if I were to like any boy, it would most definitely be you.” she tried to explain as sincerely as she could.
“Of course.” was all he replied.
They both went to bed after that.
And then Sheila Williams went missing.
*****
The whole town knew about the history of domestic violence charges Mr. Williams had and they learned about the new ones he received that night in just a few hours. The first day Sheila’s smile wasn’t seen around the tiny town everyone assumed she was recovering from the injuries. On the second, the people of the town presumed that she was getting punished for some reason. At the end of the month, the whole nation knew her name and had seen a black and white photograph of her face. All fingers were pointed towards Mr. Williams.
Pride killing.
It was becoming quite common nowadays. He fit the bill as killer perfectly: a large black man with anger and alcohol issues who was very homophobic. Everyone believed he was the killer except for Aaron.
Aaron knew that she was very much alive and not missing. He could still see her. At least, that was, when he would shut his eyes and let his unconscious mind take over. That’s where he’d find her…
End of Part 1
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The Outspoken
Adventure-Skip if you like- This is a collaboration project I'm doing with the wonderful knight-of-mind and Aquamarine27 . Go check them out, they have amazing stuff! I got the idea for this while thinking about how crazy the world would be if all the figura...
