Parapsychology (MPHFPC)

Chapter 11

Horace's POV

The next day while Callie was gone at work was quiet. After Bronwyn woke up, Emma told me I could go and take the bed and sleep.

It was tempting because, the idea of sleeping on a mattress for a change was overwhelmingly inviting.

But I refused the offer anyway, because I knew the chance at rest wouldn't mean anything if I just had nightmares anyway. The sinking feeling that sleeping would just reveal the corpse of a friend or how close the hollow really was, it would've been enough for me to deny a nap in the Queen's bed.

Given my resolution not to sleep, I made myself busy patching up the holes in Emma and Bronwyn's clothing. I began patching up my suit jacket too even though Callie had promised to bring clothes for me with her when she came back. I insisted she didn't because if we were going to skip over the high priorities and get new clothes I was going to pick them out myself. She said she'd bring an actual jacket for me anyway.

Not sure what she meant by 'actual' jacket though. Something about how the temperatures at night were about to drop significantly.

Everytime my eyelids started to droop, I forced myself to recall the image of the shadow ransacking what was left of that life boat, and after that my eyes wouldn't try to close again for another half hour.

Hazel the stray cat decided she'd rather sit with me than anything else and lay curled up next to me as I sewed up the holes.

I quite enjoyed the company because at least Hazel didn't try to ask me questions about if I had a prophetic dream while I was lost.

Despite having eaten little and walked almost continually with no one to talk to for a week, I still had a hard time imagining how Callie lived by herself in this old building with no running water, electricity or heat, for over a year. I'd only ever been alone for a but more than a week, Callie did it for a year and still finds it possible to smile. That just astounded me.

Another thing that astounded me, as I patched smaller holes in Callie's clothes out of boredom was how she found it possible to choose functionality over appearance when it came to clothes. It's perfectly possible to have fashionable, and functional clothes. It also appeared as if Callie kept clothing much longer than it should be. Some of her dresses had over twelve holes in them and yet they were hanging out to dry and not in the trash.

Occupying my mind with the only non-nightmare-ish mystery in my life currently, made me wonder and hope that Callie wasn't reading my mind while she was at work. She'd said she wouldn't but I wasn't so sure if she'd hold true to that.

It was almost a relief when Callie got home, I wouldn't have noticed she'd gotten back if she hadn't thrown a giant, thick navy blue "jacket" at me and broken my concentration.

"You're welcome Horace."

"What, are you talking about? I didn't express any sort of gratitude."

"You will when it gets cold. You were stuck in September for years, you might not remember it, but snow is cold."

I was about reply that I knew snow was cold when she started talking again.

"You haven't slept any have you?"

"How'd you know?"

"Under eye bags aren't a good look for you."

I kept quiet. I'd purposely avoided the bathroom for fear that is what I'd see in the mirror.

"I patched up some of your clothes." I offered trying to change the subject.

"Thank you. I'd been meaning to do that for a while now."