The Dreamfarer

2

"Mae, something's wrong with you."

Maeve blinked her way back into reality and stared up into Caleb's worried eyes. It had been happening a lot lately; she would zone out for a longer period of time than usual, that strange dream-quality enveloping her more often than she felt like it should. Vivienne and Caleb - her best friend since always - were the only ones that had really noticed her new habit.

She rolled her eyes at him before replying, "Well, when you say it like that... I have developed an insatiable desire to collect human flesh--"

"Ew!" he exclaimed, quickly and dramatically sticking his fingers in his ears. "You know what I'm talking about, Mae; I know you do. Please tell me what's going on."

She made a face at him, hoping that he would soon let this train of thought go. "You're wrong; I have no idea what you're talking about," she responded, even though lying to her best friend was like a stab to her heart. They had always told each other everything; besides Viv, Caleb was the most important person in her life, the one who knew her the best. Hiding things from him made her feel as though she was betraying him.

The hurt in his gaze did not make her feel any better. "I've known you forever, Mae. I know that something's wrong. Is it really something so big that you can't tell me?" he wondered, concern evident in his tone.

She shook her head. "I'm just tired, that's all. Come on, Caleb, just let it go."

"Does V know what it is?"

"No, she doesn't; no one does! Because there's nothing to know."

"Have it your own way, Mae. You'll tell me eventually." He paused and pressed his tongue against his upper lip worriedly. "You, uh... you do know that you can trust me, right? That I'll be here for you no matter what?"

She looked up at him and smiled, playfully patting him on the cheek. "Yes, I do know that, and it means the world to me," she assured him.

He exhaled with relief, but his gaze still held disappointment. Mae chastised herself; she really didn't feel right, keeping Caleb in the dark. It felt horrible to do so, but this burden of hers had been growing progressively worse. The dreams varied; sometimes they were horrifying, like Viv's, but other times, they were beautiful, like the first. They could even just seem like entirely normal dreams, one any average person could have; the kind she should be having every night.

Though she knew she would feel better if she unburdened this secret to Caleb, she could not bring herself to do it. Not yet. What would she say to him? Oh, hey, Caleb... I think I show up in other peoples' dreams. No, not because they were thinking of me... I think I actually appear in them... No, Caleb, you don't understand--

And that was exactly it. He would not understand. Not that Mae could possibly blame him for that; after all, she still hadn't made any sense of it, and she had been living with it now longer than she ever would have hoped for.

"Mae. Maeve," Caleb called out insistently. When she locked her eyes on his once more, he crossed his arms with irritation.

"You can't expect me to just let it slide if you're going to keep zoning out on me. Please, Mae."

And she had just decided to tell him, to spill her confusing secret to his eager ears, when her mother suddenly appeared across the otherwise-empty street, stumbling towards both of them. She and Caleb turned towards her, shocked; her face was dirty, her normally pin-straight ponytail pulled out, her hair in a state of disarray. Her clothes were intact, but had clearly gone through a rough time. Mae met her in the middle of the road, fear constricting her senses.