The DreamWalker Series

Losing You - watcher

The day was laboriously long. Not that she was surprised. Stella tortured her and whined and bitched just as expected. Sulking, complaining, and doing a half-ass job was what Stella did best. Ellette hardly even noticed except for the fact that the line never seemed to dissolve and her workload was a constant. It was a blessing really, to be so busy. Her mind was elsewhere, lost on thoughts of things she had no control of and no way to deal with.

She had to find Jessie. Whether or not the woman would be of any help was the question. The bus was late, and the rain managed to soak her through before she'd even gotten to the shelter at the bus stop. She huddled at the back of the shelter, flinching as each car managed to find the one pothole that sprayed water in her direction. So much for finding Jessie. The busker woman would not be out in the park today, not in this weather. Yet the park was the one sure place to find her. No, Ellette would have to hunt her down if she was to have any hope of finding her.

She stopped at the first cafe when the rain was beginning to let up, asking around and getting only head shakes. Then it was on to the library, packed but devoid of the little redhead. She continued on to the coffee shop and splurged. Wrapping her hands around the paper cup she settled into a corner seat to thaw out and dry off a little. There were only two other shops she knew Jessie to frequent. If the woman didn't manifest, the search would have to wait. Ellette could feel the cold seeping down to her core and if she wasn't careful she'd be sick for real.

Cup in hand, she moved on down the street and bumped into a lanky young man. He reached out to steady her, and she laughed when she realized who it was. "Boris? Fancy meeting you like this," she smiled up at him, wiping her lank locks from her eyes. "I hunt for you for more than a year, and now I run into you at random on the street."

He shrugged. "Funny how that sort of thing happens. You okay, Ellette? You're soaked through."

"Yeah, I'll be heading in shortly. I'm looking for Jessie, though. Have you seen her?"

He shook his head and then stopped, considering. "What do you need her for?"

"You remember when I mentioned my dream journals? I've got some questions about some of the dreams I've been having. She's pretty good at that sort of thing."

"Ah," he nodded, then hesitated. "I know a thing or two about dreams. Maybe I could take a look?"

She sighed. It wasn't what she'd been hoping for but she couldn't think of a good explanation. Besides, she liked Boris, and spending time with him would be a welcome distraction. Rand wouldn't be home until late tonight, and the thought of sitting at home alone wondering and worrying was not appealing.

"Alright," Ellette answered, happy to share his umbrella. "Let's head back to the apartment, I'll pull out my journals and you can psychoanalyze me. It'll be fun."

Once Boris was settled in on the couch thumbing through one of her journals, Ellette changed into dry clothes. "So, what do you think?" she asked, heading into the kitchen.

He glanced up. "Ah, well, your dreams are quite vivid, to say the least. I don't think I've ever read any dream journals quite so detailed."

"Well, I'm careful to write them down before I forget." She fished through the fridge. "Want something to drink?" She studied a few bottles, "We have, ah... something called kom- buch-ah, coconut water, and some iced tea. I think if I dig in the back there might be some beer if you prefer."

"No, no, I'm fine," he stood, one of the journals still in hand, "I want to talk to you about this, though."

She made her way to him, a glass of tea in hand. "What?"