Saving Seraphine [ONC2020]

CHAPTER 2

It's been two days since Valentine's mingle and I still feel like I'm hungover. Maybe I am, or perhaps it's the lack of sleep. Every time I close my eyes I'm haunted by the visions I saw, and with each passing night it gets worse. This morning when I woke I felt like my body was on fire, but when I checked my temperature it was in normal range, only slightly lower than usual.

"You sure you're okay?"

I saunter into the kitchen, attempting to drag my tired body to the stool at the counter.

"Just peachy," I respond trying to find a smile.

Hailey moves flawlessly around the kitchen, like she's floating on air. I know she's been up since the crack of dawn, I heard her doing her morning yoga. Now, she's bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to take New York by storm in her matching designer creme Blazer and pant set.

"Well you look ghastly,"she says, putting on a terrible accent.

A cup of freshly brewed coffee is placed in front of me. I grab hold of the tall grey tumbler as her hand wraps around mine.

"Seriously Seraphine, this isn't like you at all. Ever since that night you've been different," her voice shakes. When I look up to meet her eyes I'm taken back by the fresh tears forming.

"Oh Hales I'm okay, really. These nightmares aren't exactly new," I confess.

It's the truth, when I was a kid I would dream about this strange world. It reminded me of something straight out of a fantasy novel. Tiny huts sat along a bright green hillside of flowers and full grown trees. The skies were a clear crisp blue that I can still vividly see, even now. I would soar over this strange world for hours on end, until I couldn't anymore. I stopped seeing that world after it went dark, on the day my mother died.

With my free hand I place it over the small red quartz that sits on my neck. It was hers, and every day since her passing I keep it close to me. I never take it off in fear it will disappear, just like her.

"Maybe you should talk to a shrink or something," she suggests. "I'm just not used to seeing you so out of sorts."

Tears fall from her eyes. I let go of my necklace to wipe them away for her as she leans into me.

"You're my best friend and I can't stand seeing you so down."

I give her a small smile, "I'll be okay Hales, no need to worry about me."

She sniffles, but smiles through her tears.

"I hate to do this, but if I don't get my ass to work," she says. "I'll never be able to afford another designer dress again."

I laugh. Hailey's been working as an Assistant Sales Lead at a high end clothing store in Midtown. The pay is enough for us to rent this small two bedroom apartment just a few blocks away. On top of her salary Hailey comes from money, and half the rent was paid for by her late father. I make a lot less at my job, but even so we make it all work.

"That's okay, I have to get to work myself," I tell her.

"Maybe you should call out."

She's at the door grabbing her things, she's still not convinced that I should go in. I don't have a demanding job like she does, but that doesn't mean I don't love what I do or that I should call out every chance I get.

"I'll be okay," I tell her.

"Okay darling, see you later."

The door closes softly and with that I'm left all alone. I've got a bit of a commute ahead of me, but the images from last night are still playing in my head. It was different than the night at the mingle, this time I flew over a strange land just like I'd done as a kid. Only, this was the dark land with those sickly looking trees and a dreary gray sky. It was so hot in my dream, and just before I woke an orange glow caught my attention off in the distance. I never made it over there because my alarm pulled me from the dream.

It's cold, but I need the walk to wake me up. My job isn't as close as Hailey's is, but walking won't kill me. It's a cool February morning, but the heat I feel raging inside of me keeps me warm. Normally, I'm cold and dress in several layers. Today, I almost walked out of the apartment in shorts, even in the thirty degree weather.

I make it with ten minutes to spare to the small bookshop on the East side. Dragon Tales is an independent store located just a few blocks away from the famous Central Park. I've been working here since college and the thought of leaving has never once occurred to me. I'm happy, even with the pay being far less than Hailey's, it's like a second home to me.

The chimes above me ring as I open the door. The minute I walk inside the scent of old musty pages makes me feel alive. Being here helps me feel like I can breathe again, and the nightmares suddenly become a distant memory.

Silas, the store owner sits behind a small wooden counter that if you touch the wrong way gives off tiny splinters. He keeps saying he'll replace it, maybe one of these days he actually will. He looks ancient with his long flowing white Santa beard, and snow white hair that cascades down his back. It's almost as if he's stepped out of another world. That's what I love about this place, it makes the out there seem nonexistent. In fact once you step inside the noise and chatter from the hustle and bustle of the city vanishes.

Dragon Tales is a store unlike any other. Sure, we sell your everyday normal books, mostly used, some new - but there's more. In a small back corner of the store is a room that 's illuminated brighter than the rest. Strangely enough there are no windows, but yet the light feels so natural on your skin. The walls are mossy green and the pine scented wooden shelves call to you. I don't think the books in that room are even from here. Authors I've never heard of, lands that sound so real. It's a room that gives people hope that there's something more out there than this crazy messed up world that we live in. I like to think that it's true, that there are other worlds that give off a vibe like this. A world like the beautiful one I used to dream about. Maybe I'm just losing my mind, or maybe I'm just a dreamer looking for something more.