His life finally had some sense in it. He felt the sheets wrap around him like a long python, and felt the warmth of the body beside him. Julius opened his eyes and watched the darkness, adjusting, until all became a little bit more sensible to him. His warm companion breathed heavy inhales and exhales, and Julius reached across the small space between them and touched Leonard’s face. Shut eyes, calm and resting, watched something else in the dream world, but the touch of a small smile played on the corner of Leonard’s lips.
Julius grinned amongst the darkness. A tired voice spoke, small crackles interred within his resonating tone.
“What are you doing?” Leonard asked, eyes still shut. Julius just turned to lay on his back, to face the ceiling. He breathed in and sighed. Leonard threw his arm over Julius’ bare chest.
“Nothing,” he said. A soft silence ensued. “… nothing.” Leonard readjusted himself and kept his soft hug on Julius as he slipped back into sleep, a relaxed groan indicating goodnight. Julius allowed this peace to settle in, and let all of his thoughts wander off into their various nooks and crannies, playful. Mindless. Secure and free. Julius was, at first, unwilling to forget all the evil things that his brother had committed and, of course, was still committing. But with the dark of the night, nothing seemed to matter anymore. It was only him, truly, that he needed to think about, right? His mind relaxed as he accepted this new outlook. His conscious faded, and the tides of sleep overcame him. And he dreamt.
He had that ever-familiar dream, the one that resonated from many months ago, of a more… delicate time. Of a time when Julius’ life hung on the small, harsh branches at the end of the tree, where they swayed with the slightest of winds. Damageable. Fragile.
It was the dream of him above the chasm. Familiar, that chasm was. This time he was not afraid, nor was he unsure, or anxious, or nervous. The chasm still fought with an undying will to escape, and it hinted at something deeper. Julius eventually gave the green light to change dreams, but nothing of the sort occurred. Julius, who floated above the chasm, tried to move his feet. His arms. But nothing of the sort would take place.
Gravity. The air seemed to become real, and his body became heavy with weight. The chasm rushed closer, closer, closer until he could feel the splashes of water on his face and the coldness of the air. He screamed.
Chaos ensued as he hit the water, of which felt like a concrete, and dragged him right under. Light soon fell to darkness, then black as pitch, and air bubbled out of his lungs and escaped to the top of the chasm. Chained down, Julius was dragged to the sea floor, where his air ran out.
A vision.
A blues singer. A stage. A nonchalant crowd of smoke and faux class. A waitress, working overtime. It was Veronica.
And Bastian Rousseau, a bat in hand, standing at the back of the auditorium.
YOU ARE READING
HUMAN SPIRIT
ParanormalJulius Wolfgang is alone in the world, and he likes it that way. Secluded in the forests of Portland, Oregon, he truly thinks he will never have to leave his house. That is, until he receives a very peculiar urn in the mail. With the arrival of th...
