Dead Dreams

Ten

I wake up feeling bland. I feel nothing inside and out. I stare up at the ceiling for a while, not thinking about anything. Eventually I pull myself out of bed and walk out of my room, into the hall. I don't focus on any particular object as I walk, and soon I find myself in an empty living room.

I look at the heavy, purple curtains drawn at the back of the room and walk over to them. For some reason I feel a draw to them at the moment. Using my arm to hold back the middle part, I look out the glass door and towards the woods. They are still as ominous as the day I first got here, and with one look I knew that they could swallow me whole. I would never make it out of them without a map. However, I wasn't as concerned with the woods at the moment. Instead, I looked to the sky. There, I could see clearly that the moon and stars were out. They were bright, but not as bright as they should have been.

I hear a shuffling coming from the hallway, but I don't turn, more focused on the sky than anything. I already knew who was behind me anyway. The sky however, seemed lesser known to me.

"Ruth! It is good to see you up. How are you?" His cheery voice made its way over to me from a good distance, but I could tell he was coming closer as he spoke.

"It is always night here, isn't it?" I didn't mean to be rude, but this was something I had to be sure about. Every time I was awake, the only thing in the sky was the moon and stars.

He seems to be caught off guard by my question, as his footsteps become lighter and then stop. I do not look at him until he speaks again.

"That is correct." He stands there, his hands clasped in front of him. I think he is done speaking, but then he decides to add more. "Well, for the most part. The sun comes up sometimes, but it is very, very rare. So rare that I haven't even seen it myself."

"What?" I say it quietly, processing his words. "You mean...that you have never seen the sun before?"

"I am afraid not. I thought that my complexion would give that away?" He waves his hand under his face, trying to emphasize his skin. No wonder he looked like porcelain.

"How old are you?"

He takes a moment to think about it, pinching his chin and counting quietly to himself.

"I am nineteen." He finally says.

I take a deep breath in, and I feel...upset. Very upset. Iris had just admitted to me that he had lived his entire life in the dark. The day was something that many people including myself just expected to see once the night ended. It essentially was the entire reason that life was able to exist. I never thought that I would worry about the sun not rising, and I never thought that I would meet someone who made me hope that the sun would show itself just one more time.

"I'm sorry." I look at the floor as I say it. This was the only thing I could say.

"For what?" he matches my quiet tone, but sounds confused.

"Just...for not being able to help you. It must be terrible to live in the dark all the time. It's kind of scary." My thumbs rub into the back of my intertwined hands and I watch as red marks start to form.

He hums in understanding of my statement before answering. "Well, the night is all I have ever known, so I have learned to become content with it." He pauses, letting those words sink in. "But, if I ever do become afraid, you will help me won't you?" He sounded hopeful and innocent. Even so I found the question strange. If he wasn't afraid of the night now, why would he ever be afraid of it?

Was it because of what I had said? No, it couldn't be.

"Okay, I will." I hesitate to answer, but agree after he catches my roaming eyes.