What Is A Dream?

Chapter 17

"Are you serious?" Melissa was asking Samuel when Ian and Adela walked in the house. They quickly disconnected hands and went further inside. Samuel and Melissa were in the hall and seemed to have been having a heated argument, but they stopped abruptly when the children came in.

"Hello, Adela, Ian," Samuel said. "Would you mind going upstairs?"

"I'm hungry," Adela replied like the teenager she had only just found inside herself. She was still upset that Samuel didn't want to teach her how to drive.

"Adela," Samuel warned in a voice he'd never used. "Go upstairs." She looked at him in surprise but obeyed. Ian hurried after her. They stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at each other.

"What was that?" Ian asked. Adela shook her head and opened her mouth to say that she didn't know, but Daniel interrupted her.

"They've been yelling for about half an hour," he said. "It's hard to make out what they've been saying." Adela tried to listen, but there was no more shouting.

"Do you have any idea what-" Daniel shook his head.

"None. Except... Melissa was reading a piece of paper before she took Samuel away."

"Where is it?" Ian asked eagerly.

"Library," Daniel answered dejectedly. Neither of the others was. Adela simply smiled.

Can you get rid of him? she asked Ian. He nodded and sighed.

"We'll find out later, I guess. Can you show me that book you mentioned earlier? Adela, are you okay?" She nodded and waved to them. She went into her room and sat on the floor, then concentrated very hard. Adela let her mind leave her body. It was a curious sensation, but not difficult.

She wanted to go to the study, so that is where she was. Samuel was sitting in a chair there wearily. Melissa paced behind him. Eventually she stopped.

"I know this is difficult for you-"

"Difficult?" he asked, jumping to his feet and picking up a piece of paper. It was probably the one Daniel had pointed out, but Adela guessed she'd get enough information from listening to this conversation. "Difficult? My wife is dead!"

Adela was so surprised she almost lost her hold on her mind in the library. "Samuel, I know, and I'm so sorry, but there is the matter of the child."

"He's of no relation to me," Samuel said stubbornly.

"But it's your daughter's cousin," Melissa reminded him gently. "He has nobody in the world. Unless you would like to send him to his mother's side of the family-"

"No," Samuel interrupted swiftly. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody." He took a deep breath which turned into a sob. "She's really dead." Melissa hugged him. He returned the hug tightly.

"When will you tell her?" Melissa asked, pulling away. He shook his head.

"I can't. Knowing that her mother is dead would kill her. Knowing that she killed herself, like I did... that would destroy her beyond repair."

That was too much for Adela. Her mind came careening back into her body. She lay on the floor of her room, not even crying. Adela was too stunned even to cry. She was unaware that her room darkened slowly but steadily until it was completely black. She closed her eyes.