The Land of Fayden

Chapter 2

"Go ahead, don't worry, just hold my hand," He smiled at me, a damp white shirt clinged to his tanned frame. "I know it's different than what you're used to, but don't be scared." My feet dragged forward through the water flowing upstream, my hands were locked around his forearm.

"Normal water doesn't do this." I looked up at the him as he held me steady. He was somewhere in-between boy and man, but his face wasn't quite visible. "It flows different."

He smiled. "Yeah, it's a special place here, one day I'll actually take you. This is a land where the water flows upstream. One day it'll be safe and we can stay here." He raised his hand up and his fingers brushed over my cheek. "Now wake up."

My alarm was blaring in my ear, siren sounds filled my apartment, Steve rubbed his head against my side as if he was saying good morning. Light filtered in through my blinds right into my eyes, an eight-a.m. alarm kept blaring as I tried to will it to stop, as if that would help. My hand reached over to slap the phone's snooze button, by now the placement of it was memorized in what my middle school band teacher would call "muscle memory".

Steve curled back up into a fuzzy ball after the apartment was once again quiet, his head nuzzled against his tail. I curled back up under my blanket, my bed was soft and warm and inviting, begging me not to leave, and how could I with how convincing it was. I curled up more in the bed, letting it envelop me in warmth. I wondered what it would be like to just lay here and stay like this forever, but I have work that needs to get done, and a life that I need to live, and I have a job that I need to pay my bills. I sat up slowly and stretched like I was trying to reach my ceiling, I put my hands behind my hips and twisted until my back popped and I ran my fingers over Steve's head gently. That's when my phone started buzzing, I picked it up quickly and answered with the tap of a button.

"Hello?" My feet hit the cold wood floor as I began to stand up, ready for my morning coffee, the phone was nestled between my head and my shoulder as I pulled up a pair of jeans that I had discarded on the floor the night before.

"Hey Poppy, it seems like I haven't heard from you for forever, I thought you were avoiding me or something..." A familiar voice laughed nervously. "I was just calling to check up on you, and you know, just talk, if that's ok." My heart jumped into my throat quickly. I've never been one for confrontation or conversation.

"Yeah Arthur, I've just been... busy, you know, with mom and all. Sydney told me she told you."

"Uh, yeah," His voice seemed to stumble a bit, this was terribly awkward. "I would have preferred to hear it from you, but I know that there has been a lot going on, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, as fine as I can be, thanks for asking, but I really should go" I looked around, spotting my open closet, a white shirt peeked out of the mess. "Yeah, look, I've got a long day at the bookstore today, but, yeah, it was lovely chatting with you, bye now." I quickly hung up, and turned to a sleepy Steve who had just switched up positions.

"Did I seriously just say 'have a lovely day' and did I call it chatting, I seriously did not just do that, did I Stevie?" I ran my fingers through my hair and tossed my phone onto the bed, Steve blinked at it lazily and looked back at me, he was stomach up, but I knew if I tried to pet him, he'd just try to bite my hand. "Sydney is going to kill me when she finds out that I seriously called it "chatting", I'll be just as dead as mom." I forced myself to smile, dark humor had begun slipping out of my mouth all of the time. Sydney insisted that therapy was the solution and that I should also try yoga and a diet, I could almost hear her chirping 'A happy body is a happy mind!' in my ear.

Poor people can't afford therapy and yoga lessons, Sydney, I chirped back as I grabbed the white button down from my closet and pulled it over my tank top. My mom always used to make me wear an undershirt under button downs, no matter what the weather was like.