Do I Dream Again?

Chapter 6

Erik.
She lays against my side. Ok the side of my chest. I wrap my arm across the front of her shoulders.
She's getting much healthier now. Her ribs are healing, she's no longer bone thin. But I don't know if she will want to leave or not. She seems perfectly happy living in a cave. I like caves. This works pretty well for us.
"Did you see that?" A small star darts across the sky. I have never seen anything like it. I wonder if Christine has."Christine?"
Her breathing is deep. Her eyes closed.
I kiss the top of her head. And in turn close my eyes. She is warm and kind.
My breathing pattern eventually matches hers. Even here in the cold night air, I'm warm and happy.
                                  •••
"Oye! Get down from there!" A man shouts.
Christine stirs, her movement wakes me.
The man keeps shouting at us. It takes my eyes a moment to readjust to the light.
My eyes burn in the sun.
There are people on the streets yelling at us.
Christine giggles as we slide down the back of the statue. I help her down the trapdoor. Back to the lair.
"Think we could do something about that?" She points to the old muddy dress.
"Of course we could."
"We could burn it?"
"By all means."
She takes the dress.
"We should do this in the lake, less chance of burning everything else." I say.
She nods. We walk out into the middle of the lake.
"Here." I hand her a box of matches. She strikes one I hold up the dress so she can burn it.
"Careful, I don't want to be more disfigured than I already am." I joke.
She laughs as she brings the small fire to the edge of the fabric. It catches after a few moments. It spreads fast. Engulfing most of the skirt in seconds. Still the flames travel towards my hands which hold the shoulders. I yelp once it gets so close I can feel the heat. I drop it into the lake. The murky water douses the fire.
"You should have seen the look on your face! Well half of it." Christine says.
She stands next to me.
"Nice shirt you got there, be a shame if someone where to get it wet." She says.
"I don't under-" she pushes me in to the water. Normally I could have resisted, but she caught me off guard. I'm submerged in the water. It's cold. I stand back up, breathing heavily.
"Do you know how gross this water is??" I ask.
She giggles. Playfully I push her. She falls into the water. She wipes it from her eyes as she stands up and splashes me. I splash back.