Lucid Nightmares - Fated Flowers Saga

Ch 5: Pancake Reminiscing

"You'll call me crazy if I explain. It's fine, don't worry about it."

Orferio slowly walks towards me. His hand extends to me briefly before pulling back. "I understand crazy. Trust me. You can tell me anything."

I shoot him a fearful look. "You already think I'm weird."

What if I ruin this?

Orferio's eyes narrow with sincerity. Soon he's practically standing over me. "I promise I won't think you're crazy."

I exhale sharply, "I've heard that one before," I say doubtfully.

"I'm serious."

"That one too."

He studies me with sympathy in his eyes. I cringe and turn away from him, "I don't need your pity."

"You've had it rough, haven't you?" he asks quietly.

I stare down at my pancakes, gripping my spatula as tightly as I can. I breathe in the sweet smell, trying to comfort myself with pancakes. He's making it difficult to ignore. I don't want to tell him everything. I don't want him to know the truth about me and how badly I handled being in the real world.

"I think you need to tell me what you remember," he says, beginning to slip his fingers into my ponytail. Gently, he tugs it out of its tie and lets it free. "You're hiding something from me. You're a terrible liar, Juliette."

What if he hates me for it?

He begins to trace a line up the back of my neck. His breath is soft on my skin. I can't ignore the way he's making my heart flutter. It's distracting.

Dark memories begin to creep back into my mind.

Orferio's rage takes physical form within my dreams. He takes the form of crackling blue lightning. Fierce. Uncontrollable. Filled to the brim with torment and anger. He's screaming at a dark figure with neon blue light painting his olive toned skin. Blood seeps from Orferio's mouth, pooling at his feet. He grips a pulsing, black mass in his trembling hand.

The figure collapses to the ground in a heap of rotting black robes.

Orferio turns to me with a sadistic smile before holding the black mass out to me.

The heart of his latest victim.

The scene changes and I remember the last word on my lips as the world was torn from me.

I was screaming for help. For mercy.

For Orferio.

Remembering different parts of a person can change an entire perspective. It's like seeing through a pair of specific lenses that only allows you to see their anger, or happiness. One moment could change it all and sully their character. Or lift them from darkness.

I might be remembering the wrong things. They could be twisted by trauma. These memories of him could be entirely fake, a product of nightmares. Or they are the bitter truth I refuse to acknowledge.

"It sounds insane," I mumble as I pull my hair back into a ponytail.

"I know insanity, you don't need to hide it from me." His voice is heavy with regret.

"Why do you want to know?" I ask helplessly.

"If you're asking that, you already remember me."

"I don't," I turn to face him, giving him a pleading look. "Or, I don't want to. I think my dreams messed with my real memories."