"H-hah!"
Gasping out loud, Calix abruptly woke up from his sleep, leaving the uncanny dream behind.
His chest heaved up and down in an erratic rhythm as a sense of unease flared out over his entire body. Sweat soaked his back entirely.
Calix randomly looked at the ceiling above the bed. The orange glow of the underbed lights cast a faint glimr there.
’What was that? What did I just... see?’
The images of the dream resurfaced in Calix’s mind. He winced as he unconsciously went through them one by one.
Everything felt weird—the apartnt, the lady and her familiarity with him—but, the image of the man in the mirror shocked Calix the most. He also couldn’t forget how foreign his voice sounded the first ti he spoke out loud.
"Hah... hah..."
Still overwheld by the uncanny dream, Calix rubbed his face a few tis. His ragged breathing echoed in the quiet bedroom. Questions to questions popped into his mind.
Even as a dream, the entire situation was freaking weird.
But...
Why, despite thinking the dream was extrely uncanny, he couldn’t ignore the few hints of familiarity from it?
The lady he hadn’t ever t in his lifeti, the interior of the small apartnt, the crochet fox toy and even the voice and the stranger’s face in the mirror.
’This feels like... those tis I think... I’m not myself... but...’
The dream brought the opposite.
Despite seeing and experiencing things foreign to him, Calix strangely felt as if he actually belonged there.
Sure, he was terribly surprised but... the familiarity eventually ca to him after the shock had worn off.
Was there any aning behind this dream?
What and how should he interpret it?
Or, should he just forget about it?
As Calix was still distraught, he didn’t notice the subtle movents coming from the other side of the bed.
Leslie was stirred awake by Calix’s gasping sound. Being pulled away from her drowsiness, she initially thought she had mistaken him for snoring.
Leslie realized sothing was off as she saw Calix continuously rubbing his face as if he was deeply bothered by sothing. His uneven breathing also ticked an alarm off in her mind.
Propping herself up on one elbow, Leslie whispered, "Calix... are you okay?"
"...Leslie?"
Surprised by the voice, Calix stiffly lowered his palms from his face. He turned to look at Leslie, finding her already sitting up on the bed.
"Do you feel... sick or sothing? Drink... so water..."
Leslie wanted to offer Calix a glass of water herself but, doing so might end up with her spilling it on the bed. She could only suggest it to him.
There was a glass jar of water sitting on the bedside table. The container had a dispenser tap, making it easier for her to use it.
If Leslie woke up in the middle of the night feeling parched, she wouldn’t call for the private nurse on duty to give her water. She would simply press the tap and let a very low volu of water fill the plastic cup.
To prevent herself from spilling the water, Leslie didn’t dare to fill the cup full. She would rather repeat the process a few tis until she was not thirsty anymore.
Leslie’s suggestion made Calix realize how parched his throat was.
Quietly replying to her, he hesitatingly said, "I don’t feel sick... I’ll have so water. I’ll pour so for you too."
"Thank you..."
Calix quietly slid out of the mattress, reluctant to accidentally wake Calliope up. The water jar was on Leslie’s side of the bed. He needed to round it to reach her.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Calix got two cups full of water. Leslie shook her head when he wanted to help her drink.
"Drink first..." Leslie gestured to Calix’s cup. A helpless smile was drawn on her lips.
"Okay..."
Without arguing, Calix moistened his throat with the water. He felt better after gulping down half of the cup. The lingering uneasiness gradually dispersed.
"Your turn."
Calix carefully brought the cup to Leslie’s lips. She thanked him before sipping the water. While drinking, she quietly took in the man’s countenance.
He still looked troubled but, better than a few minutes ago.
Leslie had a hunch that Calix was hiding sothing from her but, it was not her place to intrude. She might ask him about it yet, it was up to him whether he wanted to share or not.
This was also not an appropriate ti to do the questioning.
"It’s two-thirty," whispered Calix as he glanced at the wall clock, "We should sleep more. Wanna go to the toilet?"
"Yes, please..." replied Leslie, already less embarrassed talking about her biological needs.
Instead of assisting Leslie to the wheelchair by the bed, Calix directly carried Leslie to the washroom. He settled her down in the small wheelchair before stepping out, waiting by the door.
Crossing arms over his chest, Calix swept his gaze across the room before his eyes stopped at the bed. Calliope was still deep in her sleep, much to his relief.
’I should just forget about the dream, right?’
This was the first ti Calix dread of the lady and the apartnt. Despite feeling a weird sense of familiarity with them, he was afraid that he would be carried away by a re dream.
’Yes, just forget about it. I better focus on our outing tomorrow.’
Calix had already thought of the places he could bring Leslie and Calliope after visiting Chic Chateau, the ho center. He wished to make their second outing as a family morable.
"Calix..."
"Oh! You’re finished?"
Calix didn’t notice when Leslie opened the washroom door. He swiftly picked her up from the small wheelchair, bringing her back to bed.
"She sleeps so well... I’m glad..." said Leslie as Calix lay her on the mattress. Her eyes fell on the sleeping Calliope.
"I think not even an earthquake can wake her up," Calix scoffed, holding back from pinching Calliope’s chubby cheeks.
"Hehe, you’re right ah..."
Leslie didn’t imdiately return to sleep. She watched Calix sliding under the blanket. He looked better but, not much.
"Sleep well, Calix..."
Calix blinked. He stared back at Leslie, finding her still looking at him.
"...you too, Leslie. Sleep well."
’Thank you.’
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