REM // Van McCann

47. I'm Honestly Not Surprised

I was gobsmacked. Never in a million years did I think I'd make an appearance in her dreams. No matter the circumstances, this can't end well either way. Even if I help her and she sees me as a hero, it's not a good thing that I'm in her dream.

This was going to happen eventually but I didn't think it'd happen so soon. Florence already appeared in my dreams once but I was lucky enough to not have her see it. And now she's dreaming about me. This will make for some awkward dreams in the future. We can't control our dreams. Whatever plays out is how we truly feel.

Florence hid behind dream me. It's always a weird feeling seeing yourself in someone else's dream. Is that what I really look like? I need a haircut. I kept my distance and watched as the group walked up to me. I was just one person versus three; they'll no doubt pummel me to a pulp but I'm glad that's not really me standing there.

"Florence, I need you to concentrate!" I yelled from afar. Florence jumped, expecting the voice to come from dream me but she saw me standing in the distance instead.

"Wait a minute...there's two of you?!" she shouted, looking at me, then dream me, and then me again.

"You're standing next to dream me who's gonna get beat to a pulp. I need you to concentrate. Are you dreaming?"

"Well yeah unless you've got a twin you want to tell me about?" she asked and I started chuckling.

"Not that I know of. I want you to change the course of this dream or wake up. I don't think dream me can take on three people."

The last thing I wanted to see was myself get beat up trying to defend her. It's a heroic gesture but I'd rather not see it. My eyes went to the men who were surprisingly staying put. Florence was thinking and no longer continuing the dream. Whether that was on accident or on purpose beats me but I was glad they were no longer advancing. I looked back at Florence to see she was gone.

-

I opened my eyes and took off my mask and probes. Florence was already sitting on the edge of her chair waiting for me to wake up. We weren't under that long but I prefer not to go under twice if I can help it.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked out of the blue. It was bothering me and I had to know.

"What is it?" she questioned.

"Did dream me have a face?" She looked at me strange wondering why I'd ask such a thing.

"Yes you did. Why wouldn't you?"

"It's nowt. I was just wondering."

I got up and felt a little lightheaded since we weren't under that long but eventually, I felt fine. Florence tried to do the same but I stopped her.

"I'd wait a few more minutes. I got a little lightheaded when I stood up. Reckon you will too," I warned.

I made my way to the computer to save our results and shut it down. It wasn't until I put away my probes that I gave Florence the okay to stand up. She held her hands out as if expecting to fall but she was just fine. She was unusually quiet.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"I'm fine but weirded out," she answered. It was clear what she was referring to.

"That's what happens when the dreamer dreams about you. I've had that happen before and it's easy to tell the two apart. You know yourself like the back of your hand and know how you'd behave in certain situations. For example, I could have a tattoo on my bum but dream me wouldn't have one because I never told you and you have no way of knowing."

"You have a tattoo on your bum?"

"No, that was just an example. I don't have any tattoos."

"I have one."