insomnia [✔]

scene. ii

A pleasant smell of hot pizza had spread in the kitchen... While Madeleine tried to send a message to Samantha, Gar supervised the precious pizzas which were cooking slowly but surely in the oven. It was also a pretext. He'd rather be busy, and look busy, than think about everything that had happened. From time to time, he glanced over his shoulder. The dark haired girl looked preoccupied. Frowning, biting lips, she sighed, her phone in her hands. She had been trying to contact her best friend for nearly half an hour, without success.

She came to believe that paranormal phenomena were involved. After all, this mansion looked like it was straight out of a Dracula movie. The thought made her smile, while giving her goosebumps. The green-haired boy, meanwhile, conceived an idea. He wanted to help the young girl, but knew full well that his act would mean breaking the seal of secrecy, and perhaps going against the decision made by Madeleine. Hadn't she chosen to censor her memories?

"Okay... well, I think I'll go home. I'll find a hotel room for one night and then head to the airport..." declared Madeleine, exasperated.

"You're already leaving ?" Gar questioned while trying to be as neutral as possible.

"Yeah. I'd better go home" Madeleine replied with a sigh, then she put her phone in a pocket of her jacket and stood up.

However, as she contemplated retrieving her suitcase, tucked away in a corner, she noticed the gray sky as she peered out of one of the windows that was open. She fell from the clouds, as it announced a terrible storm. The small old-generation radio that was on the work surface started up. The voices were confused, seemed to expand, then tangle, so that it was impossible to understand what they were saying. Madeleine shivered, a violent wind had rushed into the kitchen. Some utensils rattle around. So Gar hastened to close the casements, which was not easy. He more or less had to fight with the force of the wind.

"Roads blocked...extensive damage in the city center...the mayor of the city will speak tonight..."

Madeleine looked in amazement at the green-haired boy, as if the latter had been able to explain something to her. But, he was as surprised as the young woman could be. Of course, he knew about the storm, but he hadn't prepared for a storm of this violence. And then it was cold. Madeleine had crossed her arms, so as not to tremble, but the young man had guessed her uneasiness, the frozen expression on her face.

"There's a fireplace in the living room. It'll still be less cold than here," Gar said. trip, even if you bewitch it..."

"You..." began Madeleine.

"I can keep a secret, don't worry" interrupted Gar "So relax, I won't ask you questions"

"Thank you... but aren't you afraid?" asked Madeleine, incredulous.

"Hmmmm...no! You're not a bad person," Gar smiled teasingly.

"Huh? How can you be sure of that? insisted Madeleine, frowning.

"I have a sense of smell for that sort of thing. Kind of an instinct, you know," Gar said and motioned for the young woman to follow him.

Madeleine couldn't suppress a little admiring "wow" when she discovered the vast space that Gar called "living room". Paintings and trinkets of all kinds...everything was in its place, and perfectly in its place. Some walls were lined with fine, elegant dark tapestries. Above the fireplace was a portrait. A woman, a man and a little boy who was to be their son. Each character had an austere face, but still inspired a certain nobility. Madeleine lingered to contemplate them, while facing the fireplace. The atmosphere remained, despite everything, sinister.

"You're not the chef, am I wrong?" The dark haired girl finally said to Gar who was standing a few feet behind her.

"Excellent deduction" teased his interlocutor coming to plant himself next to her.

Neither one nor two, he sat down on the rug which spread out to the other end of the living room. Madeleine gave him a look before imitating him. She settled down next to him, while taking care to keep a certain distance between them, after all, they were still only strangers. This did not prevent the young woman from having, from time to time, a feeling of deja vu.

"This is going to sound weird to you but... we've met before, haven't we...?" Madeleine questioned while staring at the green-haired boy.

Gar tensed. The opportunity presented itself, but did he have the right to break Madeleine's amnesia? He was dying to tell her everything, to remind her of the video game games, and the battles they had fought together. This complicity that they had developed... They had become close. Very close. Yes, the young man wanted to trigger a wave of memories in the hope that Madeleine would feel again what she had felt for him, even if it was only friendship.

"I'd be surprised..." Gar retorted as naturally as possible "why are you asking?"

"Oh...sorry. Maybe it's just that you remind me of someone. A friend I haven't seen in a long time. I must be a bad friend..." Madeleine smiled bitterly.

"I...I'm sure you're a great friend. The type to care about how other people feel...caring, I guess," Gar comforted.

"That's nice, but you don't know me. How can you say that? Ah, I know... your famous sense of smell is in action?" Madeleine laughs.

"Maybe! You're kidding, but it's never wrong" Gar replied and the dark haired girl's laughter redoubled.

Madeleine was laughing so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. Finally, she wiped them away with the back of her hand while trying to catch her breath. For a few minutes she had lived an uncontrollable giggle, but it had finally calmed down. Gar had been staring at her the whole temos, watching her every move, as if he feared she might explode. Madeleine apologized, a bit embarrassed, and the green-haired boy assured her that it was no big deal.

"So... you live here?" asked Madeleine to give a new direction to the conversation.

"Rather comfortable, isn't it?" joked Gar.

"It's not bad. It must be nice to live in such a big shack. She has a...creepy charm" replied Madeleine.

"There's a dated side to it, but believe me this place is far from boring," Gar assured.

"Really? And what kind of activity do you do there, between two games of bridge you hunt ghosts?" asked Madeleine.

"Sort of..." Gar smiled mysteriously.

"Nah, you're kidding me..." said Madeleine, incredulous.

A noise echoed at the same time. Neither more nor less than a violent clap of thunder which resounded. Madeleine tensed, grimacing and trying somehow to calm her heartbeat. She was so scared, she jumped into Gar's mind. Things looked like the inside of an apartment she had no recollection of having been to. The green-haired boy was sitting on a sofa, next to a taller, black-haired one.

They were playing video games and were so invested that they overreacted. Madeleine moved around the sofa to face them. But they didn't notice. She was transparent, like a ghost. The young woman then slowly approached them without fear of disturbing them. Then she reached out and brushed her fingertips over Gar's face. But, a cry of surprise escapes Madeleine when the boy is transformed into a statue of purple sand. The dark haired girl then cast glances all around her. Everything turned to purple sand. She didn't have time to recover from her fright, because she sank up to her neck, as if she were trapped in quicksand.

"Madeleine!" cried a male voice.

The young woman suddenly came to. She looked at Gar with wide eyes, then noticed that he was holding her hands. His hands were warm. Madeleine gradually came to her senses and freed one of her hands to slap her forehead, she was so frustrated. The young man had sensed her presence in his mind, but chose not to hold it against her. Instead, Gar focused on reassuring her.

"It's alright..." the green-haired boy whispered.

"You still not scared?" asked Madeleine ironically.