Dream // Van McCann

35. So That's It Then

Ines Silva is her name. I've dreamt about her thinking she was Clara the whole time and now she finally has a name. The whole thing felt surreal; I couldn't imagine the immense pain her family was going through, grieving the loss of their child again, but at least they've got her remains and can get some closure.

The photos they shared made her real, not that I didn't think she was real. She was a teenager with a full life ahead of her—a very bright student—but everyone knew she was a sad girl. They scheduled a memorial service to honor the life that she lived and to welcome her home.

This case revealed a lot of problems within the police department but the Portuguese handled it with poise saying they were implementing changes to prevent this from happening again. The police were more hard on themselves than the people were who were just happy to get some closure on the case.

Everyone was talking about it. I've even heard people in this building talk about it, wondering how such a thing could happen. I tried to filter out what they were saying but couldn't help but eavesdrop. What they were saying was overwhelmingly positive though. Now that there was closure with Ines, they were wondering about Clara.

I've thought about reaching out to her many times but just couldn't bring myself to. And with each passing day, it just became easier not to but the curiosity never wavered.

-

Larry was sat at the computer, handing me probes so I could help set up. It was Friday morning and we were determined to fit a session in before the weekend. Larry volunteered to be the dreamer and I offered to sit in as that was the least I could do not offering up my dreams. They never made me feel uncomfortable about it which I appreciated.

Larry told me the settings and I set up the anesthesia showing him the numbers so he could visually confirm I had entered it correctly. Meanwhile, Bondy was busy putting the end of the month report together. There were some metrics he had to add and he wanted the presentation to be in tip top shape in order to look good in front of our sponsor. I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket so I reached for my phone and answered the call.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello, this is Susan from The Velvet Box. Is this Van?" I instantly recognized the woman's voice despite forgetting her name.

"Yes, that's me." My heart was pounding in anticipation.

"Your ring is ready for pickup. You can stop by anytime. Our hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday from noon to 6 PM. We look forward to seeing you soon."

"Erm...yeah! I'll stop by. Thank you!" I hung up and looked at the clock. It was only 10:15 AM and I had a long way to go before the day was finished. It took everything to not drop what I was doing and run to the store.

"Is everything alright?" Larry asked and I jumped.

"Yeah! The ring is ready," I tried to say casually. In reality, I was nervous. I didn't think to take a photo of the ring I'd chosen so I sort of forgot what the ring looked like. Is it possible to make an ugly ring? My mind went back to my aunt's wedding ring and I shuddered. Yes, yes it is.

I guess the right term to use is that the ring is not to my taste. It's everything that I'm not. Flashy, bold, and don't get me started on how many times she reminds us it's a custom ring and he spent a lot of money on it. The thing is quite spiky (if rings can be spiky) that one day, she's going to seriously injure someone with it. God forbid she slaps anyone.

Larry beamed at the news. "Congratulations, mate!" he said, slapping me on the back. "Oi, did you hear that, Bondy? The ring he ordered is here." Bondy looked up from his seat.