Nightmare Delusion

11. Repression

Weeks had past since Ellice lived her life normally. Time seemed normal, people walked the streets again, houses stood where they used to. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Not that Ellice remembered. The only thing she noticed were her strange dreams. Sometimes she dreamt of sitting in space, watching the stars burn brightly and lively. It gave her joy, for some reason. She didn't know why. 

She'd had a normal life with her father, ever since. She also took a part-time job at a nearby cafe, to earn some money whilst she's still in college. Every day after school she would have some dinner at home before she headed off to work. She enjoyed her work and it helped her with her confidence as well.

More time would pass and the Summer Holiday arrived. She worked long shifts daily. She didn't mind, as she enjoyed her job. Her colleagues were amazing too. A pink-haired girl called Isabella often teamed up with her to deal with taking orders and giving orders when it gets busy. She was covered up in tattoos, which Ellice found pretty cool.

Isabella and Ellice were standing at the bar as they were having a conversation about cute guys. Of course, they were. After all, they were in the time of their lives where it interested them. They were gazing at a couple sitting at a little table. The man looked amazing, to them. He sat with a woman opposite of himself. They were both having a glass of some tropical cocktail they served and seemed to be having a lighthearted conversation as well, fingers entwined as their hands reached out to one another on the table. Ellice gazed to the hands more than the male that Isabella was talking about. "Hey, are ya even listenin'?" Isabella nudged Ellice, as she seemed to be out of it. Ellice jolted, pulling her glued gaze away from the hands, to Isabella. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?" Ellice apologised as she took a quick glance to scan the area for new customers. "You're dreamin' again, Elly." Isabella spoke, as if she had been frequently reminding her. Ellice cleared her throat "Yea, sorry. I was thinking." She said, as she didn't see any new customers and everyone seemed content. "I'm goin' to get myself a new tattoo next week. Maybe you should come along?" Isabella as she played with a coaster, fumbling. "Well, yea, sure. Why not?" Ellice agreed. "What are you getting?" She turned her gaze to Isabella. "Oh, a quote from a video game that I like. On my leg." Isabella replied, placing down the coaster. "I'm surprised there's space for that." Ellice snickered. Isabella beamed a smile and giggled at her remark, "You'd be surprised!" She said, "But, next week Wednesday, two o'clock in the afternoon. You know which tattoo shop I go to, so... that's that." Isabella spoke, excitedly. Ellice nodded her head "Okay, I'll be there." She said. "Do you want a tattoo?" Isabella then asked Ellice, curiously. "Not sure. Maybe. I want one but I'm still looking for the perfect thing." Ellice replied to her as she turned her gaze to new customers walking in. "I'll take care of those." Isabella spoke, already making her way to the people! Ellice looked after them, before turning her gaze to the handsome man they were talking about once more. Not long after, she shrugged the strange feeling off of her, continuing her work.

Ellice dropped her bag to the ground, she was done with work. It was quite late, but it was the perfect time to watch some series. She plonked herself down on the couch, looking to Mark. Mark seemed to have fallen asleep on the couch. "Dad." She said, sitting rather slouched. Mark jolted slightly, being pulled away from his dreams! "Oh, hey... You're home. How was uh.." he rubbed his eyes, before continuing his sentence "Your day at work?" He questioned, caring about his daughter. "It was okay. I was thinking of getting a tattoo." She said. "Sure, if that's what you want. You're old enough for that decision." Mark spoke, trusting Ellice was sensible enough. "Had a weird dream." Mark told Ellice, as he re-positioned himself to sit upright. "Oh, what kind of dream?" Ellice asked, curious about her father's dreams. She reached over to the remote control, pressing a few buttons on it. "I'm trying to grasp it, it kinda is faded." Mark mumbled.