chandler the non-binary ghost (discontinued)

chapter three - apple dreams

it's wet. the grass is wet. the air is also wet. it's not pouring but the air is still dense and soaked. small raindrops fell from the sky. the leaves on the apple trees rustled in the wind. everything was black and white. the color was drained from the sky. i looked up at the apple tree looming over me. and as if on cue, the big red apple, the only thing with color, detached from the tree and came falling, falling, falling... until i felt a big splash on my face. and i woke up.

such a vivid dream. i still felt water on my face. 'a leak,' i thought. i sat up and slowly made my way into the kitchen, flipping the light on. my heart nearly failed when i saw a figure perched on my counter. i grabbed a kitchen knife and threw it at the creature. it phased through.

"rude," i heard a familiar voice say, "and to think i was even considering making you breakfast."

i sighed in relief, "chandler," i laughed, "i forgot about you, sorry."

i saw them glare at me from the corner of my eye, "there's a leak in your roof, by the way."

"yeah, thanks, i noticed," i mumbled, walking to my hallway closet to grab a bucket. i found a small yellow bucket. my mom bought it for me for the beach when i was little. my lips formed a fond and tender smile. i walked the bucket over to the couch, setting it where the leak was. i still couldn't believe it was raining. in summer. i walked back into the kitchen. chandler tossed me an apple, shouting "think fast!" i caught it and stared at it for a moment.

"it's funny," i said, ominously, "i just had a dream about apples."

chandler stared at me for a moment before faking a laugh, "oh, funny," they quipped, sarcastically. they reached behind them and pulled the knife out of the wall, "you know what else is funny?"

i made eye contact with them, their grin sending shivers down my spine, "hm?"

"it's funny how," they started, hopping off the counter and walking closer to me. i backed up until i was against a wall, "this knife, designed for cutting food and vegetables to feed you and keep you alive, could just as easily kill you."

my body went cold. were they threatening me? trust is so hard. especially with the undead. i slowly stepped sideways, trying to exit the kitchen without them noticing. i managed to escape, dropping the apple in the process. i grabbed my coat and decided to make a run for it.

"wait," they called after me, their voice sounding magnified, "please, it's not what it seems like."

but it was too late. i was already out the door and in my car, halfway to my friend allen's house. maybe he'd let me stay there for a while. to gather my thoughts. hopefully i'm able to find a way out of this.