Dear Mister Sandman

Chapter 2

"Are you Charlotte Denver?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow at her. The moment she looked into his eyes, he saw her face whiten to a shade of pale he had never seen before. The man didn't know what that meant, but felt slightly insulted when he heard her gulp audibly. He clenched his jaw. Why was she so scared?

"Why?" She made a face at the sound of her name. She hated the name Charlotte. That's why she always went with Charlie. It was cute and fit her personality. She saw the man open his mouth, but he closed it after a few seconds. That made her raise an eyebrow and she dared to look up into his eyes once more.

His expression was almost comical when his eyelids squinted together and he had a small frown on his forehead. She took this moment to get a grip of herself. She shouldn't have been afraid when she first saw him. Charlie had to remember that she was supposed to be a guardian of the city in only a few months.

"Well?" She had the guts to ask him, her voice sounding much sterner now. He snapped his gaze towards her and Charlie almost jumped, but didn't.
"Well, I- you need me." He made a face after hearing what just came out of his mouth. Was he serious? He had had this conversation over a million times when he was practicing this situation in front of the mirror. But seeing her now and being this close to her, did him no good. He wasn't a social guy, but he was smart. Should've known that reality would differ from practice.

"Excuse me?" She asked the man, who was now the one gulping. She watched in amazement as his Adam's apple moved. She almost smirked, but then looked back up into his menacingly hard gaze.

"You heard me." He said, surprising himself with the confidence in his tone.
"What are you talking about? Who even are you?" Charlie asked. She had more questions, but she didn't want him to notice that her panic kept rising with each question she asked. Should she even still stand here? What if this guy was just a creep? Why was she even listening to him?

The young man looked at the woman in front of him. He had not expected her to be like that. All those things he found out about her over that week of investigation didn't really add up to her personality. He knew she was a trainee at the police department, but she didn't act like a police officer yet.

And then her height. He had only watched her from afar and she looked taller than she did now. He was easily towering over her and he kind of liked that feeling. Her eyes were brown and not black like he assumed. But he was willing to let all of his knowledge about the woman in front of him go and concentrated on what he was here for.

"My name is Morpheus Oneiroi. I heard about your nightmares and I am here to- well, cure them." He answered her questions and waited for her reaction as he watched her intensively.
"Morpheus? Like the God of Dreams?" She laughed humourlessly. Morpheus raised another black eyebrow. He was genuinely surprised she knew about that. Most people in Rian don't know much about Greek mythology.

"Did Doctor Ronald send you? Is this some sort of promotion for a new treatment? Because that's unnecessary. Tell her, I'm taking her advice and tire my body out before I go to sleep." He was confused by her words, but then remembered Doctor Ronald was her therapist.

"No. I assure you, I am no sort of- treatment. Well, somehow I am. But I wasn't sent by your therapist." He said after shaking his head at her words. He had no idea how he would tell her now. All his preparations, all the sentences he learned by heart, were useless now. This conversation already started off wrong.

Charlie squinted her eyes at him. She knew, he was lying. How else would he know that Doctor Ronald was her therapist? She had enough and just wanted to go home. Even though she wasn't looking forward to sleeping, she was exhausted and hungry. Her instant noodles were waiting for her.