“I could. But only if you want me to.”
“I do want you to.”
“But why, Nix? Why do you want me to return?”
“Because…Because I’ve fallen in l—”
* * * *
I wake to blinding sunlight and fresh warmth against my face. The heat burns my cheeks, chin, and forehead. Part of me thinks I’ve died, whisked away to a different planet or world. But this isn’t the case. At least this is what I realize, surfacing from nighttime, early-early morning, and REM sleep. A new day becomes fresh in my semi-open eyes. July heat floods the bedroom and brushes against my bare skin. It provides an abundance of burning kisses and licks to my flesh, and attempts to blind me. I’m fine, though. Safe. Nothing hurts me. Not the dream. Not the summertime. Nothing. I simply wake from a night’s sleep and face the new day h
