While You Were Dreaming

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

I stayed away from the hospital for almost two weeks, living in a dreamless world of darkness and sullen sorrow until my parents started to get worried. I began to go to sleep tired and wake up even more tired, stuck in the continual cycle until, eventually, I gave up and decided to stop taking the tablets. I stared at my gaunt and pale face which looked as if I had been ill, my long brunette hair seemed to have lost all life as well and hung in a stringy mess. Somehow I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had become a mere shadow of my former self because I had stopped seeing Morpheus. I was still hurt, but Miss Clark’s entrance into my dream didn’t bother me as much as it had.

I plaited my hair and made a mental note to get something to bring it to life again before I tugged on a dress I knew made me look good, covering my face with a thin layer of foundation and finishing my makeup off with eyeliner and mascara. At least the foundation made my skin look more normal than it had looked all week.

“Callista, your mother and I are leaving in five minutes whether you’re ready or not!” my father said through my closed bedroom door.

I got the feeling that he was excited that I wanted to go back to the hospital, even though it was my Saturday to be working at the restaurant. I guess he just wanted me participating in normal life once again. He had called in the big guns a few nights ago, getting Nik to call me to try and coax me into telling him what was wrong. I just ended up lying to my brother. I spun a story of how stressful senior year is and how taxing all the homework was which he seemed to believe as my parents both relaxed a bit afterwards.

I grabbed my phone and lunch money from my dressing table before I dashed downstairs to catch my folks before they left me behind. The trip to the hospital seemed too short and left me with no time to compose myself. I walked slowly passed the blonde secretary who had given us so much attitude on the first day and now seemed amazed to see me. By the time I reached the ward I was seriously contemplating turning around and calling my folks to turn back and fetch me. Unfortunately for me, Doc spotted me before I could escape and immediately I felt guilty for even thinking of running away.

“Welcome back Callista, you’ve been missed.” a nurse said as I walked passed her.

I replied with a smile and went over to the nurses’ station to say hello to the rest of them. They genuinely seemed happy to see me, which surprised me a little considering the fact that I had only worked in the ward for a few weeks.

“Ah Callie, the patients will be so happy to see you back and those in the coma unit too.”

I wished I could say that the feeling was mutual. Doc set me to work sorting out the ward’s linen closet and making sure the emergency trolley was stocked with everything the nurses would need in the case of an emergency.  With that done, a nurse talked me into going around to see if any of the patients needed anything. Slowly I made my rounds, taking patients water or tea and helping them with their pillows if need be. I had just taken an older gentleman a glass of water when Doc pulled back the curtains from around a bed in the corner of the room.

“Well, you seem to be doing much better.” I heard him say, barely paying attention as I rearranged the wilting flowers in the vase next to the gentleman’s bed. “You should be able to go home within the next few weeks if you continue with this progress.”

“Thank you Doctor Cook.” a velvet feminine voice replied, sounding all too familiar although I couldn’t quite place it.

“I’ll call your mother now to tell her the good news, Miss Clark.”

Shocked, I turned toward her as she smiled at Doc. Her smile wavered as she caught sight of me but said nothing. I pretended as if nothing had happened as I moved to the next patient but my mind remained on the gorgeous blonde in the corner. By the time I reached her bed I was seriously contemplating faking a faint just to get out of having to spend another moment in the ward, but my pride won out and I refused to resort to such cheap tactics.

“Good morning Miss Clark, I’m so glad to see that you’re awake.” I managed to say brightly, wearing a smile as if it were a mask.

She visibly paled and replied with a weak greeting, clearly unsure of what to do. Her reaction puzzled me. If my dreams were purely dreams then she wouldn’t have responded in such an awkward manner, at least that was what my mind told me. My logic, on the other hand, claimed that I was being ridiculous and that there was no way that Miss Clark could have known that she was in my dream.

“Callie, Doc wants your help.” a nurse called from across the ward, providing me with the most genuine escape I could have asked for.

For the rest of the morning Doc had me running around the hospital on errands for him so I didn’t get a chance to ponder Miss Clark’s strange reaction to my appearance. By the time I returned to the ward I had forgotten about her completely – until I saw her staring at the door to the coma unit almost wistfully. Out of spite I made my way toward the coma unit, not thinking of what I may have to confront until it was too late. My gaze went directly to where John Doe lay in his continuous state of dreaming, taking in the changes which had occurred over the period of my absence. He looked paler than before and he had clearly lost weight, despite the fact that he was fed through the tubes he was hooked up to. A sudden sense of regret washed over me, although I didn’t know why. It wasn’t my fault that his health had deteriorated, surely not.

I brushed my fingertips gently against his cheek, crooning nonsensical words to him without knowing I was doing so. His skin was ice-cold, giving me the illusion that he was nothing more than a breathing corpse. The thought chilled me to the bone and I struggled to shake that image from my mind. I turned to the other patients, greeting them as I made my way from the room. Miss Clark’s gaze was piercing as exited the coma unit, making me feel uncomfortable – as if she knew what had occurred in the other unit. I shook off the feeling and began my rounds again, checking on the patients’ needs.

“Miss Georgiou?” Miss Clark called out to me, sounding as if she were about to lose her nerve.

I turned to face her, unrestrained hate flooding my eyes as I looked upon the woman who had crushed my dreams quite literally.

“Miss Georgiou, we have to speak. It’s urgent, but I can’t speak to you about it here.”

I merely nodded, indicating that I was willing to talk to her even though I didn’t want to. I made no other effort to engage in a conversation with her. It may have been a bit childish but I deserved to be childish, at least I believed so. This seemed to be no obstacle for my determined foe and mere moments later I was pushing her IV pole as she used a walker steady herself as we walked toward the fountain at the front of the hospital entrance.

“Miss Georgiou... Callista... may I call you Callista? Well that doesn’t really matter, does it? Oh dear.” Miss Clark started, stammering through her speech in a nervous gesture. “I guess what I want to say first is that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have barged in on you and Morpheus. He told me not to interrupt him, I just never thought he would be with someone else.”

I felt the blood drain from my face as she confirmed my suspicions. Morpheus was real and he’d been haunting my dreams for weeks.

“That doesn’t matter anymore. I won’t be seeing him anymore.” I retorted, attempting to salvage some control.

She was visibly taken aback, and came to a halt in front of a bench. I could see her struggling with something within her mind, but I didn’t care to guess what that something could be. After learning that Morpheus was real, I had too many questions that needed answering for me to worry about Miss Clark’s internal struggle.

“Callista, you can’t abandon Morpheus because of my mistake. He was furious with me – he even sent me back to make amends with you. Clearly I have failed.” a defeated look flashed across her face.

“It isn’t that I don’t forgive you for what you did.” I said, suddenly filled with remorse for what I had led her to believe. “It’s just that I don’t want to see Morpheus anymore. He led me to believe that I was the only one he was interested in romantically and I refuse to be played like that. He also omitted to tell me so many things – like the fact that he is real.”

I felt anger bubble up inside of me, begging to be released upon the poor, unsuspecting Miss Clark.

“Don’t.” She clutched my hand fiercely, displaying more strength than I thought her capable of. “Don’t be angry with him. He wanted to get to know you first before he placed his life in your hands. Don’t you see? He’s trapped against his will and you, Callista, are the only one who can free him.”