While You Were Dreaming

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Morpheus. The word echoed in my mind as I was captivated by its appearance on the assignment I still clutched in my hands, my knees turned weak and I felt myself slide into the chair opposite my father as he marked furiously. Why was this word plaguing me? Surely this wasn’t a coincidence. A few moments later, I looked up from the paper I had been staring at and met my father’s hazel-brown eyes which were filled with a mixture of concern and amusement.

“What is wrong kori? Did that Ricky boy do anything or say anything bad to you? I will sort him out for you if you want.”

I could see that his mind was swirling with weird and wonderful sins Ricky could have committed to offend me.

“No Baba, nothing’s wrong. I was just curious, who is Morpheus? This student wrote his assignment on him but I’ve never heard of him mentioned in Greek history.”

My father’s eyebrow shot up in a horrified expression, his mouth twisting in disappointment.

“Now, Callista. I know that all of these movies now days focus on Zeus and the Olympian gods and goddesses but you cannot tell me that you never paid any attention when I spoke to you and your brother about the other aspects of mythology. Greek mythology doesn’t revolve around the titans versus the Olympians.” my father’s voice went into his lecturing tone and I had to force myself not to zone out like I did under the usual circumstances.

 “I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention Baba, I truly am. Please can you teach me about Morpheus?”

I hoped my apology and pleading would work as it usually did without fail. My father clearly couldn’t pass up an opportunity to lecture me on his favourite topics so he set down his red pen and grabbed a thick, leather bound book from the bookshelf, placing it down on his desk with a resounding thud. The spine of the book crackled as he flipped through the pages, his fingers finally coming to rest on a page entitled “The Oneroi”.

“Morpheus is one of the Oneroi, the winged sons of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Pasithea, the goddess of rest and relaxation. The Oneroi are triplets responsible for all aspects of the dream realm. There is Icelus, god of nightmares, Phantasus, god of illusional dreams, and Morpheus. Morpheus is the god of dreams and is the only one of the three Oneroi who is able to see and influence the dreams of kings, heros and other gods. He is also the dream messenger of the gods and appeared in the dreams of many kings to warn them of an upcoming tragedy.”

He leaned forward and turned the old book around to face me, pointing to a picture of an extremely muscular man bending over a sleeping woman, his wings spread out from his back in a protecting gesture. This man looked nothing like the man from my dreams, his face too sharp, eyes too narrow and his nose too ‘Roman’. I felt my hopes dash themselves against a rock of disappointment. Even though I didn’t truly believe that the Greek gods were real, it would have been an amazing fantasy come to reality.

I smiled at my father and stood, kissing him on his cheek in thanks before I went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. However illogical the guy in my dreams being a god was, perhaps it was a sign. Perhaps the guy in my dreams really was John Doe and not just my imagination running wild with me. My mind continued to weigh up the options as I tugged on my brother’s old t-shirt. I liked to wear it to bed when I missed him, it was something of a comfort to me and I often ended up putting it on unconsciously whenever things were going bad.

I tugged my hairbrush through my tangled hair and slid into bed with a book. Reading was something I always found pleasure in - there was nothing more wonderful than getting lost in a good book. Tonight I could barely concentrate on the book, my mind at war with the print on the page. I eventually gave up after I had read the same line three times in a row, resigning myself to closing the book and attempting to sleep. Instead, I found myself staring at the shadows on the walls of my room; sinister shapes waving at me in the darkness. It was nights like these which made me think of my childhood. Those nights when my dreams were plagued with monsters I always found myself climbing into my parent’s bed or waking my brother up to come and check under my bed... just in case. I was far too old to do any of those things, although the urge was barely deniable. Eventually I felt myself drift to sleep, my hand captured by night time companion.

We lay in the middle of a field of poppies on a picnic blanket, watching for shooting stars in the night sky. My head rested on his chest and his faint heartbeats alerted me to how close I was to this guy. He had wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me close as his other hand entwined itself with mine.

“You awake, my love?” he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my sensitive skin.

Awake. What a strange thing to ask someone in a dream, yet I found myself answering without pause.

“Yes, but barely.”

His soft chuckle vibrated in his chest, causing me to lift my head and look up into his eyes. His eyes glowed with humour in the darkness, the light from the moon casting him it its radiance. He smiled down at me and ran a fingertip across my lower lip before lowering his mouth to mine in a smouldering kiss. This was the first time I had felt his lips on mine and I immediately became intoxicated with his kiss, my head becoming light and empty of all the thoughts which had filled it just moments ago. As he pulled away I felt the warmth which he had lent me grow cold and I shuddered as a breeze caressed my skin.

“I’m sorry, my Callie, I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“Why?” I asked, confusion audible in my voice.

He caressed my cheek with his thumb, the roughness of it in direct contrast to the softness of his lips.

“I stole your first kiss away from you without even asking your permission. That was impolite of me and I do apologize. My only excuse is that you steal away all common sense from me.”

I lifted my chin and brushed my lips against the corner of his, blatantly revealing how inexperienced I was at this yet hoping that my bold move would put his mind to rest.

He pulled me closer to him in his arms, wrapping me in a warmth which seemed to radiate from within my own body. We returned to watching the skies in silence, taking comfort in each other’s presence.

“Look! A shooting star.” he pointed up at the light which shot across the night. “Close your eyes and make a wish.”

I closed my eyes and racked my brain for something to wish for, my heart beating loudly in my chest as I made my wish.

“What did you wish for?” I asked him, still staring into the sky.

“If I told you it wouldn’t come true.” he whispered. “That’s the awful thing about wishes.”

“Spoil sport.” I poked him softly in the stomach, causing him to grab my hand and hold it where it could do no more as I smiled at his efforts.

His lips found mine once more and once again I was sucked into a sphere of blissful warmth.

“Morpheus? Morpheus! Where are you?” a feminine voice broke through the romantic atmosphere and turned me suddenly hostile.

My dream was being invaded by another woman? Nah ah! That was not going to happen. I began to rise to turn and face the intruder.

“Callie, I can explain.” Morpheus’s voice made my stomach contract into a tight knot.

I whipped my head toward the intruder, a gorgeous blonde woman dressed in a flowing white dress which floated around her feet as if she walked on foam. My memory jolted as I recognised her. This intruder was Miss Clark, the new resident in the coma unit who had driven into a wall.

I felt the blood drain from my face as realisation sunk in and the edges of my vision began to blur as the dream faded and reality returned.