CHAPTER ELEVEN - Breakfast on the Beach of Deception (pt. I)
We continue walking down the watery road parted before us, still with no end in sight. Despite the beauty around us, I can’t ignore the fact my feet are beginning to hurt. I look down at them for a moment, and…
“My shoes!” I gasp, almost stopping in my tracks. Thank God I don’t, “I left them on the beach!”
“Forgetful as usual,” Anton mutters, probably to himself but loudly enough that everyone here can hear him, “How unfortunate. It’s not as if we’re able to go back and retrieve them.”
“…And I just realized I don’t have the e-Scryer with me!” Catherine exclaims, “Hong, you don’t happen to have it, do you?”
It’s obviously not in my hands, so I feel around in my pockets even though I don’t remember putting it in there. They’re completely empty, unsurprisingly.
“I don’t have it,” I reply sheepishly, “I don’t know what I did with it… Must’ve dropped it in all the excitement on the beach, ehe…”
Of course, she isn’t happy with this answer. Even though I can’t see her face, I can feel her angry glare boring holes into the back of my head. She mutters something harsh under her breath.
“Um, I’m really sorry for leaving it behind,” I say, trying to sate her, “This is a dream and all so surely it’s not lost forever, you know? When you wake up you’ll get it back, and I’ll get my shoes and socks back, too.”
“I am inclined to believe Hong is correct,” Anton remarks, surprisingly coming to my defense, “This dream may be unusual, but it is not too dissimilar from any other. So long as we are able to reach the end of the ocean and wake up, things will remain in reality as they had before we all went to sleep.”
“Yeah, and I guess there’s not really any use worrying about stuff that we can’t go back and get anyway,” I add, “Right now, I think the only thing we should worry about is surviving long enough to wake up.” And yeah, I’m sure worried about that, alright, I think to myself, What if none of us wake up again? Which would be worse? Dying? Or being trapped here forever? I think for a moment more, Would I be reincarnated here? Dying and being reborn eternally in this place sounds like hell.
I shake my head to get the bad thoughts out and wrap my arms around myself to stay grounded. I look down at Maggie, and pray that she’ll wake up soon. I hope that as long as she’s here, even though she is still a snake, everything will be okay.
“Just how long do we have to walk for? These boots are new and haven’t been broken in yet,” Catherine huffs, changing the subject, “I feel my heels blistering up already! If I’d known I was gonna be stuck here, I’d have taken these stupid things off and left them on the beach! Maybe you had the right idea, Hong.”
“I’m kinda wondering how much more we have to walk too,” I reply, “I was thinking maybe I could fly up on ahead to see how much more ocean we have to walk through?”
“Christ almighty, that would be excellent. Why don’t you go ahead and do that?”
“I just… I don’t know if I can. Maggie said we have to walk through the whole thing. She didn’t say we could fly. Even if everyone else stays here and continues walking, I don’t wanna risk messing things up by flying away.”
“Yes, as much as we are all curious, it is for the best you stay here,” Anton agrees, “Not only for the reason that you mentioned, but because it is safest if we stick together. Normally I would have no qualms about you running off for a bit, as I did earlier with that dove, but… Things have taken a dire turn. There is safety in numbers, and as usual I feel called upon to protect you– though this time that calling is justified and not coming from paranoid ideation.”
I want to feel touched by his words, but I just feel whiplash. What’s up with him?! One second he seemed so disappointed in me, and now he’s going on about ‘feeling called upon to protect’ me… I’m honestly kind of shocked he’d bring that up in front of other people! Normally he only says that kind of stuff when it’s just us. I guess maybe this time is different since I really did get hurt badly? There’s no knowing with this guy.
“Ahem,” Catherine clears her throat, “Are Tim and I chopped liver to you, Anton? Do we not deserve protection too?”
“Safety in numbers includes you two as well,” Anton retorts, “I, however, am especially worried about Hong considering the fact that they nearly died. If it were you or Tim who had been harmed I would be equally concerned, of course.”
“Yeah, sure, you’d be equally as concerned,” she mutters sarcastically, “My ass! It’s obvious you’re only worried about Hong. Why is that? Is it because you’ve got a little crush on them? Hmmm?”
The second those words leave her mouth there’s a sudden chill in the air. I can feel my face burning up in humiliation, and I know Anton’s just as embarrassed as I am if not more.
“How dare you insinuate such a thing,” he hisses, his voice low and foreboding, “I have already told you that is not the case, and it is highly inappropriate for you to continue suggesting otherwise. I am their mentor, so I am responsible for their wellbeing so long as they are under my supervision. It is my job to be concerned.”
“I was only teasing, you know. With such a defensive reaction, I’m starting to think there really is something going on between you two…”
“Enough. I have grown tired of hearing your voice, Catherine. I think it is in your best interest to stop speaking now.”
Anton’s voice isn’t as angry as it could be, but his tone is menacing and sends a chill down my spine. I can’t help but feel a little terrified, and with that Catherine immediately shuts up. I can’t tell if she’s scared, too, but it’s clear she’s taken the hint. In normal circumstances, I don’t really find him all that intimidating, but honestly, he can be scary when he wants to.
“Well! Perhaps it is for the best we all stop talking for a bit,” Tim says quickly, attempting to diffuse the situation, “Lovely idea, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not every day one gets to experience the sea in such a manner! Moments spent arguing are moments wasted in such a wonderful place… and if we’re too loud we might scare away all the fish.”
Poor Tim. I feel bad that he’s dragged into all this mess! He didn’t ask to be here, and I’m sure that he wants to wake up just as much as everyone else here does! I guess that’s more fuel for the fire— my wish to wake up and for everything to go back to normal.
Overwhelmed with exhaustion and difficult emotions, I sigh shakily, and a couple of frustrated tears that had been welling up in my eyes roll down my cheeks silently. I wipe them, and remind myself I must be brave. We’re almost through with this, and we’ll all wake up soon. Even if that isn’t true, I must convince myself it is! With every step we take, we’re one step closer to getting out of here, even though it doesn’t feel like it at all. That is the only thing keeping me going.
We walk for even longer, in complete awkward silence, as the sun begins to come up above us. The sunrise turns the sky orange, then pink, then blue, and it beats down upon the world below. It stings my eyes a bit, but I am happy to see it again. It gives me hope, and I don’t feel as sad or scared anymore. And as the day marches on just like all of us, the water grows shallower. Anton, being the tallest of all of us, is the first to see it– the beach up ahead.
“Look ahead!” He exclaims, “Could this be the end of our journey?”
“I-I really hope it is!” I shout back, my heart filling with so much excitement that all the weariness dissipates from my body, “It has to be!”
I begin to run ahead of everyone else, feet not hurting or tired at all anymore.
“LAND HO!!” I scream maniacally as I nearly stumble over my own feet, “LAND HO AT LONG LAST!!!!”
When I reach the shore, my first instinct is to flop belly-first onto the sand, but since Maggie is still draped around my shoulders, I decide just to kneel gently in order to avoid crushing her.
“We made it…” Catherine gasps, incredulous, “Holy shit. My socks are soaked with blood and sweat from these stupid boots!”
She unbuckles them and tosses them aside, and indeed her white socks are stained red. Goddamn, way to ruin the moment, I think to myself, shuddering.
“Anton, look, I’m sorry for earlier or whatever. This might sound weird, but do you think you could heal up my feet? Please?” She asks, cozying up to Anton and taking off her wet socks, “Look how bloody they are!”
He pushes her away awkwardly, refusing to look at or speak to her. I don’t blame him one bit. I still can’t believe they ever dated; what a match made in hell! I almost feel bad for Anton, seeing how she acts around him. (Key word here: Almost.)
Suddenly, on my shoulders, I feel Maggie begin to move. She slithers down my arm and onto the sand below, and with a puff of blue sparkly smoke she’s back to her human form. She sits up on her knees before me slowly, fussing with her hair and dress.
“MAGGIE!!!!” I cry, leaping forward and nearly tackling her in a bearhug, “You’re okay! Thank God!!”
“A-Ack! Mr. Hong!!” She gasps, looking around at everyone from behind my shoulders, and then at me, “I… I’m so glad everybody is okay! Especially you!! You really scared me back there!”
“I was worried about you too! Don’t go turning into a snake like that again!” I sniffle and wipe my eyes, grinning widely.
“Ah, I’ll try not to… Hehe…”
She wraps her arms around mine weakly, sighing contentedly. I let her go, and as I stand up I help her get back on her feet.
“Hey, my shoes are gone,” she remarks, looking down, “Oh! And yours are too! We must’ve left them behind when that dragon showed up, huh?”
I nod.
“Luckily I can just summon us new ones!” She says, and in the blink of an eye we’re both in the same shoes we’d left miles behind. She also summons a new bandage for my arm, even though I didn’t ask her to.
Anton, Catherine, and Tim walk over to us.
“What a relief it is,” Anton mutters, adjusting his glasses, “Was worried you’d remain a snake forever and we’d have to be responsible for it…”
“Maggie, can I ask a favor?” Catherine interrupts, pointing to her feet, “My feet are all bloody and blistered from my stupid boots. I don’t wanna get blood everywhere. I think you’d be able to help with that.”
Maggie grimaces at the sight, screwing her eyes shut for a second.
“I mean… Eugh. I guess I could,” she sighs, reluctantly summoning blue magic from her hands.
She waves her hands around and Catherine’s feet are healed and the blood is gone.
“After this, I must be careful about using too much of my magic all at once. If I do, I turn into a snake and can’t turn back into a person for a long time,” Maggie cautions.
“What happened to you earlier… it makes sense now,” I reply, scratching my head, “I don’t want that to happen again! I like you as a human much more!”
“Trust me, I like being a human too! So I have to be careful! I won’t use my magic frivolously anymore. I am only going to use it in case there’s an emergency. Since you guys are gonna all wake up soon, though, I don’t think we really have to worry about any emergencies happening.”
“Anyway, heartfelt moments aside, my patience has worn thin. I am anxious to see the secret you’d said was waiting for us at the end of the ocean,” Anton brushes his windswept bangs from his eyes, “The one we’d walked so many miles to find… It is meant to be here, no?”
“Oh, right, that! It’s just a little up this way,” she smiles, pointing to the grassy field in front of us.
More walking?! Seriously?! We all groan, and Maggie waves her hands defensively.
“No, no, no! It’s not that far ahead, guys! J-Just follow me! You’ve already made it this far! What’s a little more?”
“Look, you’d better not be messing with us,” Catherine says, stumbling over her words due to her frustration, “You’d better mean what you’re saying, or… or…”
“What reason would I have to lie?” Maggie asks, tilting her head to the side and pouting, “Have I given you any reason to think I’m lying? If you want to wake up, please just trust me!”
“Oh, alright,” she groans, “Whatever, kid.”
And so we walk through the soft sand of the shoreline to the grassy fields beyond. The grass here waves wildly in the wind, and makes the air around us smell crisp and fresh. Unlike the starting-point field of this dream, there is no dirt path and there are no wildflowers.
“Okay, here it is!” Maggie says, and we all look ahead to see a white dining table with five chairs around it, “It doesn’t matter where you guys sit as long as you find a chair.”
We all sit down, and it certainly feels nice to after all that walking. I sit next to Anton, scooting my chair slightly closer to his. He looks at me for a second, and I’m expecting him to lecture me on personal space or something. But he doesn’t, and instead closes his eyes and exhales deeply. Guess he’s too weary to be bothered. Fine by me! I scoot my chair even closer, to the point where our shoulders are nearly touching.
“Alright,” Maggie clears her throat, “So now that we’re all gathered here, let us eat. I know you guys must be hungry after being here for so long!”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, I feel my stomach rumbling!”
“Eating a meal?! What does this have to do with us waking up?” Catherine asks frustratedly, “Stop wasting our time!”
“H-Hey! I’m getting to that!” Maggie retorts, “Umm, anyway, I’m going to summon some breakfast for everyone. Once you eat all of it, you’ll wake up and be transported to reality! Most people don’t make it this far in this dream… So this feast is a very special occasion!”
She waves her hands over the table, and a quite rich-looking breakfast of pancakes with whipped cream and berries appears on all of our plates, and our cups are filled with some kind of floral-smelling tea.
“Th-This looks really good,” I stare at the pancakes, my mouth watering, “Thank you!”
“Where exactly does this food come from?” Anton asks ungratefully, glancing suspiciously at his food and Maggie, “…Eugh. I cannot stand sweets. This tea does look rather delightful, though a strong whiskey would perhaps be better for my mental state after dealing with such unpleasantries.” He pokes his pancake stack with his fork, and a blueberry rolls off the top of the whipped cream mountain.
I begin to cut up the pancakes into little bites, and I dig in as everyone but Anton does the same. He instead elects to take a sip of his tea; the teacup looks doll-sized in his large hands.
“You’re really complaining about pancakes and tea? It could be worse,” I say with a mouthful of food, “Maggie could’ve had us eat roadkill or British people food or something. Or bugs! But honestly, if they were centipedes or stag beetles, I wouldn’t be complaining at all! They’re actually not that bad-tasting!”
Anton and Tim glare at me and Catherine gags in disgust. I wash down my pancakes with a hearty sip of tea, not exactly understanding why they’re so offended.
“Umm, Hong, why do you eat bugs?” Maggie asks, unphased, “You did mention it earlier, and it’s making me curious.”
“Wellllllll, it’s like, bird instincts or something. Being a phoenix means I’m half-human and half-bird, so I can’t help but eat bird stuff like worms and bugs sometimes, hehe!” I smirk smugly, “And eating bugs really isn’t gross at all! I really like how, when I eat beetles, their shells are nice and crunchy, and–”
“I can’t bear to hear another word of this!” Tim interrupts, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation, “Those poor defenseless creatures! Though I suppose it is part of the cycle of life, I cannot stand to see any harm come to them. It makes me feel awful.”
“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” I sigh, looking at the ground and feeling slightly ashamed, “I guess I got carried away. I won’t talk about it anymore.”
“Thank you. And you cannot speak negatively of ‘British people food’ until you have experienced the pleasure of a full English on an empty stomach! It really is an excellent meal!”
“People, the sooner we finish our food, the sooner we will return to the waking world. Precious time is wasted by talking so mindlessly,” Anton states impatiently, “I do not wish to be trapped in this place any longer than necessary.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I take another bite of pancake, “I just wanna wake up too. That would be nice.”