Strange Sepia

A Curious Dream

The sun finally fought through the curtains, signalling the first day of the summer holidays. A sleeping Helen stretched and turned, mumbling nothings to herself as she slumbered.

Her dream was most strange; she was sitting beside a lake, a large, clear lake, rippling with force from the gentle, but chilly breeze. The tall trees loomed over her, seemingly watching her as she breathed the misty air. She took a look into the water. It was a light blue, clean colour, the kind of aqua you only ever see in dreams. She looked at her reflection, but instead of seeing her face, she saw Toby’s instead, his elfin glare staring right back at her. She frowned slightly, leaning in to peer at the water, and stroked the length of her face. It felt like her skin. She felt her hair, and it was the same, wiry dark hair she had been born with. She glanced around, confused, but all she could hear was a weak voice in the breeze, whispering an unclear message that she could not fathom. She slowly got to her feet, to follow the noise, but it was like finding the end of a rainbow; it was endless and impossible. The trees grew over her, blackening the forest, and darkening the daylight, which left her in a creeping twilight. She started to run; as fast as she could, to escape the night-like forest, but it went on forever, leaving her running in circles. The voices were louder now, but still, she could not hear what they were saying. She started to scream, a petrifying yelp, that could make the ears bleed...

Helen woke up screaming. Thankfully, she was alone in the house, due to the summer break from school. The last few days had been a bit of a blur, and she missed Toby. She had not seen him this week. Maybe she would visit him today. She caught her breath from the horrible dream, and stumbled out of bed to make herself a coffee. She could never stand mornings. She sat down on a kitchen unit while she waited for the kettle to boil, and thought about her nightmare, and how obscure it had been. It had shaken her slightly. She downed the black coffee, shivering at its strength, when the doorbell. Jesus! She thought, but had no choice but to answer it. Half asleep, she wandered over to the door.

To her surprise, there stood Toby. His hair looked even blonder, almost white in some places, as it blew in the gentle breeze.

“Helen...” He smiled, but raised an eyebrow as he looked down and saw what she was wearing, a smile creeping at his lips “Err..Nice?”

She took a look at her pajamas. Mortified, she realised how stupid she must look. They just had to be the Bambi ones, didn’t they?

“Shit.” She muttered to herself, before realising she had said it aloud. She looked up at Toby.

“Oh. Bugger, sorry. Come in” She apologised for her bad mood, and bad pajamas, it seemed.

“Don’t be sorry. They’re actually very...” Toby looked for the right words whilst he wiped his feet. She finished the sentence for him.

“Sexy? I think not.” She laughed

Toby didn’t bother to argue. He just smiled as he looked around her house. He vaguely remembered it, although he had not been here since he was a small child. He grinned as he looked at Helen’s hair, sticking out in all directions. She looked as if she had just got out of bed.

“Can I get you a drink at all?” She asked, but he declined.

“Did I wake you up Helen? Sorry.” Toby asked

She yawned and shook her head.

“Not quite. You’d know if you had.” She was short-tempered in the mornings, but normally fine after her caffeine boost. “I was going to come see you today,” She told him, but caught a glance of herself in the mirror.

“Christ! I look such a mess!” She yelped in horror, but Toby shook his head

“You just got up!” He reminded her.

“Oh God. Give me a second to smart myself up. Or a few minutes. Just...make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back”

And with that, she ran up the stairs.Toby knew she wouldn’t be back for a while, so he looked around ay the old photos displayed on the wall.

There was one of Helen and her parents, on the beach somewhere warm. Her mother looked a lot like her, dark complexion and black hair, her father slightly paler and sporting a dark beard. A lot of facial hair, but not enough on his head, Toby thought. Helen looked incredibly pretty and not too different. She was though, a lot younger, about ten or eleven. Her hair was lighter and her skin more tanned, and although she was smiling, her eyes looked a million miles away, in a land somewhere of her own. She looked distant and...rather sad. Toby noticed this look in nearly all of the photos; her wild eyes, focused on something distant, but her mouth smiling.
Toby sat back down again. How long would Helen take?

*

A good half hour later, Helen sat upstairs on her bed, still pondering about what to wear when she heard Toby shout. She yelled a panicked reply, hoping he wouldn't come up.
Then there was a knock at the door. Shit, shit, shit.
"No, don't come in!" She told him
"Why, are you not decent?" He asked, laughing
"Er..No." She lied. She was, but she wasn't ready yet, and she still looked a state.
"I don't care. I'm coming in..."
And sure enough, he did.
"Liar. You're fully clothed," He smiled "What's taking you so long?"
"I'm not ready yet. I look a state."
He looked her straight in the eyes.
"You look beautiful. You always do." Toby told her. It was true.
"Shut up." she replied.
"You do!"
"Shut up."
They carried on with the petty argument until they both fell on the bed, laughing. Helen turned on the side and kissed Toby lovingly. She felt as though she did love him, at this minute. It was weird; a few minutes back something had been telling her to go, to run from him, asking her why she was doing this, but it was all different when he was actually there.
"So where are we gonna go?" Helen asked, Toby raising an eyebrow.
"We could stay here..." he said, suggestively. But Helen declined.
"You wish. C'mon"
She stood up and pulled him off the bed.
"Okay, okay," Toby said, slightly hurt "How about the lake?"
Helen thought about her dream. She shuddered slightly. It was just a dream.
"Yeah. Sure." She agreed, but felt slightly uneasy.