Chapter Text
Wind howled in her ears like a crying plea carried through the air, tugging at her face and clothes. The wind danced in her hair as it pulled it to the side, causing her cherry blonde locks to tangle into knots. Around her she could hear people laughing and screams shouting in the air. The smell of popcorn and sweat poisoned the air, much like a movie theater.. or a carnival.
Like a carnival.
She noticed tents in her vision now, were they there the whole time or did they suddenly appear? Had she only just now noticed them?
One tent in particular was bigger than the rest, it stood out like a mountain amongst hills.
Red and black.
She steadily walked in the direction of the red tent, as if it was beckoning her through the flaps and into the dark space. Just before she could reach the entrance flap -or what she assumed to be- a face was suddenly there.
The figure was tall, but something told her that this figure shown was short for her kind, whatever that meant.
The figure had a feminine appearance, and the cloth wrapping its skin was a vibrant shade of pink.
Was she a clown? Her appearance seemed to portray her as one. Her costume also has little bells, and though the fog was blocking her vision, she could make out some patterns on the costume.
Then a voice came from the figure before her.
“Welcome home, dear”
…
What?
“home” said the figure, almost in an eerie way.
It's voice was a bit high, but not annoyingly so. Its voice was gentle, nothing more than a soft caress to the ears.
“Hell-hello?” She sputtered, her voice wavering.
The figure repeated itself again, but this time the wind started raging and the fog started to thicken. It was as if something wanted to prevent her from reaching the figure. Like something was trying to separate her from the tent and the figure standing just outside the entrance flap. A silent barrier, one of fog and wind.
“Wait! Come back!” She shouted against the wind, but now the fog almost completely filled her vision, and all she could hear or feel was the outraged wind as it circled around her.
She awoke from her dreams with a gasp, suddenly sitting up.
After a while her breath caught up to her, and her eyes were starting to awake from the haziness.
She could see her bedroom now, with the early sun's rays barely making it into her room. With just the littlest bit of golden light, she could see the familiar environment around her. The gentle lighting felt like comfort to her, and so she slowly crawled out of bed. She sat there at the end of her bed relishing in the morning sun for a bit before hurriedly readying herself for the tiresome day at work.
~ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ~
“Ah, there she is! It isn't like you to be late, you know, did something happen?” She heard the familiar and soothing voice before the figure behind the counter turned fully and smiled brightly at her.
“Good morning to you too, Carol. Just some unpleasant dreams were all! Nothing to worry about.” You reassured her, walking behind the counter to clock in for the day.
The day was just like the usual, serving customers and striking up small talk. She wasn't a particularly social person, but nonetheless she didn't mind it either.
Once the breakfast rush was over and only a few hours were left before the next rush would begin, she leaned against the counter and allowed herself to zone out. She stayed like that for a few minutes, letting her mind rest for a minute.
From her peripheral vision she could sorta see Carol placing the mop back into its designated spot leaning against the wall in the corner by another countertop. Then Carol wasted no time to lean against the counter beside her.
“So, bad dream, huh?” Carol started up their conversation from before.
“Hm, yeah. It was an odd one too. It felt rather eerie, but it was just a dream so I'll most likely forget it by tomorrow.” She replied back.
“True, true.” Carol stated mindlessly, a speech habit of hers.
“But if you ever wanna talk about it more I'm here for ya”
“Thanks, you're always such a comfort to be around you know.”
Right then the door swung open and in came a familiar figure, her presence dramatic yet reassuring.
“Hello, hello! Sorry for not arriving this morning, I slept in after having my boss give me a late night shift to fill in for somebody.” She said in her voice that was always so relaxing to hear, even though it was often a pitch too loud and occasionally held that dramatic tone
“But nonetheless, your favourite customer is here! Didja miss me?” She said after taking a couple strides into the shop, already leaning against the counter, and fluttering her thick eye lashes at that last part.
“Ah, there she is, the shop never feels the same without you here to light up the mood around here.” Carol replied, with just as much enthusiasm and just a little less dramatics.
Carol then gestures at you before continuing,
“Daisy here had a nightmare last night.”
Daisy shook her head before responding,
“It was nothing, just made me a little late was all.” She paused before she continued.
“Seriously Ivory, you've got to stop barging in like that.” And as she said it she seems to shrink a little before looking around the coffee shop at the few customers sitting at the tables with their coffee whilst either talking to another person or doing busy work. Everyone seems to have paused and stared at Ivory, before noticing that their conversation had paused for a second and Daisy's glances around the shop. Once everyone began chattering again I Ivory responded with a little snicker.
“Haha, shy now are we? Should I mention that time you-”
She was interrupted by Daisy's panicked reaction of leaning over and cupping her hand over Ivory's mouth, turning to Carol with a guilty expression.
“I don't know what you're talking about!” She said in a jokingly aggravated tone before releasing her friend and leaving the counter to wash her hands (Ivory had licked her hand in an effort to get her to let go, which worked.)
“I'm.. not even going to ask?” Carol said confusedly over Ivory's soft snickering.
~ ꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ~
As Daisy served the final customer and the sun was starting to go down, Carol and Derek seemed to walk out of the back room. Carol was already clocked out, heading out the door with a quick wave in Daisy's direction which she returned the friendly gesture.
“Go ahead and clock out, I'll be shutting the shop close tonight” Her boss had told her.
“Ah alright, have a good one!” She replied before heading over to the back room to get her stuff and clock out for the day.
Her walk home wasn't too long, but after work days when her limbs were tired and cheeks were sore from keeping up her customer service smile, the walks always felt almost unbearable.
After she reached her apartment complex she rushed inside until she was already up the first flight of stairs, her apartment being on the second floor.
Upon entering her apartment everything seemed to be just as she left it. Her car cleo came practically running in her direction, mewing and whining.
After feeding her cat, Daisy wasted no time getting herself ready for the night.
Her dreams weren't the same as the night before, but she vaguely remembered a thick white fog and a harsh wind. She could also vaguely recall the sound of a voice, which felt familiar but she couldn't quite figure out how.
Of course when she woke up, hazy but not panicked like the night before, she knew w
hy. And for some reason, that same voice seemed to haunt her dreams… but why?