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Dream was at his wit’s end. He did not understand how countless nights of juggling schoolwork and his part-time job could all lead to him being homeless overnight. The college boy’s stomach grumbled as he craned his head to look up at the sky. If there was a God up there… Dream wanted to have a word with him. Was this it? Was this the moment where he collapses and his parents get a call a week later to report his lifeless body? Dream chuckled, dying on a sidewalk definitely was not how he imagined himself to go, but as he felt his consciousness slipping away from him, he could not find a better solution to his current situation.
‘Please… if a pretty angel could at least come for me…’
The college boy’s view of the sky was suddenly consumed by a figure standing over him, the rays of the sun crowning over the head in a halo-like fashion. Was this the angel that God sent for him? Dream squinted to make out the face of the angel but failed to do so as his vision started blurring like God forbade him to. Oh yeah, something about angels not having human faces…
“–my God, are you okay?! Please get up! Are you drunk?!”
Before Dream fully lost his consciousness he felt his arm being yanked by the angel’s pale hands, the view of a tuft of brown hair and the smell of food overwhelming his senses serving as his last memory on Earth.
...or so he thought. Dream blearily woke up in an unfamiliar room surrounded by soft blankets and the same smell of food cooking. It smelled like tomatoes being stir-fried, and was that egg? Was he finally in heaven? Did God think his good deeds amassed a good treatment in his entry to heaven? The boy sat up to reorient himself and noticed that there was a TV across him and a coffee table with tiny pots of succulents and flowers adorning it. He looked around and finally noticed that he was in fact, not in heaven, but on someone else’s couch in a stranger’s house.
“You’re awake! I thought you were a goner for sure. I was scared the police might come for me if I left you in front of the restaurant.” An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind him.
Dream swivelled his head around to see where the source of the sound came from (and almost gave himself whiplash in the process). His eyes landed on an unfamiliar face sporting the same brown hair as the angel who picked him up before he passed out wearing a simple brown apron tied around his torso. The man did not seem like an evil human trafficker but Dream still felt wary nonetheless.
“W-who are you?”
The man quirked an eyebrow and observed him for a moment. “I’m George. I own this house. You fainted in front of our restaurant on my way home, and I didn’t know what else to do because I was the last one there so I brought you home… if that’s okay?”
Memories came flashing back to Dream’s head as he recalled what happened the night prior. His landlady (if you could even call her that) told him to move out of their apartment because he was not ‘doing enough’. To be fair, Dream really could not entertain her as he was extremely busy working and studying. As soon as he got home, it was straight to bed for him. Dream figured this was going to happen sooner or later anyway. But really, she should have let him pack his things first before kicking him out.
Dream turned back to George who was now holding a bowl of rice with something else on top of it. The boy salivated at the smell, which the other seemed to notice, making the man giggle. “I made food. It’s tomato egg stir fry from leftover ingredients. It’s not much but your stomach kept making noises while you were asleep so… I hope you like tomatoes?”
George handed him the bowl and a spoon. Peeking through the bits of tomato was the sheen of pure golden yellow scrambled egg coated with thick, juicy tomato sauce, glistening with some type of oil. Dream took a whiff of the food and discovered that it was in fact sesame oil drizzled on top of the stir fry, making the college student’s tummy rumble with glee. Dream speechlessly brought his spoon to dig a hefty amount of the food when George stopped him with a noise.
“Wait! I forgot to add the sesame seeds! Here you go.” George sprinkled a pinch of white sesame seeds which contrasted the rich red colour of the stir fry, the steam of the freshly cooked rice swirling in the man’s slim and deft fingers.
Dream dug into the food without hesitation, making sure to savour the food slowly and chew his food properly. The flavour of ripe tomatoes bursted in his mouth like a bright summer morning while the egg perfectly complemented its slight sourness with its own nostalgic flavour. The aroma of the sesame oil along with the crunchy texture of the seeds provided a juxtaposition to the otherwise fluffy texture of the tomatoes and eggs.
The first bite was enough to tell Dream that George was a good man doing God’s work.
“This is amazing! How did you make this? From leftovers?! I haven’t had such good food in a long time. I miss my mum.” Dream dropped a long string of compliments in a hurry as he soon stuffed his face with more food, finishing the whole bowl in about 5 mouthfuls.
George blinked in surprise but quickly regained his composure and laughed out loud, catching Dream’s attention as the boy’s eyes widened in awe. George’s laugh was… melodic. And genuine. Through a full mouth of rice and stir fry, Dream watched as George’s eyes wrinkled with delight and his lips pulled back with a satisfied smile, successfully stopping the boy mid-munch. How could a man look so… attractive?
“You eat so well.” George complimented, bringing a spoon to his mouth as well.
How could this be? Just hours ago, Dream thought his life could not get any worse. He was kicked out without his belongings and he missed a day at work, his boss was probably going to fire him the next time he ever sets foot at his part-time job. He had an essay due on the original script of Death of a Salesman that he had barely started and yet, all of that led to him meeting a real-life angel sent to him by God. Dream was never the religious type but witnessing this unfamiliar man’s face light up and getting to experience eating his food… the boy was sure the man’s laugh could start miracles.
“Who are you anyway? I hope you’re not some weird drunkard that I brought home… I’m usually more cautious than this but I didn’t know what to do. Ah don’t worry though! One of my boarders is home so you definitely can’t hurt me!” George rambled.
Dream snapped out of his trance as he finally swallowed his last mouthful of food. “I’m Dream, I go to K University. I, uh, was kicked out by my landlady last night and she didn’t even let me pack my stuff. I was wandering around because I had nowhere else to go… I haven’t had anything to eat either so you really helped me out there. Thanks a lot George, I really appreciate what you did. You don’t even know me and yet…”
“Oh that’s horrible. Good thing I panicked and brought you here huh? I have a spare room you can stay in if you want. You should probably contact your old landlady first though to get your stuff back.” The man tried to sympathise.
“Really? That would really help me! Are you sure though? What about rent? What if I was actually a bad person?” Dream was worried George might really get dragged into a pyramid scheme one day.
“Well, are you a bad person?”
Dream blinked. “No?”
George gave a slate clap before collecting their bowls to bring to the sink. “That settles it then. We can talk about rent later, you should go fix yourself up first, okay?”
Well that was extremely easy. Dream hoped he was not the one getting scammed with rent instead. At least now he had somewhere to stay for the night. Plus, having a cute landlord was a sort of bonus too. It was his first time at a shared house so he hoped he could get along with his housemates. For now, the boy stood to get himself cleaned up before meeting up with his old landlady again. Life was going to be interesting for Dream from then on.
