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Maribel Hearn was sick of dreaming.
She had been admitted to the hospital due to her issues with sleepwalking and her hallucinations. She had been put on anti-psychotics since she was a child, but the medicine had never worked for her.
Her family was known for this, they were known for their ability to see the borders between worlds, Maribel dreamed of another world, familiar to her yet so foreign.
The doctors and nurses had hooked her up to some machine, pressing cold sticky discs against her chest and head, reading her brain waves and heart rate. If anything strange happened they wrote it down. She was alone, in a room with a two-way mirror.
Maribel Hearn was nothing more than a zoo animal.
In her dreams she often felt connected to the one's body she piloted. Now she wished she could swap places with them, wherever her dream self was and escape from this place.
The cold, sterile room made her antsy, she yearned for her apartment she shared with Renko.
She yearned for Renko in general.
The other girl never really appeared in her dreams, it was always just Maribel. Or the person Maribel swapped bodies with. Or the person Maribel saw the memories of?
It was confusing, and the lack of her friend made her want to scream. She wanted to rip all the cords off that connected her to the strange machines and burst out of the door like a madwoman.
Though if she did that she was certain they'd keep her at the sanatorium for longer. And that was the last thing she wanted.
With nothing else to do besides go back to sleep, Maribel slid down in her bed and closed her eyes, trying to lull herself to sleep with memories of she and Renko gathering evidence for the Hifuu Club, the two of them pressed shoulder to shoulder in the dusty clubroom as they filed through old photographs and pamphlets.
The stench of death filled the air and Maribel covered her nose, noticing that she was now wearing long billowing sleeves. They were trimmed with beautiful waves of lace and the fabric felt soft. Her entire body was screaming at her not to step into the cave, but yet her left foot stepped forward. Then her right.
There were no lights, nothing but the dimming light of the sun behind her. Yet she continued down the jagged path. In her other hand she ran her thumb over a smooth rock she was holding. In some strange way it comforted her.
Maribel continued walking until she couldn't see. But she was able to keep track of her footsteps. And she still rubbed the smooth rock she held in her hand.
"You're being discharged today Ms. Hearn." The nurse told her, giving Maribel a small smile before handing her a sheet of paper.
Maribel looked down at the summary of her care, then back at the nurse who began to unplug Maribel from all the machines she was hooked up to. She hoped that the nurse wouldn't find the hook shaped rock she brought back from her dream. A solid reminder that what she saw was real, and had tangible results.
The rock laid under her pillow, and she planned on slipping it into the pocket of her dress when she left. It was something Renko had to see.
Maribel was now able to take things from her dreams into the waking world. If she could do that, what else could she do?
The nurse finally handed Maribel a small box that contained her phone and other personal belongings like her university ID and her debit card. Maribel took her phone and held it close to her chest. It had only been a few weeks but it felt like forever since she talked to someone outside of the sanatorium.
As Maribel walked out of her room with her duffel bag, she finally sent Renko a message.
I'm out
It took her 10 minutes to finally leave the Sanatorium, but when she did she was met with a beautiful sight.
Renko was waiting for her out front, still sitting on her moped and waving like a madwoman.
"Hey Maribel! Welcome back to the world of the living!" Renko walked towards Maribel and pulled her in for a hug, and they both stood there for a good moment just reveling in each other's presence.
"I missed you." Maribel muttered into Renko's shoulder. Feeling her eyes grow heavy with tears.
Renko patted Maribel's head and pulled away, staring into her eyes. "I missed you too! The apartment was so lonely. Let's go to the café and catch up."
Wiping her nose, Maribel nodded in agreement, Renko always knew how to bring Maribel back down to earth, and she just longed to spend time with her.
They both got onto the moped and Renko started it up after making sure Maribel's duffel bag was firmly secured. Maribel reached around Renko's middle and held tight, leaning her head on her back. Renko had broad shoulders, which gave Maribel a nice place to lay her head.
They zoomed through the city, with the canopy of the trees shading them from the warm midsummer sun. Maribel almost felt like she was dreaming again, but this was a dream she wanted to experience. It was perfect. She was free and with someone she loved.
It didn't take long for them to arrive to the café, with Renko gently patting Maribel's hand to rouse her from her stupor.
Maribel blinked a few times and got up, the two of them went inside to order and get seated. There weren't that many people in the café, and the quiet music mixed with idle chatter put Maribel at ease.
They ordered and sat down next to the window, though Maribel didn't immediately look out of it, instead her focus was on Renko, who smiled at her.
"So, what happened in there? Did they do freaky experiments?" Renko asked, leaning forward and resting her hand on her chin.
Maribel shook her head and laughed. "No, of course not. They just hooked me up to a machine and ran tests when I slept. During the day I would get up and do some light exercise, but there was always someone watching me. It was creepy." Maribel recalled the uneasy feeling of being watched the entire time she was in the sanatorium, even now it sent a shiver down her spine.
Renko must have noticed Maribel's discomfort, and she reached forward to take her girlfriend's hand. Maribel grabbed it, and they stared at each other for a heartbeat before they were interrupted by the serving robot with their orders.
Taking their coffees and thanking the robot, it puttered off. Leaving the two of them alone again.
Renko let go of Maribel's hand to pick up her coffee, blowing on the hot liquid so she could drink it. "That must have felt so weird. Being watched all the time. But if it makes you feel better, I didn't really get up to much. I looked into more internship programs and mostly just rotted in bed. I missed you a lot Merry."
Maribel's lips pulled back into a sad smile, and she drank her coffee before she started crying again. This was the first time she had been separated from Renko for an extended amount of time, and just seeing her again was making her emotional.
She didn't want to think about the strange dreams or the rock that she had brought back with her, not yet. She just wanted to enjoy the time she had with Renko and to pretend that everything was normal.
"I missed you a lot too. Did you reseach anything for the club?" Maribel asked, which made Renko hum.
"Yeah, a few things. Not sure if they'll actually lead to anything, but I'm just nervous about going exploring again… especially after what happened with you."
Renko was referring to the sickness that had put Maribel in the sanatorium, to Renko it was just an illness, but to Maribel it was a real psychological illness that bolstered her abilities. The abilities that she still felt anxious about explaining.
Maribel stared into her cappuccino, then took a deep breath. "I got over that. It was just one of my dreams, the doctors just wanted to make sure there was nothing really wrong with my brain. That I didn't have narcolepsy or something. You know that there's something wrong with me. They were just trying to pinpoint it." Her voice had a bitter edge to it. Nobody outside of her immediate family knew about her abilities, and she only ever let Renko in on hints that she could see borders and dream of places beyond the waking world.
"It's not wrong in a bad way." Renko told her, leaning over the table to place her hand under Maribel's chin, forcing her to look at her. "Even if they weren't able to pinpoint what it is, you aren't a freak or some sort of insane person. You're just. You know… you. And I love you."
The confession made Maribel's eyes widen. They had told one another that they liked each other, they had even kissed many times in the past. But this felt like a true, tangible confession of love.
"I love you too." Maribel replied, and she meant it.
Renko smiled, then took her hand away from Maribel's chin so she could drink her coffee. They both took big sips and just smiled at one another.
Maribel wasn't ruined or messed up or crazy, she just had powers beyond her means. And she would tell Renko about what happened. Just not now. For now they were girlfriends on a date enjoying coffee and each other's company.
The conversation turned to lighter subjects, like what their classes looked like next semester or why nobody bothered to fix the flickering light on the third floor of their apartment building.
Finally they finished their coffee and got up, preparing to head back to their apartment for the rest of the day. Renko took Maribel's hand as they left the café,
For a moment they just stood on the sidewalk, watching people stroll past. Maribel took a deep breath and filled her lungs with actual air, not the recycled stale sanatorium air she had been forced to breath for the past few weeks. Renko copied her, taking a more exaggerated breath and exhaling loudly, which made Maribel laugh.
It was nice being with her again, and Maribel leaned her head on Renko's shoulder, sighing softly. Renko craned her neck so she could kiss the top of Maribel's head, not caring that she probably smelled weird.
"Want to go shopping before we head back to the apartment?" Renko asked, pulling Maribel towards her moped.
Maribel shook her head. "I want to go put my duffel bag away and take a real, actual bath. With my soap. Then we can go out."
Renko helped Maribel get settled on the moped before getting on herself. "Gotcha. Mind if I join you in the bath?"
The question made Maribel do a double take, then lightly punch Renko in the back, who just laughed in return before starting up her moped and heading back to their apartment.
Maribel hugged Renko close, leaning her head against her back once more and listening closely to Renko's heartbeat. Closing her eyes she didn't see the dream world, but just blackness. It was comforting, being enveloped in the sounds of the waking world and of Renko's heart.
In that moment, Maribel knew she would tell Renko everything. Because she loved her.