#carpel tunnel + exam season and my family (visiting for holidays) are all coming together to kick my ass

[jimahalangel]

It's been a bit, but here's

Gelatin Skeleton

Chapter 3: How does she(you) know that you love her(lucid dream)?

First > Prev > Next

It's past two in the morning when you get back to your apartment after helping your neighbors. Luckily, few people were hurt beyond a few scrapes and bruises, and only one man needed to go to the hospital for a broken bone.

In all the time you'd lived here this was probably the first time you'd actually met most of your neighbors. People are weirdly more friendly during natural disasters.

You read the news you'd tried to check before you dropped your phone during the quake and find that there's already several articles about the damage. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5, which doesn't mean much to you, so you instead focus on other stats available on the government website you clicked on.

"Low casualty rate estimated," okay, so that doesn't actually mean much either. How much is low? Low compared to what? Other earthquakes? You don't have much of a frame of reference here. Sure, you live close enough to see the mountains out on the horizon when looking out your window, but these are old mountains that don't get freaky with their fault-lines much anymore.

Earthquakes are rare here.

---

���………………

………………………

………………………………

……………………………………

..........

………You are……………

………………………

………………………………………………

..….where you once were not……

………………………………………………………………………

………………………

………………………………………………

………………………

…………

……….. Your consciousness begins here…….?

……………..

…..Were…….?

….............

…..were you… conscious before…?

.....................................

…….. this?........

…………

…..

……..

…..Sentient…..?....

…......

…….Maybe……

.........

……

……You….?

....

…. You do…not...

know…?...

……………………………………………

………………………

…………

…..

….Dreaming?....

……………………………………

………………………

…………

………………

………………………

…………

…..

….

Oh!

You know what dreams are!

……..

.....................

……

…..

………………………………………………

………………………

…………

….. Is?………………….is this a dream…?

……………………

…………………….

You think so…..

…….

But you are…

... aware?

………

..aware...

... of your thoughts?

…

……. Is that normal?......

…

……….

…….To dream…?

………

……….………………………………………………

………………………

…………

………………

……… and be lucid?.......

…

Ah.

Lucid dreaming.

Silly you.

You're

dreaming…….

…………

….…… but?

you……….………………………

………

……………………………………….. control?…….………………………

…..

.……………………………………………………

……….the dream…..

…..

…………………………………………………………………………

……………………………

………………………………………………………………………

…And…?

Here you are!

In the darkness.

…..

Everything is dark.

Was it dark when you went to sleep?

Yes.

It was dark…

And

something else?...

What was it?

What else was there besides the darkness?

It felt different than this place does.

Warmer.

It's cold here.

Peaceful, though…

…

………..

…………………………………

…..Where were you before?

Hmm…

Huh….

Oh.

Home.

You were home before.

But…?

… This?

This is home, too…….

Isn't it?

…………

Yes.

This is

also

Home.

------

The next morning you wake up slowly. You don't think you've ever woken up this calmly to an alarm before in your life.

It's nice.

Your whole body feels like ice, though.

But your bed is soft and cozy underneath you. And your blankets are warm around you. 

……How???...

Whatever.

You're just happy to snuggle back into them after pressing snooze on your phone.

----

When you next wake up it's with a start. Your heart is racing, body's covered in sweat, and your alarm is blaring its obnoxious little tune.

Yeah, that's more like the way you usually wake up.

Your phone says it's 9:40am, which is kind of a late start to a workday. You remember hitting snooze- gee, thanks past you ! 

You also remember waking up from a weirdly nice(?) dream. You can't quite recall what it was about anymore, though… 

Well, it couldn't have been that important if you forgot about it!

You probably have time for a quick shower before you have to start work today. You're glad you work remotely; you'd probably have a hard time trying to commute after that earthquake yesterday.

!!!

Oh fuck! The earthquake!!