Summoner: The Book of Dimension

56 Peter Sees Dorothy Again

Two days before Josh’s funeral but he heard nothing from Dorothy. It was also been days since he visited the dream world and let himself just dream normally. Thinking about Josh’s death couldn’t make him go to the dream world and enjoy his dreamlord power like he usually did.

He kept himself distracted with things that had no connection with any fantastical thing, especially those that would remind him about the book.

With a grip of his one hand, he took the garbage bag from the kitchen and went out.

To his surprise, Dorothy was at his doorstep. She had her knuckles up at the level of her face and based on what Peter was seeing, she was about to knock on his door right when he opened it. He smiled. “Dora,” he greeted her.

“Hey, Peter,” she said with a huge grin. She was wearing a plain cropped shirt and fitted ripped jeans, while her hair was done in a messy bun. Her attire was so simple yet he thought she looked gorgeous.

His smile turned into a supportive grin. “You look great in the morning,” he complimented her.

Her smile faded and turned into a playful pout. “Just in the morning?”

Peter was flustered and awkwardly shifted the garbage bag on his other hand. He shook his head. “No, of course not,” he chuckled. “I mean, you look especially great today.”

She grinned playfully and nodded. “I was kidding,” she stated and laughed a bit. She just noticed the garbage on his hand.

His eyes widened when he remembered about the garbage. “Can you wait inside for a bit? I’ll just throw this,” he said.

Dorothy smiled and nodded. “Sure,” she said and entered the house after she glanced at his back. She smiled and proceeded inside. Her feet brought her to the living room which was surprisingly clean for a guy who lived alone.

She nodded with a smile, feeling impressed.

Peter entered the house and entered the living room to see Dorothy starting to roam around. “Make yourself at home, I’ll wash my hand,” he said and before he could reach the entrance he asked, “Do you want water or anything?”

“Juice will do,” she said and picked up a photo album under the living room table. She sat on the couch comfortably and started flipping through the pages of Peter’s childhood photo book.

While humming, Peter took the box of juice from his freezer, and from the kitchen counter, he took the jar of cookies he just purchased yesterday. He didn’t intend to buy it, he was too distracted to buy some snacks and he happened to see that it was on sale.

He placed the box of juice on a tray and an empty glass before he put a platter where some of his cookies were.

He brought the tray and walked to the living room and saw her chuckling to herself as she flipped through his childhood photo book. He smiled and placed the tray on top of the table living room table. “Help yourself,” he said and sat on a solo couch across her and watched her.

She lifted her gaze on the tray and looked at him, her chuckle more obvious now that it sounded like it was laughter. “Are you a kid?”

Peter was once again flustered. “No, I—“ he panicked and stood up. “Do you want anything else?”

Dorothy watched him and closed the photo book before laughing. “Calm down, I was kidding,” she said and took a cookie and took a bite. “You looked so tensed.”

“Sorry, I was too distracted these days that I couldn’t process properly,” he confessed with a sigh.

Now it was Dorothy who was flustered. “I’m sorry, my jokes were bad,” she apologized and opened the orange juice carton to pour her some on the empty glass. “Did something happen?”

Peter wasn’t sure if he was to tell her or not. But in the end, he sighed. “A few days ago, I heard from someone that I lost a close friend. He had been gone for almost a week now,” he opened up.

Dorothy was more flustered that she stopped pouring her glass before it could even reach half. “Oh my gosh, Peter. I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said and placed down the cookie back to the platter where the other cookies were, just to put her hand on top of his. “I’m sorry for your loss,”

He stared at her hand on top of his and closed his eyes to feel its warmth. He sighed. “I don’t know what to do. His funeral will be held the day after tomorrow.”

She nodded. “It must’ve been hard for you,” she sympathized.

Having someone to comfort you even if they weren’t close to you, it made him feel a little better. Somehow, the feeling of loss and sadness were at least diminished by her small gesture. Dorothy gave a sympathetic smile and removed her hand from his. “Thank you,” he said sincerely and smiled. “Let’s talk about different things,” he said. “So, perhaps, is there a specific reason why you came to my house?”

He already had a hunch it was about her being a dreamlord. If she became one, that was.

“I know this ain’t the right time, but a few days ago, I’ve become a dreamlord,” she started. As he expected. “I’m sure you know about it because the dream goblin who helped me become one said that you were the person who wanted me to become a dreamlord.”

He smiled. “Wow, that’s great news. I thought the dream goblin didn’t make you a dream lord since I never heard from you ever since,” he said and added with a chuckle, “I saw that you had potential and I realized you could be a dreamlord like me.”

She grinned. “Thank you. I didn’t come to you earlier because I was still exploring my power. I came here yesterday but you’re not home so I thought I should just come today,” she said.

Peter found himself chuckling. “Oh, that, I had some errand yesterday. One of them was the origin of these cookies,” he pointed at the platter of cookies in front of them.

“How was the experience so far?” he asked her.

Dorothy hesitated because she wasn’t sure if the timing was right. Peter just nodded. “It’s okay. I’d like to be distracted about other things, too. I can’t be like this for long,” he said.

Although he avoided himself thinking or talking about the dream world or the book, if that’s what Dorothy wanted, he’d be up for it. She had been his interest for some time now and he loved to hear a lot of things from her. Besides, he’d come to realize that Josh wouldn’t be happy to know he was being all sad for a long time.

He’d need to start and move on. Josh was his close friend and moving on slowly about his death didn’t mean he would completely forget about him. Josh was gone physically, but memories of him remained.

Dorothy smiled and nodded. “Uhm, I’ve been enjoying the dream space. Spying other dreams is interesting,” she paused and waved her hands. “But don’t worry, I didn’t spy your dream.”

He chuckled. “That’s fine. My dreams are not that interesting, anyway,” he said.

“Oh, and I remembered that it was you who saved me from my wild dreams before. I think I watched too many movies and documentaries,” she said with a chuckle. “That was why you looked so familiar when we first met. And that day I knew through the dream goblin that you tried to stop me from dying because a squid monster was in the dream space. I just knew about them last night,” she said with shock.

Peter nodded. “Those squid monsters, although I just faced one, they were tough to defeat,” he shook his head and crossed his arms while resting his back at the couch. “Did you reach the dream kingdom yet?”

Dorothy nodded. “The dream goblin gave me a tour. I’m glad he spoke English because at first, he said something I didn’t understand. It must be their language.”

“It’s called Orrinatta. The language of fantastical creatures. If you know about the dream kingdom’s library, you may probably find a dictionary there or a book that will help you learn the language,” he said, without saying that he knew the language through the Book of Dimensions. He’d tell her if he needed, but that time was not now.

He hoped she wouldn’t ask him about how he learned it.

She nodded in understanding. “I see. I’ll go there later and learn the language,” she said and shook her head with a grin. “I still couldn’t believe that fantastical creatures were real.”

“I know, it’s quite shocking,” he agreed.

They spent some more time in the living room to talk more, and Peter liked that Dorothy had a lot of things to talk about. Time passed and they didn’t know an hour passed until they noticed the time after finishing the cookies.

“By the way, Dorothy. I said about my close friend’s funeral, right?” he asked. Dorothy only nodded and gulped the rest of the juice on his glass. “I’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow, so you won’t see me around until I come back.”

“Where to?” she asked.

“My close friend’s hometown, Groundwave town.”

Peter noticed how her face became pale.