The Dream
1372 Words
“You stole my first kiss,” she said to him.
He simply smiled. His deep-set dreamy eyes sparkled with mischief. Yet, they looked so enchanting, and seemed to have the power to pull her closer to him. She waited for him to speak, but he said nothing.
In an instant his lips had captured hers once more. It was an intense kiss that seemed to be drowning her in a pool of fantasies. She could hardly breathe.
“Ella,” she heard a female voice calling her name.
She could not move. She could only moan and close her eyes as he continued to kiss her. Suddenly, he stopped, held her shoulders, and started shaking them.
“Ella,” the voice continued.
“Stop,” she started saying irritably as the shaking grew stronger and more urgent.
“Wake up, Ella,” the voice commanded.
Suddenly, she regained her senses and managed to open her eyes. She was brought back to reality as she saw her roommate shaking her to consciousness.
“I’m awake!” She shout-whispered as she held her friend’s arms. “I’m awake, Lheng!”
“Oh, good!” Lheng said as she sighed and got off her friend to switch on the lights. “What’s going on?”
“I had a dream,” she answered as she slowly massaged her chest. She could still feel that overwhelming emotion that made it difficult for her to breathe.
Four years ago, she couldn’t accept that her first kiss had been stolen by a stranger. Despite his good looks, he had no right to simply take away something that should have been reserved for the man who would take her to the altar. Mommy taught her that her body is sacred, and as a woman, she deserved respect from everyone, especially from men who are interested in her. She had plenty of suitors, and she has tried to be in a relationship, but she couldn’t even allow herself to be kissed again. It was as if that kiss had sealed a contract between her and that stranger. She dreamed about him a number of times after that incident, but it stopped when she decided to let go of her grudge. A couple of months ago, however, she started dreaming about him again. Each time, she felt more and more disappointed whenever she woke up.
“Is it the same dream that you had the other night?” Lheng asked.
She nodded.
“You are so secretive. Maybe, if you share it with me, your nightmares will go away.”
She smiled meaningfully and decided to be truthful to her friend this time. “It’s not actually a nightmare, Lheng.”
Her friend eyed her teasingly. “Is it an erotic dream, then?”
“You…,” she laughed softly as she got hold of a pillow and threw it at her friend.
“Aha!” Lheng said excitedly as she caught the pillow with both hands. She had certainly discovered a secret. “Hahaha! So, it is an erotic dream!”
“Lheng,” she whispered. “Be quiet! It’s still dark outside. The neighbors might hear us.”
“Then, tell me,” Lheng demanded seriously. “Or else I won’t stop.”
Ella sighed deeply. “Okay. It’s about a boy I met four years ago.”
Lheng started counting with her fingers, and said, “A boy you met when you were only thirteen years old?”
“Yes, that’s right,” she answered.
“Did you kiss?” Lheng exclaimed.
“Sshh!”
“Okay, okay, but did you kiss?”
Embarrassed, yet smiling, she nodded.
“Oh, my gosh!” Lheng shouted silently. “Ella? All the while I thought you’re still a virgin.”
“Hey! I’m still a virgin,” she corrected. “That was only a kiss. No, just a smack.”
Her friend laughed softly, giggling while eyeing her mischievously, and pretending to doubt her.
She frowned and told her friend not to tell anyone. “Promise me, Lheng. Cross your heart and hope to die.”
“Okay, I promise. I’ll cross my heart, but I’m not hoping to die. I have to meet my own Prince Charming first.” Then, she smiled as her naughty imagination brought her to Jupiter. “Who is he?” She asked suddenly.
“No idea,” Ella briefly answered.
“What? That’s unbelievable.”
“It’s true. I have no idea. I only saw him that one time. We never met again,” she said softly, sounding regretful.
“Oh, my gosh!” Lheng excitedly said. “’Kissed by a stranger… How did he look like? Was he handsome?”
Ella tried to recall his face once more and smiled shyly. “I have not yet seen anyone else more handsome,” she whispered dreamily.
Lheng could not help shrieking with excitement. “Oh, my! This is so interesting.” She jumped off the bed to retrieve a small notebook. Then, she pulled a chair, and started her investigation.
“We need clues,” she said. “I need your cooperation.”
“You got it, Nancy Drew,” Ella agreed as she merrily indulged her friend.
“Alright! When and where did you meet?”
“January 22, 2019, about 10 in the morning at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, on the third floor, before my aunt’s version of Hogwarts Whomping Willow.”
Lheng instinctively raised her left eyebrow and remarked with sarcasm, “Wow! What a romantic setting. Why not kiss before her version of Death on Horseback?”
“I’ll consider that,” she joked.
“Seriously, you’re smitten.”
Ella kept silent, and waited for her friend to continue.
“Well, the only clue that we have now are the place of meeting and the date. We could check the guest list,” Lheng considered seriously. “What else? Who was with him?”
“A beautiful little girl…”
“Must be his fiancée.”
“Lheng!”
“It’s a possibility.”
“No. It can’t be.”
“Wow! Are we possessive now?”
“No way! It’s just intuition—a woman’s instinct.”
Ella seemed very serious, but Lheng knew that her friend was simply getting into character.
“Could she be his little sister?”
“Most likely,” Ella agreed. “And there were four men in uniform,” she added.
“Color?”
“Black.”
“Africans?”
“No. Black uniform.”
“Oh! MIB. Were they aliens? Your kisser must be an alien.”
“He did look foreign.”
“Was he blond with blue eyes?”
“He had black hair, but yes, his eyes were dark blue… like the deepest part of the ocean.”
“Could you possibly be color blind?”
“Stop asking if you refuse to believe the witness.”
“All right! Forgive me, dear witness.”
“Let’s just go back to sleep now, Lheng. I need my beauty rest for the competition.”
“You still have more than a week to prepare for that. We’re not done yet.”
“What else do you need to know?”
“I need a name, of course.”
“I can’t help you with that.”
“I know. So, I’ll try not to bring you back from your erotic fantasies next time.”
Lheng moves away instinctively to avoid a pinch after teasing her friend, but Ella did not move a finger. Her reaction was something her friend did not expect.
“You better not,” she said as she brushed her fingers on her lips to make her friend go crazy.
Amazed, Lheng could only smile and tease her more. “Yes, dear. Dream of him again. Make him take off his clothes for you. Next time, you might get to offer me another clue—a tattoo, perhaps?”
“I’ll consider that,” Ella answered seriously and smiled secretly. She turned her back on her friend and covered her body with a blanket as she closed her eyes, actually hoping to continue the dream.
- Writer
