Dreamscape Through Vanity | San Juanico Series #3

"To live a life without knowing you is to live a life unexamined." They say the San Juanico is the place of unfortunates. But beyond, there's a bridge connecting to universe that unveils the reality where our variants repeatedly chose specific one another. *** "Holy mother of plot twists," Carmel whispered, her eyes wide. "Val. What is that?" Val frowned, pulling away from Carmel's grip. "What is what?" "That! On your neck! I never saw it since yesterday morning. Did you go out last night?" Carmel pointed an accusing finger at the mark. A hickey. "And before you say you burned yourself with a curling iron-you don't have it in your vanity and we both know you always borrow one on me." Val's heart stopped. She scrambled out of bed, nearly tripping over the hem of her oversized t-shirt, and bolted into the bathroom. "I know it. I've been there gal. But you should have atleast introduce him to me so he doesn't have to sneak in this house." Carmel said as she walks out the room giggling. The condensation on the mirror distorted Val's reflection. Alone now, her world narrowed to the deep plum mark on her jaw. Slowly, she touched it. It didn't feel like a bruised ache-it burned. A sharp, electric jolt shot down her spine, forcing a gasp. The heat radiated like a pulse in sync with her racing heart. "Get a grip," she scolded herself, pulling her mind out of the gutter. Maybe it came from the accident last night. She was reaching for the book and it slipped as she took a wrong step and fell down the ladder. Needing to ground herself, she reach for the airpods and start listening to her own therapy. Then cranked the shower to a freezing cold. The needles of water stole her breath, but as they washed over her neck, the burning stop. "Forgetting to breathe aren't we? How many times do I have to remind you to just anchor yourself to me?" A shiver raced down Val's spine. She closed her eyes, her fingers gripping the edge of the built-in shower shelf. The voice belonged to Robinson, a wildly popular anonymous voice actor whose audio dramas had recently become her ultimate, secret vice. He had this uncanny ability to inflect a single syllable with a universe of intimacy-a low, raspy cadence that made it feel as though he wasn't recording in a sterile studio miles away, but standing right there, his chest pressed against her back, his breath warm against the shell of her ear. Val let out a shaky breath, her thumb tracing the line of her collarbone beneath the cascading water. The audio track was one of his premium, late-night releases, a slow-burn narrative meant to soothe anxious minds, but in the solitude of the steam-filled bathroom, it felt entirely provocative. "There you go," Rob's voice rumbled, a faint, simulated chuckle vibrating through the speakers. "Just like that. Let the weight of the day go. I've got you." It plays out until it's not just talking anymore. Their breathing changes, his words get bolder, deeper and intimate. She's not just listening-she's feeling every bit of it. Driven by the fire throughout the body, Val move her right hand to reach for the sacred c**t and played with it. She's soaked and in need of release. "Say my name as you cum...right there, can you feel it baby?... ooh yeah? You want to c*m? Then c*m for me..." She bit her lip hard, hands has nothing but a tub to grip as his words got closer, rougher, like he could see exactly what she was doing. Something's building, low and hot, pooling where her thighs were trembling. Finally she reached climax. "Hmm. Yes.... atta girl." The water kept falling, hot and heavy, beating against her shoulders in a steady rhythm that matched her breath. It ran down her skin in rivulets, soaking her hair, pooling at her collarbone before slipping lower, like it was trying to keep up with the tremor still humming through her. And then -the water stops dripping. Not all of it just the sound like the bathroom went quiet for a purpose. "No...not again," she murmured. She jabbed at the shower control, hoping the flow would break the silence. As she decide to forfeit, the water starts again. A single drop falls from the showerhead. Plink. Plink. It's raining. Not the shower but a real rain. It was cold and sharp to feel through skin. The floor is suddenly a slick, wet concrete. The smell changes -ozone, asphalt, frangipani. The San Juanico. The bridge. Beside her stands the man in a suit that looks pulled straight out of a dream-sharp, elegant, the kind of romantic every girl imagined once. She doesn't recognize him, yet her heart knows him like it knows its own beat. "I choose you, in every life, in every lifetime. The body may be rotten, but my love will never be forgotten. I will be with you. Longer than what forever means." He grips her arms like time can't touch them, like yesterday doesn't exist. His words slip past her-soft, distant, like a goodbye she can't quite hear, and it hurts more than it should. Then a flash of light tears across the sky. In its glare, a faceless crowd surges towards them and pulls the man from her grasp. "Darl, promise I'll find you...!" As she was losing vision, the last words seemed like a tattoo imprinting through her mind.