Chapter 24: This dream was nothing like that
Micheal’s Pov
I don’t know how much time has passed but my consciousness kept fading and coming to in small intervals, and each time I was able to open my eyes, I found Noah taking care of me with a cold wet cloth in his hand and sometimes trying to feed me with the congee I was sure he had ordered.
There was no fucking way Noah had made something edible on his second attempt in the kitchen.
I couldn’t eat it all though. Maybe I took in a spoon or two, I don’t remember but I coughed each time I swallowed.
Anyway, my fever seemed really high and the emergency pills I had at home didn’t seem to cut it. No amount of wet rags cleaning up my sweat and burning body did the trick either because at the end of the day, what looked like a worried Noah shook me lightly till I opened my eyes and said,
"Michael, you have to go to a hospital," he said. "Your condition isn’t getting any better and... You keep burning up."
Yeah, I knew my condition wasn’t getting any better. It was my damn body, to begin with.
But to go to a hospital? Why bother?
I could just use this means and pass it on to the afterlife.
But Noah wouldn’t let me. He needed me.
I could barely see the expression he had on his face because my vision was blurry. I wondered if he had a seriously anxious expression on his face because it looked like his helper was going to die if this kept up.
Or did he look indifferent?
I couldn’t tell. The only image that came to my mind was the blank expression of sleepwalking Noah.
Damn, I can’t believe I almost did it with him while he was sleepwalking. Just how drunk was I to be so delusional and needy?
"N-no..." I panted. "No need." I faintly said but Noah wouldn’t hear of it.
"If you don’t go to the hospital, you’ll die."
"And? What of... Mph." Noah covered my mouth before I could finish my statement. Even without looking at his face, I could tell he was mad.
"I know what you’re going to say but you know I can’t stand by and let that happen. I told you the other day. I poured out my fears to you so you’d understand but it seems like you still don’t get it." Noah took his hand off my mouth and stood up. "It’s no longer up to you. If you want to die, then you’d better get rid of me first. But if you can’t do that, then I’ll do all I can to keep you alive."
I could hear the determination in his tone. Was he mad? Was he stupid? Well, it was one of the two.
Besides, how did he even plan to take me to the hospital? He couldn’t drive or anything.
My consciousness slowly faded from there and I had a dream.
Seriously, I have no idea whose dream it was because it definitely had nothing to do with me.
You know that saying, ’A dream is the reflection of one’s inner desire,’ or ’A dream is caused when the brain interprets past events into something soothing,’ shit like that. Well, this dream was nothing like that.
I couldn’t even call it a nightmare either because it wasn’t scary.
So, there I was, standing at attention in what looked like a study. I’d know a study cause my father owned one. But this looked nothing like my father’s study.
The air had a warm, woody scent wafted through the study, mingling with the dusty aroma of old books and the rich smell of leather bindings.
It looked like the shelves were continuously cleaned, but it couldn’t be helped that time was not on their side, and after being on that shelf for so long, they were bound to smell old and worn out.
My sense of smell was suddenly heightened.
This dream was so weird.
There was someone in front of me, resting his butt on the expensive mahogany desk that had a few books stacked.
I could not see their face but from the way my body was trembling, it felt like I had been called there to be punished or reprimanded. What the hell were they so much taller anyway?
It felt like I was a kid. Huh? A kid? Was this the body of a kid?
"Did you complete your assignment?" The voice of the man in front of me asked.
I wondered what assignment he was talking about but then my body reacted on its own and responded,
"Yes, my Lord. I completed it effortlessly and efficiently."
"Is that so?"
The man leaning on the desk stood up straight and approached me. The air was tense all of a sudden.
Before I knew it, the man had raised his hand and struck me across the face but I did not feel the pain. Was it because this was a dream?
"You are impertinent to be so arrogant and claim you carried out your task efficiently."
"I am at fault, my Lord."
"It is up to me whether you carried out your task efficiently or not. Do not start acting haughty, my boy."
"Yes, my Lord. It was a mistake on my part."
I honestly didn’t know what was going on but I did know one thing. This had nothing to do with me so why the hell was I having this dream?
"You may leave."
I walked out of the room and then cleaned the blood that was slowly oozing down my torn lips.
"Next time, I’ll do better."
No next time. You better run for your life now that you’re still alive. Who knows what he’ll hit you with next? Hey, are you listening to me?
Of course, since it was a dream playing like a memory, I couldn’t intervene but I still wondered why I was having such a dream in the first place.
That was not... My memory.
I finally opened my eyes to the bright rays of white light, causing me to squint. Where was I?
I turned my head to look at my surroundings, and then I discovered I was in the public ward section of a hospital. Ah, did Noah really take me to a hospital?
Was he crazy? Didn’t he know that he would risk getting caught by his pursuers?
"You’re awake," I heard Noah’s voice and turned my head to find him sitting across me.
It was rather noisy since it was a public ward.
"You must be out of your mind," I said over gritted teeth as I scanned what he was wearing. "How dare you wear my favorite hoodie with that big body of yours? You’re going to slack it, dammit!"
"I’m glad to see you’re in good spirits. Welcome back from the hands of death, Micheal."
