Chapter 10: The First Dream and Thoughts About Future Lives
Remi had just spent her first night back in her female body—the exact night she had been waiting six months for—but now she was stuck in a whole new mess. Just another challenge for a woman who refuses to be tamed.
After the bursts of laughter caused by little Sirocco finally died down, an awkward silence settled over them. The only sound was the clinking of roughly carved stag-horn spoons against wooden bowls, beating a heavy rhythm straight into everyone's ears.
After a few minutes of total silence, everyone suddenly tried to fix the mood at the exact same time, which just ended up in a messy chorus of stammers.
“You speak!”
“No, you speak!”
“Alright,” Anemo decided, “I’ll talk. How did you sleep, Remi? It’s your first night since you got your body back, and... well, we’re not exactly at home.”
Remi froze for a second with her spoon mid-air, looking like she was trying to remember something.
“You know what? I didn't sleep badly at all, I was completely exhausted. I actually dreamed... I dreamed about a woman.”
“For real?” Anemo asked. “I dreamed about Fleur. We were decorating my Christmas tree together, and she just kept laughing and teasing me the whole time. Who was the woman in your dream? Do I know her too?”
“I’m not entirely sure who she was, though her face did look kinda familiar. She was around fifty, a simple woman, with light brown, slightly greying hair tied back in a braided bun. She was wearing a dress... like some sort of German or Austrian folk costume... it was a super weird dream.” Remi closed her eyes, trying to remember. “In my dream, everything smelled like chamomile. This woman was stirring something with a massive horn spoon... I don't even think spoons that big actually exist, but she was right here in the fort, surrounded by steam. I don't even know how to explain it—she was stirring a cauldron, but you couldn't even see the pot because the cauldron itself was made of steam. Then she looked me straight in the eye with her gentle, blue eyes and said... ‘Don't forget!’. That's all she said, just not to forget. Do you think my dream actually means something?”
Anemo opened his mouth to reply, but Mistral cut him off. Since Anemo wasn’t touching the collar, he just sighed and went quiet, completely giving up.
“Ma belle, we need to reach the cave today and run back home! If you’re done licking that hazelnut cream, kiddo, jump into Anemo’s arms. We need to make a plan.”
Sirocco immediately hopped into the writer's arms, turning back into a child.
“Are we going back already? But I wanted to play with Boo some more! You saw how well we played together, Anemo, just like I was a real little boy. I lied a little bit though—I told her you guys were my parents and Mistral was my uncle... I think she actually believed me.”
“You’ve got a big imagination, kiddo! Just stay still in Anemo’s arms. We really need to plan how we’re getting home.”
Anemo hugged Sirocco and started rubbing his back like a dad.
“How are we supposed to sneak out without anyone noticing?” he asked thoughtfully.
Aeolus, who had finished eating ages ago and was desperately wishing for a single coffee bean, was massaging his temples with his eyes shut. He looked like he was deep in meditation.
“What are you doing over there, nerd? Aren't you supposed to be agent 003,5? What's with the eyes-closed meditation? You're not turning into some kind of druid making up weird poems, are you?” le chat noir teased him.
“It’s not funny, Mistral! I'm running on zero caffeine and I feel like my head is about to split open!... Look, a good excuse would be to tell them we need to do a ritual to protect the tribe... right inside the cave... and then we run for it!”
“That is a genius idea, Aeolus, but do you think it'll actually work? If they figure out we’re not actually gods... they might literally eat us,” Mistral sighed. “Sorry for calling you a nerd, my friend, I didn't mean to offend you. You guys already know I love you, right?” he added, looking at each of them with his emerald eyes. “I really do love you all, and if we do get eaten, I hope we all meet up in the next life!”
“Do you really think it’s that easy to just run away? You think we just walk into the cave, jump in the water, and that's it? Tell them, Remi!”
“It’s really not that simple. Back in Cairo, we practised this so many times with Shehrazad. That's the only reason we succeeded...”
“If you guys succeeded, ma belle, why are we stuck here right now? Why aren't we back home in Dublin sitting around the Christmas tree?”
Remi let out a long sigh.
“The main proof that we managed to get exactly where and when we needed to be is... well, the fact that I’m a woman again. Right, Mistral?”
“Correct...”
“The second proof is that I met you guys... you entered the cave from Ireland. It would’ve been way smarter if you’d realised you should’ve just waited outside for us, obviously, but...”
“Why are we here if you actually succeeded though?” Aeolus asked too. “I think that lightning bolt sent us into the past... you're right, we need to think before we run for it. And don't forget, we’re invited to dinner tonight. Anemo, please, I beg you, dump everything out of your backpack onto one of these bunk beds... maybe you’ll find a stray coffee bean in there. I promise I’ll only smell it... that’s all.”
Anemo, who was also desperately missing his coffee with whipped cream and pink salt, didn't need to be told twice. He completely emptied his backpack onto one of the sleeping bunks.
A tablet that still had some battery left but obviously had no internet, the two photos of the Mirrors of Time and their positions on the globe, cotton socks, about three T-shirts, two pairs of tracksuit bottoms, a notebook, his and Remi’s passports, a pen, a razor, and... the surprise that made everyone happy: two bars of seventy per cent dark chocolate.
“This is pure gold, Anemo! If you're not going to share with us, at least let us smell this amazing chocolate...” Mistral caught himself speaking surprisingly politely to Anemo.
“Remi, please tell me what's so funny, because without touching this collar, I'm completely clueless.”
Through bursts of laughter and tears, Remi translated what Mistral said for Anemo. But in the end, everyone had to face the harsh reality of their situation.
Getting back home was not going to be easy, and it required a lot of preparation... especially mental preparation.
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