Rorri

　　Rorri`s eyes flutter open&

　　He gasps. This can`t be real. No& It`s a dream. He`s still surrounded by the darkness he knows so well, but below him, he sees in perfect clarity:

　　Goosebumps prickle her ghost-white skin. The veins in her breasts pulse with her blood, coming and going from the point beneath where her heart lies. Rorri had never seen her uncovered - at the Mouse and Lion Inn, the night`s shadow had kept that secret from him - but now he knows her body is as uneven as her face, her left breast noticeably larger than her right, each one spilling over her sides like plump rivers of melted wax. Her soft, dimpled belly barely brushes his. His heart pounds. He is on his hands and knees, fully submerged in the depths of Shacia`s naked form.

　　But it`s only a dream&

　　"Rorri&?"

　　He looks up, past her belly, past her chest, past her collarbone and her neck, until he steadies his gaze on her face. Her pale green irises gleam like an algae-filled pond.

　　"Do you want this?" Rorri asks.

　　"I`m not sure&" She squints in the way one might squint before starting to cry. Rorri nods, chewing his bottom lip.

　　"Do you?" she says. Rorri`s arms quake from holding himself up.

　　"I`m& I`m not sure," he says, his anxious smile cracking across his face. Her lips reflect his for a moment, and then she breaks her gaze, letting it fall to where their bodies join. Rorri follows her, slowly, drinking in every inch, enchanted by her creases, the wrinkles in her hips. He hasn`t seen anything so beautiful in a long, long time.

　　"It was a mistake, before," she says, her eyelids fluttering.

　　"I know," he whispers.

　　"I wish it wasn`t&"Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

　　"It`s okay," Rorri says, though he doesn`t quite believe it. It doesn`t feel okay at all.

　　"We`re safe here," Shacia says. She sounds hopeful. Her cheeks flush, her blood heating her neck and chest in splotches.

　　"...Are you sure?" he says, swelling. She nods, risking a small smile, and lifts her hands to his hips, gently soliciting him to come closer. He lets his elbows to the ground, his hair trickling over his shoulder. Her fingers trace up his sides, as if to memorize the ridges of his ribs, and when she reaches his neck, she pulls him in for their first proper kiss, without the sway of alcohol. She sneaks one hand between them, knuckles grazing his stomach on their way to a place he can`t see. He sets the rhythm, his arms shaking with each slow and deliberate thrust, while she plays her own soft melody. It all feels so real, so wonderfully, painfully real&

　　"I wish this was real," he whispers.

　　"It is real," she whispers back.

　　"But I`m only dreaming&"

　　"It is real," she repeats, "in its own way&"

　　Rorri gives a small moan as they rock together, like rowboats on rolling ocean waves. He can`t hold himself up for much longer. His limbs ache, begging their burden be released. He flutters and collapses, hugging her as tightly as he can, still pushing, though there`s no pressure left to fill the space. He doesn`t want this to end. He can`t bear for this to end.

　　"If it`s real&" He sniffs and squeezes his eyes shut, embarrassed by the tear breaking free. She grips the back of his neck, digging her fingernails in, as her knuckles between them keep generating friction and heat.

　　"If it`s real?" she echoes, her voice breathy and high, gasping as if only for air.

　　"Send me something," he says. "Anything..."

　　She releases a long, sweet sigh, a pulsing, gentle embrace. They hold each other close, until their hearts slow and they both go blissfully still - until they`re just two cats keeping warm in the late autumn chill&

　　"Please," he says, stroking her hair, nuzzling into her cheek. He feels her breath on his ear, and hears her part her lips to speak&

　　*******

　　Rorri awoke on his stomach, his face pushed into the pillow, panting and sweaty. As he peeled himself from his sheet, Shacia`s impression remained in his mind&

　　"Bad dream?" Adar asked, shattering the illusion. Rorri started, swearing under his breath, and rolled over.

　　"I don`t want to talk about it," he said, desperately trying, but unable to will his spirit back into that beautiful dream.