new outlooks
I suddenly shot awake. What the heck was that about? Scriff was out cold, pressed up against my side, so I kinda just sat there in the apartment in silence thinking to myself. I felt so lost in the moment, I went to bed with no idea who I was or why that song was stuck in my head, and now this? I... I'm already forgetting bits of it, no, I need this... Bit, she'll know what to do, but how do I get to her right now? I really can't, wrapped in this embrace.
"let me take care of it," she replied, and I suddenly looked around and found myself back in her living room.
"Wh... how did we...?"
"let's not talk about the timeskip, you'll get it soon enough. now, why did you want to see me?"
"I just had the weirdest dream, I was sitting in a room, I beeped and booped and all that, they asked me some questions and I ate a thing and answered another question and--"
"...okay, i have a book recommendation for you to seriously consider," she said, handing me the copy of afterward.
"Um, thanks... but, like, this is wild, right? It felt so real, like I... like I remembered it."
"...so you said you answered questions in the dream? can you remember any of them?"
"They gave me this foamy packet thing to eat, and asked me what I thought about it."
"what color was the food inside?"
"Silver, I think?"
"...we don't have a s—any other questions?"
"The current year was one of them, 2190?"
"that's not that long ago," she replied, "anything else you can remember?"
"I don't remember the question, but there was this name, Linus, they asked me if I knew a Linus."
"...can you spare me a minute?" she asked.
"Sure, go ahead!"
Bit got up from her big chair and shuffled off into another room, and I flipped through the book she gave me. afterward, huh? There was talk of this girl, and she was friends with someone like Scriff it seemed, and there was a lot of hugs being thrown around, I didn't quite get it. I closed the book and looked at the cover. There was no other identifying mark on the front, I was perplexed. Who had written this? Where did it come from, and why did it mean so much to Bit? I figured I should ask her. When she comes back, that is.
As she came back in the room, I noticed she was carrying a bottle of a pink bubbly liquid. She took a swig and slammed the bottle onto a nearby table. "now then... you had a few questions?"
"Yeah, you recommended me this book, Afterward, and--"
"it—actually, no, go on."
"Oh, um, this book, Afterward, and I was just confused about the connection."
"it tells the story of an amnesiac who came before you and found out about themselves through dreams of the past, flashbacks that helped shape a future."
"Really? I just saw it was mostly lizard hugs. Reminds me of my roommate."
"you're bunking with a lizi?"
"Yep!"
"man, the author must really have no imagination then"
"Pardon?"
"...no, don't worry about me, just an old woman rambling. you were asking about a man by the name of linus?"
"Yeah, there was talk, about whether or not a man named Linus was in charge but then they said he wasn't, I forget the name of the person who was... it started with, like, an M."
"was it perhaps memmi?"
"Memmi sounds right! What's her deal?"
"she's my sister, we had a falling out years ago. it wasn't over anything serious, just that we kind of lost contact with each other over the years."
"Oh. But she runs all this now?"
"she's doing a better job than linus did, though that's not saying much; he ran this place for so much longer, over a century."
"Wow, that long?"
"yes, unfortunately."
"...Oh, but, um... oh, right, I actually remember something else from the dream, maybe you could help."
"go on?"
"Do you know the Watchers? Isaias, any of those names ring a bell?"
"...no, they don't actually. you might want to check the library... they might have what you're looking for."
"Oh, thanks! Was there anything else you wanted from--"
"no, not right now, i'll let you know when i require you again."
"Well, thanks ma'am. You know, for a silly old witch, you're quite nice!"
"...thank you, i think."
"You still talk weird, not sure what that's all about... wait, no, hold up! That's the other thing in my dream! They asked me to solve this puzzle and my answer was just to rewrite the problem!"
"...and you're sure this was you, in the dream?"
"Yeah, I'm sure of it!"
"...then you were once a metamancer."
"A what?"
"please, child, just read the book!"
"Um, alright. You... want me to keep this?"
"Yes!"
"Whoa, okay... but why, though?"
"because maybe if i hammer home enough that this is a successor to that story it'll clear up any confusion."
"It's just making me more confused."
"i'm not talking to you," she replied, staring directly in front of her.
I walked out of there and headed back to the apartment to stash that book away. We had quite a collection of books already, more than we had food. That's when it hit me just how hungry I was! I remember Sheff on the train told me they had these old rations I could take, so I wandered around until I found a building. "Wilson Memorial Ration Kitchen", this had to be the place. I stepped inside and found the place empty. As I approached the back wall, a window opened up. A figure I couldn't make out in the darkness behind the window asked me for a color, and the first thing out of my mouth was red. I don't know why, it just happened, and before I knew it I was being handed a small packet about the size of a neatly packed sandwich with "red: a food" written across the side. "Um, could I also get a green packet?"
"Ｆｏｒ ａ ｆｒｉｅｎｄ？" the voice asked, craggy and rough.
"Um... yeah."
A hand reached out of the window holding a green packet this time, and I took a moment to look at the arm. It was purple and scaly, had to be another of those Lizi. I took the packet, thanked the person behind the window, and walked out. I mean, I guess the green's for a friend, Scriff can have that one, I don't want to lie, and I'll have the red one on my way back to the apartment for a quick lunch.
"What a crazy dream!" Scriff replied, finishing off her packet and tossing the folded-up packaging towards the garbage can.
"I know, right? Not even Bit understood it!"
"Wild. I met with her earlier yesterday about that name, Peppino, and all she could find in my memories was this little pizza chef guy I had never seen before."
"Yeah, it's..." I began, before feeling this warmth spreading inside me.
"Wh... oh! You had a packet of the red stuff today? How are you enjoying it?"
"It's warm and... and cozy."
"Real quick, I want to see what the guide says about this: 'A content, relaxed human will give off more heat, which makes them perfect companions for naps. You stay warm on them, and they get the reassuring touch of a friend, raising both of your spirits.' Would you want to... um...?
"Y'know," I began, "I don't think I'd mind that, actually. I'm just hoping I don't get any bad dreams from this."
"The guide says, let me... ah: 'Dreams your human companion has can range from pleasant to pleasurable to even scary. There is no way to prevent a human from having a bad dream, unfortunately, but you can reassure them that they're safe when they awaken from one. They might not understand what you're saying for a moment, their brain will likely still be asleep leaving them a bit silly, but gentle pressure and a calm energy will speak directly to their heart.' You know, Shim just has such a cute way to describe humans like you, I'm so glad I picked up this book."
"Has she written any others?" I asked, starting to feel me dozing off.
"Just this one, it was like a decade's worth of research and she's since then moved on to something else. I forget what."
"That's... that's neat," I yawned, giving in to Scriff running her fingers along my back.
ns 15.158.61.17da2
