I should have used the time after dinner to get caught up on my homework, but sleep sounded so delightful. Besides, I’ll actually have a weekend since everyone should be on their feet by then. The only major thing I had due tomorrow was a short English essay. If I woke up early I could do it before school, though I was grateful it didn’t have to be typed. Then I could do it before class if worse came to worse.
Still, it probably wouldn’t. Of five siblings, only the youngest two still seemed pretty sick. My mother declared she was well enough to start working around the house again, which was wonderful to hear. No more sheet washing for me. All I wanted right now was blissful sleep.
I was in bed for only five minutes when I heard a tapping on my window. I really wished I was one of those people who could fall asleep instantly. The tapping would pause now and again, but it persistently kept on until finally I rolled out of bed and moved the blinds aside.
There he was. A glass figure in the light snowfall. I jumped and blinked a few times as I watched him, his hand waving down as an indication that I should let him in. It was kind of weird to have the same dream two nights in a row, or at least it would be if I still believed it was a dream.
I let the blinds fall back and I leaned against the wall. I had to be insane. I was seriously considering going downstairs and unlocking the backdoor. The semi-logical part of my mind at least insisted I take something for protection, so I checked the garage first. It was freezing in there, but the croquet set was scattered in the corner. I found one of the unbroken mallets, the green mallet on the black stick, and carried it inside with me.
Chaz tapped lightly on the back door and I eyed it wearily. If I opened it, I would probably end up chasing luggage again, and I really didn’t feel up to that. Of course, he could just be a hallucination and I would just end up letting a cold breeze in the house. Then again, he could be a freaky stalker and my tired mind is just making him a phantom. If that was the case, I’m going to smash his head with a mallet for interrupting my sleep.
I whipped open the back door, croquet mallet gripped tightly in my right hand. There he stood, a borderline phantom. Some faint snowflakes defined his hair and I found that I rather liked the style. It also gave me a good idea of his height, only a few inches taller than me, and where to glare.
“Are you ready?” Chaz asked.
“Nope,” I said without hesitation.
He blocked the door when I tried to shut it. I sighed in defeat and let him enter the house. I guess letting an invisible man into the house would terrify any safety conscious person.
“It’s not a dream,” he said as he eyed the mallet.
“Part of me was kind of hoping it was,” I admitted.
The thing about Chaz was that even though this entire situation was really bizarre, I felt calm around him. I wasn’t afraid of him at all, like I could tell he would never want to hurt me. In fact, my mind was panicking more about someone in the house hearing him than I was about Chaz being real. The supposed dream seemed more real than my chance of getting my English essay written on the bus.
“Why do you have to come when I’m trying to sleep?” I complained.
“Sorry,” Chaz said. “The hours tend to move and cause more havoc the longer it takes to get them. The moment I can get a general location we have to move fast.”
“You do realize that you’re going to have to re-explain everything to me, right? I’ll be honest, but I wasn’t paying any bit attention last night.”
“I’ll do my best,” he assured. Then he held out his hand. “Now, let’s go.”
“Amy,” came the cry from upstairs.
“Wait a minute,” I told Chaz.
“I can just light the candle now,” Chaz suggested. “If you remember, it seems to stop time in the World and you can…”
“Thanks, but I’d rather deal with this now rather than have to do it after I’m even more tired.”
I tell him. As I go up to see what my sister wants, I’m a little surprised that he didn’t just light the candle and drag me off. Somehow, I had gotten the impression that the mission was supposed to be more important than my comfort. Maybe it was, but Chaz didn’t seem like he was like that.
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