This was the first time this question came to my mind. Although it was ridiculous, the fact that I really had this thought showed how heartbroken I was at the time.
Not far away, a light flashed, followed by a car speeding toward me. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to avoid it by the time I could take a good look at it.
The car made a screeching sound with its brakes and stopped abruptly in front of me. The door opened and a man came out. Strangely, I could not get a good look at this man’s face – he appeared to be swaying. Meanwhile, the ground was also shaking. After a brief moment, I fell to the ground.
“Are you okay?” From my ears, I could hear a soft and gentle male voice. I thought it felt familiar but no matter how hard I tried, I could not open my eyes.
Then, I had a nightmare about something that I had not dreamed about for a long time. This nightmare was absurd and strange. Crystal arrived at my house in the dream, and my mom treated her nicely and kept telling me to take good care of her.
I was the only child in my family so of course I was happy having someone to play with. Crystal appeared to enjoy playing with me when there were other people around. However, when no adults were present, she began to bully me and tore up my favorite dress. When my mother found out that it had been torn, Crystal accused me of having lost my temper and that I had ruined my own dress.
My mother slapped me without even asking me about the incident. I cried and said that Crystal had torn it, but no one would listen. They all assumed I was lying to avoid taking responsibility. I was punished with no lunch and could only watch Crystal sit at the spot that was originally mine as she was being gently cared for by my mother.
The dream felt so real that when I woke up, I almost believed the incident had actually happened in real life. I sat on the bed and patted my head. I felt like my head was going to explode, so I patted it with greater force, which exacerbated the headache.
“Why did I have to have such a realistic dream?” I sat on the bed and thought deeply about it.
“You’re awake.” After a while, someone pushed open the door and stopped me from letting my thoughts wander. A stranger walked in. My face turned pale as I realized I was not in the Goldstein residence or the home that Christopher and I owned.
“Who are you?” I looked at the man in front of me. He seemed familiar, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not remember who he was.
“You don’t remember me? How could you have forgotten about me?” The man looked surprised. “We met at the Goldsteins’ party, and recently…”
“Oh, I remember you now. You’re Tobey Osborn!” I looked around the room and then back at myself. When I realized I was not wearing the same clothes as before, my expression became uneasy. I asked, “How did I get here?”
“Have you forgotten? You passed out beside the road because you were in the rain and had a fever. I was driving by and saw you, so I brought you back here. Don’t worry. The maid in my house helped you change into the clothes you’re wearing.” Tobey smiled.
This man appeared to be quite considerate, but I had the impression that he was looking at me as if I were his bank vault. I gave him a forceful smile and said, “Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I’ve prepared a shirt for you to change into. Dinner will be ready by the time you’ve changed. You’ve slept the entire afternoon so I’m guessing you’re already hungry.”
Tobey placed the shirt by my bedside and then exited the room. Then, I jumped out of bed and hurriedly changed my clothes. At the moment, I just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. My intuition was perhaps incorrect, but I felt uneasy staying here even though he had saved me.
The size of the shirt was perfect; it was just right for me. The only thing was that its design was too exposed. Because of the shirt, my impression of Tobey deteriorated. When I heard Tobey talking on the phone as I walked down the stairs, I came to a halt.
“Mrs. Goldstein, Eve is having a good time here. Her fever is already gone. Even if you don’t visit her, I’m sure she won’t fuss about it. She’ll understand that you’re preoccupied. It’s my honor that you’d entrust her to me. I’ll make sure Eve is in better shape than she was before. Please have a pleasant meal with Ms. Yates… Sure, I’ll tell her about it… Don’t worry. There is no woman I can’t handle…”
