THE MOMENT
"Yeah...," Brad nodded to himself once he heard the gentle, low rhythmic music. "... this could work." He was exhausted and wished he could go to sleep. He was already in bed; but, that did not mean sleep was nearby. He spent a good portion of the day getting a tattoo and complaining to the tattooist about his insomnia. He left the shop with fresh ink and the recommendation of a streamer that plays relaxing music.
Brad let himself relax onto his pillow and closed his eyes. 30 minutes later he was still wide awake and listening to the music. His phone told him it was past midnight. It was a Saturday night and he did not have to be up early on Sunday; but, the later he went to sleep the less time he had to sleep in.
"Please, anyone...," Brad begged aloud to the darkness as he shut his eyes again. "... I'll do anything. I just want a good night's sleep...," That was the last thought he had before drifting to sleep.
Brad was alert all at once. He opened his eyes and sat up on his bed; his room was flooded with golden sunlight and he heard birds chirping outside the windows. He reached for his phone out of curiosity but, he was distinctly aware of how clear his mind was. Every morning for the past decade he'd had to spend time cutting through the fog of tiredness.
"9?" he couldn't help but smile as he saw the time. "I slept!" he was excited; but, something drew his eye. He missed a text notification overnight which was odd. He didn't have any friends that texted him; he wasn't that close with anyone. It was part of the reason he unloaded so much onto the tattooist. The conversation was from an unknown number and they'd messaged twice.
[$14.35 has been charged to your credit card at Donna Chang's]
[Thank you for using my services! - Dream Girl <3]
"Huh?" Brad glanced at the laptop. The streamer [Dream Girl <3] was no longer active. Before he could put any more thought into it the phone vibrated in his hand. It showed a picture of a restaurant with the label, 'Work' on it. He was in a great mood and hoped that he could pick up someone's shift; he answered the phone instantly.
"You were supposed to be here an hour ago," his boss said as soon as he answered. "Get here in 15 and you'll only get a write-up," then, he hung up without waiting for an excuse. Despite his terse demeanor, Brad felt he got along well with his boss. But, he was confused; Brad did not have to be at work until Tuesday. But, he glanced at the day on his phone and realized it was Tuesday already. If Brad did not have to be on the line in front of a flattop in 15 minutes he might have spent more time being confused about the situation.
He put it out of his mind and rushed; his newfound clarity made it easy to get started. But, it wore off as the day went on. He was feeling confident and volunteered for a double shift to make up for being late; but, he was spent and feeling like his old self by the end of the day.
Throughout the early part of the day, he hoped that his insomnia was like a switch that had been turned off. He wanted to try and sleep without the help of Dream Girl <3; but, as he crawled into bed exhausted and wide awake he knew he needed some help. And, 15 dollars was a small price to pay for his wellbeing. Even if it turned out he needed to pay it every day. The soft music played and Brad lay awake for almost an hour before he remembered that he had asked for help the night before.
"Please... help me again, Dream Girl," he said. "But, I don't want to sleep all day again," he added. As he worked he realized there was no doubt he slept for a whole day. He'd missed Monday completely. And, the worst part was, it didn't matter. No one even noticed.
"I'm sorry, you were really tired," a voice startled Brad out of the darkness. He sat up and opened his eyes. A pale teenage girl with ribbons of dark curls flowing down her head and over her shoulders stood in his room facing him. She wore a frilly black and purple gothic lolita dress and matched the illustrated caricature on the stream.
"How'd you get into my room??" It was the first question out of Brad's mouth. It was more of a reflex than a sincere question; but, his mind soon caught up and he added a clarifier. "... again??" The Dream Girl giggled. She raised her hand in the air and wiggled her fingers. A black hole opened in the space between her and Brad's bed.
"I walked in," she said. She wiggled her fingers again and the portal disappeared.
"Who... what are you?" Brad asked. He adjusted himself on the bed so that the headboard supported his back. He wanted her to know he was interested in a conversation; but, he didn't know how she'd react if he tried to get out of bed.
"My name's Dirge," her hand came up halfway to her chest and she gave him a half-hearted wave.
"How do you make portals? How do you make me sleep for a day?" Dirge looked at him and exhaled with her lip curled up; the rush of air disturbed her curly bangs.
"I'm kind of working right now and don't have a lot of time for questions," she said. "But, if you go back to Mundo and ask him to give you the talk, you'll get all those answers," she said.
"Mundo.. the tattooist?" Brad asked. Dirge nodded.
"Okay..., so why are you here?" he asked. Dirge giggled.
"I told you...," she said. Brad was surprised when she held up a familiar leather wallet with a large 'B' engraved in it. It was the last thing he saw; he heard her last answer before he fell asleep in an instant. "I'm working,"