His first question took her off guard. Alicia was aware of her dreams as well as all of the subtleties and nuances that appeared in them; most of the people in her dreams sort of shimmered, kind of like the air above hot pavement. This man did not. He seemed to be as solid as she felt. She did not know how or why, but he was not a part of her dream world. The realization both intrigued and frightened her. If he was not a part of her, then she could not control him, could she? She tried to reassure herself by thinking the same went for him, that he could not control her, but she wasn’t entirely sure of that.
“I don’t know,” she answered, feeling a little childish and dumb for not having a better response. It was clear that he was real, but then in some sense, so was her dream Though it was not the world she knew outside, it was still some form of reality and therefore his question possessed some merit. She wanted to ask him if he knew the answer to his own question, but Alicia was not about to be deterred from the task at hand.
“You are not a dream. Who are you?” She spoke this time hoping that her words were more direct and would get him to explain how he found himself in her dream. She watched him for a long moment, her wide eyes blinking slowly, as she considered answering his next question. What use was it to him to know what or who she was looking for? In the end, she decided this was just a dream and she could just wake up when she wanted. She glanced down the hallway once more. “I’m not sure,” Her voice was quiet. “A woman. My mother, I think.” Her uncertainty only went so far as to alert her that there was more to her mother than her appearance let on. Alicia could still hear her mother’s voice. She felt compelled to keep moving to track her down, but this man was distracting her.
She looked up at him, studying his appearance without blinking. “Either help me get to her or leave.” For such a young child, she certainly was demanding. Someone had once said she knew how to get exactly what she wanted and she often proved it true. It was clear in the way she could read and manipulate people. This was different, though. She didn’t know this man who seemed impossible to read and she did not know why he was inside of her dream in the first place.