That One Time I Dreamt of Being With Barry Sloane

I opened my heavy lids, half registering to reality, half lingering on the elated ecstasy. I knew right that moment that I needed to encrypt this fleeting instant of my imagination down to tangible ink and paper before its preciousness escapes into thin air. And here it begins...

The rain season began with drizzly flurries that seemed more violent this year. It was 4 o’clock, but not a single sun beam could penetrate through that blanket of saturated dark cloud. I inhaled that combination of tar and nicotine until my lungs hurt, a toxic combination that only writers could appreciate. My thoughts were louder and louder. It was a strange afternoon, where the pounding rain started to distill all regrets and loneliness into a puddle inside you, weighing you down. 

I felt a hand though. A hand reached in a took away my last bud of what was once a cigarette. Instinctively, I turned towards that direction, only to find myself staring at the only Barry Sloane. It was like we’ve known each other for a million years. I wasn’t staring into a celebrity’s eyes, I was staring into a real person’s, flesh and bone, an old friend’s even. Barry was someone reachable and tangible, not an idea, but sadly a dream. 

I’ve soon realised that I wasn’t the only one brooding. His blue eyes reflected a kind of melancholy that I couldn’t fathom. He possessed a weary look that his character Aiden Mathis has worn everytime he disappointed Emily. Despite the fact that he obviously towered me in his black linen suit and glossy shoes, I felt like I needed to protect him. 

We talked, for hours and hours. I stood up and made some tea, putting on some Angus and Julia Stone music. The pounding rain created a kind of rhythm to our conversation. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember how I felt, talking to him. I was engrossed, and intrigued, and amazed, with a tinge of curiosity. I made some more tea. And we joked around until the sky has quieted. His sister then came over, and since my house has quite a fair share of garden and plants, she asked for some fertiliser for her new cactus. What an odd thing to dream about... We said goodbye, and Barry left. 

The next thing I knew of, I was on the phone with him. It was like I was one of the Revenge episodes. It was an odd feeling. But Barry started open up like how Aiden did with Emily. I felt the need to whisper over the phone, as if any louder noise could physically break him on the other end. He asked if he could come over again, and I said yes. And there we were again, this time, sipping something a little stronger than tea. It felt so real, since the fragments of my imagination still appear so vivid in my head that I am still having troubles deciphering reality. I felt like Emily Thorne. I felt like my role model. And so I said the thing I knew Emily would. 

“You could stay over tonight if you want to.” I uttered the words slowly and quietly while looking up at him. “I’d love that” He replied. And just like that, we both smiled, because we knew. 

Ps: I knew the dream was rubbish, but it just left me in such an astounding state of mind that I couldn’t really shake off. Definitely looked a lot better in my mind though :D