Swimming Lessons
“We should go for a swim.”
Stretched out against a naked Esther as they lay swaddled by the cloud blanket, Lucy crooked an eyebrow at the suggestion. Head buried against her shoulder, she looked up at Esther. Their legs were tangled together in the nest of clouds, cradling their bodies closer to each other.
“Why not?” Esther shrugged in response to the skepticism on Lucy’s face, absentmindedly tracing the curve of Lucy’s waist. “How often would we get the chance to swim in a bubble waterfall in real life?”
With a nod, Lucy rose and pulled Esther to her feet with her.
They’d never stepped off the cloud blanket before, but the cloud unfurled into a gentle decline for them to descend to the ground.
Hand in hand, they walked through the soft glitter grass sea toward the river.
Purple confetti shimmered in the air with each step.
Between them and the river stood a second set of doors, twins of the ones that brought them to the dreamscape every night.
They were identical in every way to the cemetery gate and closet door by their cloud, except in how wrong they felt.
Lucy had noticed them, many times, but they were quietly uncomfortable, like an ache in her throat threatening to become a cold.
Like all of her ailments, she’d simply ignored them.
Even now, Lucy and Esther skirted wide around them in an unspoken agreement.
The cloud blanket followed them as they strolled through the grass, zigzagging like a puppy through the shimmering amethyst prairie, until they reached the riverbank.
The water flowing gently past their feet was opaque, a glimmering aqua blue.
Downstream, the river inflated into giant shiny bubbles where the waterfall began, sending the river skyward into the rosy firmament.
“It’s more of a waterfloat than a waterfall, isn’t it?” Esther joked.
With a snort, Lucy shook her head, well-acquainted with Dream Esther’s corny puns after dreaming of her every night for weeks. She dipped a toe into the river. It was cool, but not cold. Perfect.
She had never learned to swim, but this was a dream.
The odds of her drowning in the whimsical river were slim to none.
The dreamscape wouldn’t let her. Everything she ever wanted would appear as soon as the thought popped into her head here; why would a rope or a life preserver be out of the question?
This whimsical field was the safest place she’d ever been.
Cannonballing in, Lucy plunged underwater. There was only a lingering moment of panic and regret as the bubbles submerged her, before she forced herself to relax. The water swirled gently to lift her back to the surface.
Taking in a deep breath of relief, Lucy floated on her back as the shimmering teal water flowed around her, supporting her body like that was the river’s sole purpose, much like the cloud blanket.
“Wow, you really went for it.” Esther laughed as she sat on the riverbank, feet dangling in the shallows. “I was wondering if it was even safe to swim in, and then you jumped right in.”
In response, Lucy grinned and splashed water at her.
Esther shrieked and covered her face. The opaque blue water dripped, trickling between her breasts and pooling between her thighs. Lucy swam closer, hands running up Esther’s thighs and around her waist.
Parting her thighs, Esther pulled Lucy closer to kiss her.
Indulging in a kiss for only a moment, Lucy wrapped her arms around Esther’s hips and heaved them off the riverbank, dragging her dream girl under the surface.
They emerged from the teal blue water, sputtering and laughing.
“Lucy!” Esther wiped her eyes. “I know you don’t talk in these dreams, but give me some warning, at least!”
Lucy shook her head, a grin on her face as she swam close to Esther again. Blue shimmer clung to both of their hair, trapped in their curls. Wrapping her arms around Esther, Lucy buried her face into her neck to kiss the lips tattooed behind her ear.
Esther let out the slightest gasp, hands gripping Lucy’s hips as they treaded water, floating downstream with the lazy current. On shore, the cloud blanket followed alongside them.
Eyes closing contentedly in the safety of Esther’s clavicle, Lucy decided she should learn to swim in real life, if it could be as peaceful as this.
Small but strong hands gripped Lucy’s shoulders, shoving her down as Esther dunked her.
Laughing, Lucy spluttered as she resurfaced.
“I love your laugh, Luce.” Esther’s grin revealed her endearingly crooked bottom teeth. “I wish I could hear you laugh like that in real life.”
Splashing her with a grin, Lucy doggy-paddled toward the waterfall, ignoring the tug in her heart that wanted to reply, that wanted to laugh with Esther in real life, too.
It was only a dream, wishful thinking from deep in her psyche—a product of a REM cycle and an overactive imagination.
Esther wouldn’t say something like that in real life.
Lucy needed to enjoy the dream for what it was; pretending this fantasy was real would only hurt more when she woke up.
Swimming alongside Esther, Lucy played and splashed like she’d always seen other people do.
They kissed and teased and flirted as they floated along the surface.
Hands clasped tight, they rode the bubbles in the waterfloat until each giant sphere popped in a chorus of laughter and shrieks.
They fell together, splashing back down to the river to catch another one, over and over again.
Eventually, they swam back to the purple glitter grass field, climbing the bank where their cloud blanket waited.
With a flop, Esther collapsed back into their nest. Purple glitter clinging to her damp legs, she pulled Lucy on top of her.
The cloud scurried through the prairie to float them back toward their normal doors, the ones that felt safe.
As they did on the walk to the river, the cloud gave the uncanny doors a wide berth as it zoomed around the field.
Lucy crawled over Esther, kissing her ankle tenderly. Esther’s breath caught as Lucy sucked a kiss into her tendon. Confusion flashed across Lucy’s face, followed by a mischievous grin. Bending over the edge of the cloud blanket, Lucy gathered glitter in her still-wet hands from the grass below.
“What are you doing?” Esther asked warily as Lucy reached for her, hands coated in purple.
Lucy swept her finger across Esther’s lips, streaking them purple with glitter.
With a hum, Esther sucked Lucy’s finger into her mouth. “It’s sweet.”
Lucy nodded with a smile, bending down to kiss Esther’s vanilla-sweet lips, hands leaving a trail of sugar promises one by one down Esther’s body.