Chapter 2 - Nick
Nick
I delete my emails on my phone one by one.
“Last chance to get a Valentine’s Day gift.”
“Make her smile with a gift.”
“Say you love her with roses.”
I delete them all because there is no “her”. In fact, there had been no “her” for a year.
Well, that wasn’t true, there had been a woman at Christmas. One who I thought of every day. But she hadn’t been real, had she?
Over Christmas I had become exhausted and fallen asleep in my hallway and dreamed about a winter wonderland filled with a talking snowman and sexy elves. And Noelle.
Something about her had made me go crazy, had taken away my inhibitions and allowed me to let all my desires out. And she had matched me, the two of us whipping up a whirlwind of sex and passion.
And then it was over, and I was back in my hallway. And the most amazing woman I ever met was only a dream.
Not that it stopped me from thinking about her. It certainly didn’t stop me from stroking while remembering the way she moaned and shuddered underneath me. And her name was on my lips whenever I came since then.
I shake my head and delete the last email before tucking my phone away in my jacket pocket and looking up and down the street.
It’s time to face facts. The bus isn’t coming. The bus service is so unreliable. I’ve been standing here for 30 minutes and nothing has turned up. So it’s time to admit to myself that I’m going to be walking home.
Fifteen minutes later, I find myself wandering through the rougher part of town. It’s getting dark and all the shops are closed. Everyone else was sensible and stayed indoors.
I wander past a door and notice a strange pink light flooding out from underneath. Something about the glow of it makes me pause...It looks more like cartoon colors than real life, strange shades and a little trace of gold.
Shaking my head, I suddenly realize I’ve been standing at the door for a few minutes. Being on this street was a bad idea at the best of times, so I pull my jacket close around me and walk off.
“Ouch,” I yelp, a sudden sting in my ass like a pellet gun had shot me. I reach round and pull out what looks like a small wooden arrow, complete with a heart-shaped tip.
A giggling noise makes me look up and see that in front of the door, which is now open, stands a little baby holding a bow. It has a little toga wrapped around it and a halo floating above its curly blond hair. So, a cherub.
“What the fuck?” I ask, dropping the arrow on the floor and stepping towards the little guy...
The baby giggles and points into the doorway.
Reluctantly, I lean forward and glance inside, seeing a land of pinks and cotton candy clouds. As I watch, a unicorn trots up, lifts its hoof to salute me and then runs off over the pink hills.
The baby reaches out and tugs at my leg, trying to pull me through the door.
“Look, little fella, I am not going through that door. I’m either dreaming or you just shot me with something that’s making me hallucinate. Either way, I think I need to go home and lie down. And maybe see a doctor and find out if I’m having a mental break.”
The baby folds its little arms and looks at me with an angry glare. It’s kinda adorable.
“You don’t exist, so I don’t care if you’re angry, no matter how cute you are.”
I start to walk away when I hear the baby say one word.
“Noelle.”
I spin round and look at him, and see a smile appear on his little chubby face.
“Did you say Noelle?”
The baby turns and waddles through the door, where another unicorn picks him up by the halo with its horn and puts him on its back. He waves back at me and pats the unicorn.
I sigh. It’s starting to rain, and I’m still far from home. It’s totally possible that I might be dreaming, or I might be seeing things, but if it means I get to see Noelle again, I will climb on that unicorn’s back and see where it takes me.
So I step through the doorway.