Chapter 7 - -CHAPTER 5: ETERNAL SUBURBIA-

Soon, the bus stops, and I have a feeling that this is where I'm supposed to be. So, I stood up. "See you later, Nyx," I said, and Nyx replied, "Bye, Tim!" I stepped out of the bus and waved goodbye. The bus drove off as if it were fading away. I looked behind me and behold, an endless path of cookie-cutter houses, streets paved with dark asphalt, and streetlights glowed an orange light and buzzed. "This… Is home," I thought to myself, but where was I supposed to go? I realized that I had the note from school in my pocket. I opened it up, and the note gave me a hint. The note says, "Go to a white house with a black roof." I put the note away and whispered to myself, "House with a black roof… House with a black roof…" I went to the entrance of the suburbia and it was blocked by a black gate with walls around. I saw a grey button and thought, "Maybe this can open it." So, I pressed the button and the gate opened. It was an endless road, with houses lined up. I walked on the street as if I knew where to go. This place seemed a bit too quiet to me. No kids were playing outside, no cars, or even birds. It was ear-ringing silence, just like maybe how my room is back in reality… No, I don't want to think about that. I'm here in paradise, why should I worry? I continued walking down the street until a car showed up on the road. Luckily, I moved out of the way and went on the sidewalk. The car beeped its horn and continued driving. I had a feeling that maybe this dream wasn't perfect. Like I'm being watched, I just don't know where. I kept walking, but looking behind me. I could be right, someone or something is watching me. After 8 minutes of walking, I found a house that matched the description. A white house with a black roof, which looks just like a cookie-cutter house. I walked up to the house with thoughts racing in my head, "Is this how I live from now on? Did anybody in reality even notice anything about me being gone?" And, most importantly, "How is mom, dad, and grandpa?" I knocked on the door gently. It took a while before the door opened. The one who opened the door was a woman. Her figure was a silhouette, no eyes, mouth, or face. "Why, Hello, there!" The woman said, "You must be Tim, my son… Come inside, honey." The woman opens the door fully, her voice is in a motherly-like tone. There it is again. How do they know my name? "O-okay," I stuttered and walked inside. I was in the living room. The living room had yellow walls, a brown carpet, a coffee table, and a sofa. There was even an old VCR television with family-friendly tapes of shows and movies underneath. But something was off. There was a tape labeled as "Memories." I don't understand why. "This place seems comfy," I said to the woman. "Thank you. You can look around while I make dinner," The woman replied. "Okay, M̶̬̈́o̵̱͌m̸̯͘," I said- Wait.. why did I say that? Am I losing myself? Am I going insane? I walked to the staircase that leads upstairs and went up to my room. I opened the door, and the room was blue walls, white floor, and it was in a theme of my childhood thing, cars. There was even a rug that I could play with my cars on. The room seemed calming. I saw a window, so I went to check outside. Outside was a path of houses, streets, fences, bushes, and a single water tower nearby. The view was almost... liminal but breathtaking. I looked away from the window and continued exploring the room. I opened the bottom drawer and found… my journal? It wasn't a dream journal, it said, "Reality journal," the opposite of dreams. I opened the journal to see pictures of my family and me when I was 6 and 16 years old, before this all happened. The picture of 16-year-old me, the real me, smiling with my parents in the photo. It shot me in the heart, a bullet of melancholy. A tear from my eye dropped onto the paper. Okay, maybe I regret it, but I don't go back and get harmed again. On the next page, there was a drawing of the dream pills. I could remember its texture before I left reality. Golden brown, texture like the sun, it lays me down. With my mind, it runs throughout the endless night. I never fret, frown, nor cry… with golden brown. I ripped out that page, threw both the paper and the journal in the drawer, closed it, and covered my face in tears. I took deep breaths, then looked at my bracelet. "I am Tim… I am Tim.. I am Tim… not a 6-year-old boy, I'm a dreamer," I whispered to myself. But I went silent. I felt empty without that sadness. My tears had faded away. Then, I slowly did a child-like smile, pushing away all the pain and tears I had earlier. What was I even crying about? What was I even thinking about? "Tim! Come downstairs, dinner is ready!" My 'mom' called out to me and I replied, "Coming!" I exited the room and went downstairs. It smelled like… Meatloaf! Meatloaf was a rare favorite for a picky child, but it actually used to be my favorite, even when I was picky. I walked to the kitchen and sat down at the table. My 'mom' put the plate in front and said, "Here, it's meatloaf. Hope you like it." I picked up the fork, took a piece of the meatloaf, and put it in my mouth. I can actually taste the food. The seasoning and juiceness, I could taste it all. It tastes just as I remembered. Then, My 'mom' asked me, "How is it?" I took another bite and answered, "It's yummy. Thank you for making it." I gave her a small smile and continued eating. This is my new life now, and I want to push everything from reality aside. I said and promised myself that I would forget everything about it. But… I'll never forget my parents, my real parents. If this is my new life, then who would I turn out to be in the future? I heard the door open in the living room, and a man who was also a silhouette with no face or eyes. "Hey there, buddy." The man said. "Hey, D̶̟̓͘a̴̦͒d," I replied. My 'dad' sat at the table and asked me, "So, how was school?" "It was good," I answered. My 'dad' smiled, I think… and ruffled my hair. But unlike my 'mom', this man had… real emotion, unlike my 'mom'. When my 'dad' ruffled my hair, I giggled and smiled, as if I had forgotten what I had cried about earlier. My mom- no, no. My 'mom' sat at the table, giving herself and 'dad' a plate of meatloaf. Can they even eat? "Did you make friends?" My 'mom' asked. "Yes, only one or two," I answered. "Thats alright," My dad- I mean 'dad' said, "You're making progress, and that's alright." He chuckled, but then he noticed my bracelet. "That bracelet… Did you make it during class?" 'Dad' asked me. I looked at my bracelet, and it reminded me, I am Tim… a dreamer, nobody else. "Yeah, I did," I replied, "I just wanted to make it for… fun." I lied, it wasn't for that, it was to remind me and keep myself sane, and lose my identity. 'Dad' nodded, and my mother said, "That's fine. It's good to learn some skills." They continued eating, and so did I. But I noticed something was off with my 'dad'. He looked a bit tense, as if he was hiding something. "Hey, D̵̪̘̃́ả̵̙d̴̹͐. Are you okay? How was your day?" I asked. My 'dad' looked a bit surprised. I guess he wasn't expecting a child to ask me about his day. "I'm fine," My 'dad' replied, "And, my day went very well. Why'd you ask?" I took the final bite of my food before replying, "Because you seemed tense, D̵̪̘̃́ả̵̙d̴̹͐." Even if I didn't mean to say 'dad', I'll play it along. My dad just sat there silent before sighing and continuing to eat, "Just something at work, son." My mother turned to me. "It's getting late, maybe you should go to bed," my mother said with that motherly tone. I replied, "Okay, M̶̬̈́o̵̱͌m̸̯͘. Í̴̦͙͐ ̶̥͌l̸̜͕̒ò̶̦͠ṽ̸̪͔̈́ē̵̱̣͂ ̷̘̉̈́y̸̦̝̐̈́ò̵̡̯ų̷̺̀" Stop it… Stop, stop making me say things, I shouldn't! I walked upstairs and to my room. I closed the door behind me and looked around the room again. Why was it so off and tense back there? I looked out the window. It was nighttime, but it was very weird and liminal. The sky was pitch black, with no stars or moon. The houses, fences, and water tower have blue lighting on them as if being shone by the moonlight, even when it isn't there. D̸͇̍r̵̟͝E̶̦͆a̶̭̅M̶͚͒s̵̺̉ ̸̞͆D̵̙̈o̶͙͘N̶͕̿'̸̭͠t̸̬͌ ̶͌ͅF̵̜̉o̸̧̐L̸̫̀l̸̜̄O̸̗̚w̵̙̉ ̸̦̽Ṭ̶̌h̷̯͛E̶̟͌ ̴̩̿Ŗ̶̛u̶̢͛L̷̝͑e̸͙̓S̷͔͌ ̷̞̐o̷͖̅F̶͕̐ ̷̪̓R̸͑͜e̶̚ͅÀ̶̟ļ̸̕I̸̜̿t̷̘̀Y̵̮͆. I need to stop thinking like that. I already knew that even before I got here. I lay down on my bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about my parents. Tomorrow will be a new day, I don't need to worry about all this, do I? I looked at my bracelet, but the name was changed into.. a language I can't even understand, yet it freaked me out. The bracelet said, "תַּת-מוּדָע." I took off the bracelet and threw it to the floor. I took deep breaths, calming myself down. What did that mean? The more I stared at the ceiling, the more start to forget that bracelet. That bracelet- wait. Why was I even thinking about that? What bracelet? I looked where the bracelet was, where I threw it. Instead of that weird language, the bracelet now said, "Tim." I am Tim… I am Tim… Not a 6-year-old boy, I'm a dreamer who ran away from reality. Was that technique even going to work? I slowly closed my eyes and fell asleep. Tomorrow is a new day in Eden. I would forget about that eventually. I don't need to worry…