Chapter 5-London Lucid Dream

Why did he swallow that pill, anyway? Sean couldn't even fathom it. But this place was wonderful. A little scary, but hell, he could manage this. After all, he was Sean David Walton. Nothing scares him anymore, not even death himself. 

Walking past her, Sean noticed something was familiar. This place was silent, too silent even for his liking. Furthermore, the freezing cold winter wind was unnatural to his senses.He wondered if it was based on these simple experiences in his reality or on a mass scale in his consciousness. Or maybe fate was trying to play with him.

After all, Sean was not a popular gentleman in London. Yes, he was rich and powerful, but he had fewer friends and acquaintances, and he was not a good individual, and he admitted that perhaps this experience resulted from his ability to mock the reality of its existence. 

For a change, if this was a joke made in heaven, then it's on him altogether.

Sean thought to himself. He had no one to blame. Aside from the pill he took earlier before going to bed, this was his fault. He trusted his guts so much that he bet on his way of life with them, and yet here he was.

I stare at her. And he has now become used to the 'dream-state-of-his-mind' that this empty, magical winter land appeared to him all too normal. He no longer thought more of it. Instead, he had directed his attention towards the woman in front.

"So if this is the Land of Nod, is it possible to have our reasoning intact?" he asked her.

"I don't see Sean. Can I call you that? For your sake, Mr. Walton is a bit too formal, and for your sake, I'm confused as well. And I don't perceive what is happening now; that you are here. " She responded with an exaggerated sigh.

I'd just stare into the skies, alone with my thoughts, until I succumbed and returned to the current world. "

"Yes, you can call me Sean." Is that it? Nothing out of the ordinary, or maybe you know, entrancing? Like that of a smoke up in the mountains? " Sean asked, pointing at the peak that may seem so familiar to him, yet he wasn't complaining. This cold terrain was amazing. It was as if there was a feeling passing between each living thing, a bond that was visible and blended, a melody beyond the range of his ears but available to his heart. And so, as each leaf moves in the wind, a part of him does as well.

"No! Nothing of that sort, "she responded, uninterested, and yawned. This was new. How could she be so sleepy in her dream? This was way more confusing, she thought.

"OK, fair enough, but let me ask you a question," he paused, then turned his head towards her.

"Go on, I won't judge." She smiles. That smiled. That smiled. He was reminded of things he couldn't remember where or when he first saw them, and not at their initial meeting earlier in the street or the office.

"I was wondering if this is the land of dreams," 

"The Land of Nod," she corrected. How could he forget it so easily?

Fine, if this is the Land of Nod with the quote on both sides, then is the patterning of our emotions and thoughts relevant to what happens in our sleep in the real world?

Catherine sneered but was amused with that query and answered him back.

Sean, I'm happy to hear that you asked the right question, which was fascinating by the way! Truth be told, I thought you wouldn't seek me that. " She wondered if he would remember this conversation in the real world.

"Why don't you explain it to me then?" He exclaimed. The idea of her being alone with him in a non-working environment doesn't appeal to him at all. She was different here, out of the ordinary even. She was something else.

Relax in fancy pants or pajamas. Why in such a hurry? After all, we're here in the Land of Nod. Time is irrelevant! "

"Can you stop calling it the Land of Nod? "Why not Dreamland, which has a better reflection?"

"Land of Nod sounds fancier, so I'll call it whatever I want," she answered back with a sneer. This man is beyond annoying.

Did you think that I cared? He stood and stretched, his chest muscles flexing beneath his shirt.

"No, grandpa!" She smirked, warming to the idea of her hands running through those muscles. She peeked down at her hands, trying to resist the urge to use her ability,... ability to slap someone's butt cheek. She amused herself by peeking at his behind. Not bad, not bad at all. Furthermore, she then quickly looked away as she did not want that erotic image in her head to linger. After all, he was still her boss.

"Yes! But not to get your pants excited, "she smiled.

Let me explain: in this land, I am free to do whatever I want, okay?Don't ask! I don't trust you enough though, so here lies my expertise, and please bear with me, "she explained.

Catherine won't mention anything to him just yet, as this is all new to her. His being here was confusing to her. Nevertheless, she needs to be reasonable.

Fine, this is your world or your Land of Nod, whichever you prefer, but tell me, are we going into that smokey mountain peak or not?" Sean asked without looking at her, pointing to that high mountain behind them.

"Are you out of your mind? I've never been there. That mountain looks scary and ancient. " She quirked. She was not crazy enough to venture there. Why would she? Not only that, but she was used to staying here waiting for something or someone. Why was she always here, by the way? She couldn't even recall it.

"Why don't we take a break for a minute and then decide what to do next?"She trailed off, "Besides, I'm so cold right now, I could use a little fire."

"Ancient? What is supposed to mean? " Sean asked. He made a mental note to recall this all later, as after what happened here, he might believe anything this woman said, even though everything here was unexplainable.

"Old, eerie, ancient!... scary, just like the icy mountains of Elsa. "Wait, do you happen to have a pair of lighters?"She asked.

Why on earth would I carry a match or lighter in my sleep? Do I look like I put a pocket in these pants? " pointing downwards, he answered. This woman was amusing him in the wrong way, he thought.

Pajamas! " She corrected him, smiling. The idea of him in those Superman pajamas is by far the most entertaining of all, and yet erotic. She giggled.

Just kidding, I have one here in my pocket. Why won't you look at me some twigs, perhaps? I could use a little help. I'm frozen to death, "she added.

"No, Catherine, I am not your slave, so go get it yourself and start a fire. Hmp! I don't even care if you freeze. Who is Elsa? " He muttered.

Ignoring him, she murmured, "I hate this man. Ahh, I despise him back-and-forth, pajamas or not." Chuckling again, he picked up some twigs behind him, and stopped. 

What's going on?You don't know who Elsa is? " She asked.

"No. And do I look like I care, Catherine? " He loved her name, running through his lips. Feeling something odd, however, was giving him a longing for someone. It was something so welcoming, yet he couldn't explain it. 

Where the hell have you been? On Mars? Who on earth doesn't recognize who Elsa is? Every child, every parent, and every person on the planet recognizes her!So, you don't recognize who Olaf is? Anna? " She shouted back, trying to gain her bearings by picking up more twigs. I was both surprised and amused.

Silence. He didn't answer her back.

He ignored her, rather.

Fine then, it was a movie, okay? "The title is Frozen. It was a film back in 2013, blockbuster animation; and who won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song and so on, and yet you didn't recognize this?" She asked. I was still surprised that he didn't see it at all.

"No," he was perplexed, and the irritation in his mind could be seen on his face from a mile away.

I can't believe this. Oh dear old Olaf, somebody's frozen heart needs to have your summer. She scoffed at him and added, "Do you want to build a snowman?" She suggested, then paused... Furthermore, she sang the next line while giggling. She couldn't contain her laughter.

Woman, what the heck are you laughing about? Sean asked her while sitting down, a little smile on his face. Watching her so carefree makes his heart beat faster, and some unknown feelings are about to surface, but he ignores them.

"Your life is boring as hell." She teased.

You know what, I'm going to tell you the story, you poor poor soul. She added.

A long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away...

Catherine! Hell, stop! Stop! " He yelled at her, his eyes threatening, the burst of his anger on the edge.

She stopped, still giggling.

She had been ecstatic that he hated it when she annoyed him. Catherine hated spending ridiculous amounts of energy here in the Land of Nod. If she was alone, she'd already left, returned to her bed, with her yellow silky duvet covering her, but No! Not only that, but she was stuck on this mountain with him, and she had been astounded when, frequently thereafter, she cracked Sean's shells a little. 

She doesn't want to leave him here alone with the unknown, and dang! Why does her name sound so romantic on his lips? She likes it when he calls her by her name, less the sneer, of course. She hated it!

But why does it sound so romantic? He sounds like a lover calling the love of his life when, in reality, he even looks ridiculously cute in his pajamas.

She disliked the way he maintained that cool, formal professional relationship with her, and she knew she drove him crazy, but he had yet to disappoint her.

She wonders if he was cold or not, and maybe not. He doesn't appear to be frozen at all. Unlike her, she couldn't indeed feel her fingers; without a coat on and the gloves, it felt like she was holding a block of ice.

Complaining about the cold, she gathers some more twigs and some small useable branches, while he, being Zeus himself, just observes her without a single blink.

Wait. What? Was he... Was he sleeping?

He isn't blinking at all; he looks lost in his thoughts! 

Tearing up some more twigs, she lights them up with her hands, concentrating, hoping that Sean won't notice her.

When it was done, she very slowly and carefully walked through the god of the underworld, Hades, who was super-yummy-hot himself. Okay, find it. Maybe she was exaggerating a little, but he looks good in his pajamas, with these abs and those arms! She could get used to this. She thought.

Sean, are you okay? You look slightly pale. "

I'm fine. Now that your fire is up, shall we proceed with this important matter at hand? He responded, sighing while walking through the mini bonfire she'd made with her so-called match.

She won't notice anyway, so she won't tell him she never had a match in her pocket in the first place, and the fire in this Land of Nod was her companion, her long-lost only companion;

However, what's more important right now was him strolling in front of her, taking small steps lost in his thoughts, and that, my friend, was the best idea he ever had.

Damn! I watched him walk away with his pajamas. Those butt cheeks are amazing! Smiling to herself, she wonders how it would feel if she touched those fancy little butts.

However, Catherine cursed as she felt the biting frigid chill on her bones as she moved closer to the fire. She shivered and touched her face with both hands, warming it up. She groaned. This was becoming difficult to discuss with this man.

A moment later, she stood up.

Did you hear that? She asked in a panicked voice. She'd never heard those sounds before, deafening and ear-splitting, coming from above the Smokey mountains.