Page 34 of Jacob Michaels is Not Here

The electricity was still out, and the bedsheets were still damp from our wet, naked bodies when I woke up hours later. We’d probably both have a rash in the morning. It was the middle of the night and the absolute silence, other than Lucas’ breathing, let me know that the rain had abated. Moonlight was pouring through the bedroom window as I laid there in the bed, Lucas turned on his side, facing away from me. I frowned to myself over this. Lucas always slept with his head on my chest, and his arm draped over my torso. Or I held him and put my head on his chest. We both liked to cuddle. However, he was curled up in the blankets like they were a makeshift womb, as far away as the bed would allow.

Sniffing the air, I noticed the scent immediately.

Sulfur.

It wasn’t coming from inside of Lucas’ room, and if I had to guess, it wasn’t coming from anywhere inside of the house. Like walking past a bakery, it was a fleeting aroma that beckoned to me, sought me out, begging me to come see what was being offered. The thought frightened me. Regardless, I found myself sitting up in bed, my hips swiveling as I rose, my legs sliding over the side of the bed. My feet hit the cold floorboards—Spring was still trying to get its legs in upper Ohio—and I began to grope for something to yank onto my naked body. Underwear, jeans, anything really, just so that I wouldn’t venture far with everything exposed to the cold and elements.

Finally, my fingers found my jeans and I fumbled in the dark to pull them on, wondering if the noise would awaken Lucas. When I glanced over in the dark, I could see his sleeping form in the bed, still wrapped up in his cocoon of slumber, not stirring a bit. I zipped up and buttoned my jeans and decided that I had no idea where my shoes were, so I would just have to go barefoot. Tiptoeing from the bedroom, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Lucas didn’t stir, I made my way into the main part of the house.

The smell of sulfur was stronger in the living room, but it was still faint enough, like the ghost of a scent, that I knew it was not coming from inside of the house. The thought occurred to me that most people would wake their sleeping partner if the smell of sulfur started to permeate the house. However, I knew just enough to know that the smell of sulfur was a calling card, not any type of real danger. Experience and my restored memories let me know that Lucas would be fine if he just stayed in bed and dreamed…whatever it was that he was probably dreaming about.

Making my way to the front door, somehow not tripping over anything in the process, I quietly exited the house. If the floorboards in the house had been cold on my bare feet, the porch was like ice. Deftly, I shut the front door behind me, being as quiet as possible still, then made my way to the edge of the porch. I wrapped my arms around my bare chest, as though this would protect me from the cold, and gazed out towards the lake. The moon, no longer hindered by the storms from earlier in the evening, shone large and bright, making the water look gleaming white where it wasn’t cast in black.

Just as I expected, the figure stood at the lake’s shore, mere feet from the water’s edge. The lakeshore was several yards away from the house, but close enough that I could see the black hooded cloak easily. Sighing to myself, no longer afraid—well, not entirely—and supremely annoyed, I started down the steps towards the yard. The ground was like a bog under my feet, water and mud squishing up between my toes as I walked along. The hem on the legs of my jeans felt wet against my ankles, letting me know how much the storms from earlier had let loose.

As I walked, the figure by the lake just stood there, turned away from me, staring out at the gleaming white and black waters of Lake Erie. As I approached, the figure didn’t move at all, even though I could sense he knew that I was there. With another sigh, I stopped beside him. I glanced over at him for the briefest of moments, then looked out at the lake as well.

“This isn’t real,” I said.

Or…didn’t really say.

Do we actually say things aloud when we talk in our dreams?

“It is not.” He replied.

“Why have you come for me in a dream instead of marching down Main Street in town setting things on fire?” I asked what I felt was a logical question, all things considered. “I mean…we can just get this all over with. See where the pieces fall.”

“All of your wishes came true. Or so it seems.”

“Wishes don’t last forever. Apparently.” I sighed.

I just knew he was grinning inside of that dark hood.

“Perhaps.” Came the voice once more. “Sooner or later, things fall apart, don’t they? Of course, you could always make things easier on me. Help move things along.”

My eyes darted over to the hooded figure nervously before I glanced out at the lake once more.

“I really don’t think I want to do that.”

The figure chuckled, entirely amused.

“I had assumed as much.” He replied. “That is why I have come to you, such as I have.”

I nodded, and though the figure wasn’t looking at me, this was a dream, so I knew that he would see the gesture. Together, the figure and I stood on the shore of Lake Erie, just a few yards away from the front porch of Lucas’ house, and stared out at nothing. It occurred to me that there was no sound to anything. Unless one of us spoke, I heard nothing. I could feel the cold, but I didn’t hear the water lapping at the shore, early Spring birds in their roosts, furry little creatures searching out the night for food. Nothing.

“I don’t know what to say,” I said.

“There is nothing to say.” He replied. “Eventually, I will find a way to you. Finding you is easy, releasing myself so that I can is a bit of a conundrum. You made serviceable wishes.”

“I suppose.”

“Though you could have done much better.” He chuckled. “I’m quite disappointed that you did not do a better job of things.”

I shrugged. “I was young. If I made wishes now, they would be much different. Of course, it was all kind of forced upon me. Give me a break.”

Smiling, I glanced over at the figure.

He chuckled.