The Dreamtrap - 35. Chapter 35

- XXXV -

Henry let out a strained moan and sat up, shaking his head.

“Bloody hell...” he muttered, shaking all those soft needles that came from the fir-tree off his shoulders and sleeves. “Damn...” he muttered and ran his fingers through his hair before getting up.

Finally, he sighed and stood up. He stood still, an uncertain expression on his face, trying to figure out what he should do now. Five minutes later, he sighed again and shoved his hands into his pockets, figuring that he needed to get a duplicate of his driver’s license first; he would think of getting a plane ticket later – he would have to figure out how to get money before he did that.

He let out yet another sigh and started walking, remembering that he saw a DAT(*) station not too far from here. He made it to the main road and stood still for another minute, looking around uncertainly, trying to remember which way to go. Finally, he nodded to himself and started walking, whistling some mindless tune under his breath as he went.

...He made it to the right building in twenty minutes or so and was relieved when he saw that he was the only person there – he would hate to wait in line right now. He told the woman behind the desk that he lost his license, and she just nodded and pushed a soft inkpad towards him. He carefully pressed his right thumb into the pad and placed it on the sheet of paper that the woman put in front of him.

A couple of minutes later, after she ran his print through the database, the woman gave him a quick, professional smile and got up, heading towards the big black camera in the corner.

...“All right,” she said some time after she took his picture. “Let’s fill these out, and the license should be ready in fifteen minutes or so.”

Henry nodded at that with relieved smile.

“Height?” the woman asked without looking at him.

“Five-ten,” Henry answered mildly.

“Weight?”

“One-hundred-forty,” the artist said in the same mild manner.

“Eye-color...?” she glanced at him. “Brown...” she muttered while typing it into the computer. “Hair... Brown... All right,” she straightened up and gave Henry another quick smile. “It will be ready in fifteen minutes. Have a seat if you'd like...”

“I am going to use the restroom,” the artist smiled sheepishly, and she nodded.

“Right around the corner,” she gestured to her left.

“Thank you,” Henry nodded and walked away.

...“You were wrong, Henry,” he muttered to his reflection in the mirror after he locked the door and turned on the lights in the bathroom. “You were wrong,” he said again, pressing his palms into the counter. “You do have an ability... An awesome one, for that matter...” He smiled at his reflected self. “How do you think the painting was able to change itself? Or how do you think that time frame worked even though the painting was destroyed...? Did you think I did all of that?”

He laughed softly without looking away from the mirror.

“I didn’t do any of that,” he continued a minute later in the same soft voice. “I couldn’t do any of that,” he shrugged. “All of that happened because of you, Henry; because of what you can do when you paint... You create life, darling. Literally,” he smiled again. “By the way,” he slightly narrowed his eyes. “I lied to you when I said that I ended up in just some random mirror, which just happened to be yours by some blind luck. I did a hell of a research! I made sure I would get to you and nobody else. I am brilliant at research, by the way!” he nodded firmly. “Hmm...” he leaned closer to the mirror, noticing a smudge of dirt on his left cheek.

He turned on the water and washed his face, marveling at the crisp, fresh feeling on his skin – it has been a while since he felt something so real.

“Feels so good...” he murmured and turned off the faucets, reaching for the paper towels. “I don’t have to go back to that damn place ever again...” He dried his face and hands, and threw the paper towel into the wastebasket underneath the counter. “When that asshole destroyed the place that I created so lovingly, he set me free...!”

He laughed again, careful not to get too loud – he didn’t want the woman behind the desk to hear him and think that he was some sort of a loon who talked to himself.

“I should send him a ‘Thank-you’ card, really,” he whispered to his reflection. “I didn’t have much time, however; and since I remembered where I left you, I hauled my ass over there as fast as I could before dissolving into nothing... Not a female body, but it’s quite all right,” he smiled yet again. “We had some fun before, and I know for sure that you won’t be able to kick me out...” He leaned closer to the mirror. “You are wonderfully weak, darling,” he whispered, and his reflection did the same, while staring at him with helpless hatred in its light-blue eyes. “You are nothing but my reflection now, Henry... Reflection of my very attractive, talented self...” He glanced at his watch. “Hey, our driver’s license should be ready soon... Let’s go get it, so we can figure out what to do next. I suppose I will leave those four alone for a while,” he shrugged lightly. “To be honest, I don’t need them anymore. I will definitely do something in the future, since I do believe in paybacks, but for now, it’s over.”

He lightly ran his fingers over the smooth surface of the mirror, and his reflection immediately mimicked that. Henry smiled one last time, straightened up, and walked away from the mirror. He unlocked the door and left the bathroom, turning off the lights as he went.

(*) DAT -- Department of Automated Transport

THE END (for now)

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