Pink

The rain was threatening to fall since the start of that week, but Dorian was used to the weird weather of the city. Anticipating the sun to show up later that day, he didn’t even take an umbrella when he left his house to go to work. 

Waiting for the bus, he observed the sky, the people and the busy street and had the impression, not for the first time in his life, that the world was stripped of color. It was built in tones of gray, some corners darker than others. 

The bus stopped with a loud noise and he got in. He chose a window seat, keen to just put his earphones on and watch the familiar landscape pass by. He had lived in this city since he was born and, although it didn’t have the perks of novelty, he liked the feeling of knowing every street, building and neighbourhood. The feeling of belonging somewhere. 

As the bus arrived at the second stop, he changed the song that was playing and watched through the window as people walked outside. A pop of color caught his eye, and he frowned at the figure crossing the street. 

The girl had bright pink hair, so colorful his eyes hurt a bit. That wasn’t even the most surprising thing about her. Dorian had seen her before.

In a dream.

Without even thinking, he got off the bus, despite being four stops away from his destination and the fear of being late to work. He remembered snippets of the dream. He was in a small town, completely different from his own, and only one person could see him. Getting to the sidewalk, he crossed the street quickly, dodging a cyclist to reach her as fast as he could. 

She stopped at the little plaza two streets down, looking around as if lost. Out of breath, he approached her. 

“Hey!" She turned at his call. Her clothes were also very interesting, consisting of a yellow raincoat and boots with, curiously, a white satin dress underneath. Her eyes were huge, brown and piercing when she looked at him. 

“Do you live here?” Her voice was low and rough, not at all what he was expecting.

“Yes. Are you lost?” She pointed at a building that stood out amongst the others. It was the Hampshire State, a few blocks away from where they were. 

“I need to get there,” she said. “On the roof.” He wanted to know more about her, why she had appeared in his dream when they had never met in person before that very moment. 

“I can take you there.” He proposed and she smiled, in a way that knocked the air out of Dorian’s lungs like a punch. As they started walking, he asked himself if he was asleep. It wasn’t unusual for him to have very vivid dreams, ones he was sure were real, until he opened his eyes and saw himself on his bed.

“Who are you?” he asked. She looked both ways before they crossed the street. 

“I’m Eloise. What city is this?”

“Solandre, on the West Coast.” She didn’t say anything else, but at least now he had a name to soothe his bubbling questions. Eloise. 

“Why are you dressed like that?” She gave him a look. 

“I was at a wedding.” It could be his imagination, but she smelled like a dessert with a splash of whisky. There was no store around that sold something like that, and the smell seemed to float around them when the wind blew over her, moving her hair. 

“Was it your wedding?” She was wearing a white dress, after all. 

“No. It was my boyfriend’s wedding.” He was about to answer when she grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alley, putting a hand over his mouth. She was small, but strong, and he was too baffled to fight against it anyways. 

They stood like that for a few seconds and Dorian felt as if the world was on pause. There was only them and the sound of heavy breathing, her nervousness rubbing on him and making his pulse quicken. She let him go. 

“What the…?”

“They are after us. We need to go faster.” She went back to the main street. He didn’t understand what was happening, or why she kept looking over her shoulder as if someone was about to attack them. Everything in him said to go to work and forget about it, but he sprinted after her anyway, stopping her from going in the wrong direction. 

“This way,” he said, pointing to the nearest corner. That street was emptier, as he knew it would. He hoped being away from the crowd would make her feel better. There was a stand on the sidewalk full of flower bouquets, beautiful and vibrant, wrapped in newspaper pages.

There were roses of every color, tulips, daisies, sunflowers and chrysanthemums. Eloise approached them and slid a finger over their petals. There was no seller around, only a box for the money and the price written on a piece of cardboard. She picked up a single peony from one of the bouquets, and dropped a few coins inside the box. Before following her as she walked away, he looked at the box and stopped. 

The girl hadn’t left coins, she paid with four black buttons, resting over the metal bellow. He hurried to pay the right amount before running after her. She was focused on the flower, which was of a much subtler tone of pink than her hair. 

“Peonies are my favorite,” she said. “They’re soft, but bold. Romantic, but not ordinary. Sometimes I wish I was one of them, expected only to bloom, root and repeat.” Dorian scanned her face, the full lips, the slightly raised tip of her nose. The way the roots of her hair showed how dark it naturally was and how the sleeve of her coat almost covered her hands. He wanted this to be real, he wanted to be awake. How could this be a dream?

“What is going on?” he finally asked. “Are you in trouble?”

“I was at the wedding. There were dancing monkeys and a waterfall of champagne. Then, I had to flee. They’re after me, and they are not merciful.” He was impressed at how much she could say without explaining anything. Actually, it just got even more confusing. The monkeys were after her? He was going to ask, but then they were in front of the Hampshire State. 

“How are we getting there?” she asked, eyeing the security guard standing at the front door. 

“Come with me.” He led the way to the side alley where the trash bins were. Lining the wall in bright red, were the escape ladders, leading all the way up to the roof. She smiled at him again, and he wanted to surprise her again so he could see more of it.

Looking back to see if anyone was watching, she left her flower on top of a trash bin and they started to climb. The air felt electric and dense, as if he could reach and grab a handful of it. He looked up at Eloise, watching the way her hair stood out against the gray sky above. 

The climb took a while, since it was a tall building and they were going slowly to prevent giving away their location. When they got to the roof, the wind was much stronger than it was on street level. Dorian was pretty sure he could hear thunder not far away from there. 

“Why are we up here?” he asked. Eloise walked over to a bench, placed between potted bushes decorated with fairy lights, but didn’t sit down. She was staring at the skyline, the city that expanded for miles and miles until it reached the sea. 

“You know,” he started, when she didn’t answer. “It’s weird, but I’ve seen you before. In a dream.” Then, she looked at him. 

“I remember that, but I was awake.” She blinked quickly as the wind rushed by. “Now, this is a dream, and I need to wake up. If they reach me, this will turn into a nightmare.” He felt his heart pounding on his chest. 

“What do you mean? This is a dream?” He knew not to trust it, so why did it hurt like that? She brushed her fingers against his cheek.

“Only to me, Dorian. You are awake.” She whispered, and then, even lower. "Thank you.” When she walked away, a drop fell on his face, followed closely by another one. She walked to the edge without looking back and stepped into nothingness. He didn’t even have time to scream. Then, it was raining, and she was gone.