The Last Dance

Cory looked at the tethered wristwatch and headed to the cottage. She opened the door, expecting a guy in a jacket, playing games or just… being around.

But he wasn’t there.

She went around the cottage, searching for Ronan in the kitchen, the rooms, anywhere. She went to the garden, but he still wasn’t there.

This can’t be… No, she knows when he’s here or not. She can feel it. The air was there; he WAS here.

She didn’t know where to look until she remembered the abandoned building they went in once. She checked every crumbling room, not caring if it’s dark; there’s moonlight lighting them anyway.

Room by room, her desperation grew. Her expectation of a sign of a life was getting stronger and pushing her to move faster.

But she couldn't. She was feeling tired, as though it wasn't a dream. The energy of their connection is rapidly getting weaker and weaker as the hour ticks nearer to six o' clock. She was getting dizzier and dizzier, and all the world started to feel like a dream. A real dream; as if she wasn't awake in it.

She had to sit down in the staircase. Closing her eyes and breathing in heavily, she felt her head start to spin in the slightest. Deep inside, however, she wanted to run. She wanted to start on the flight of stairs and hurry to him before it's too late. She might see him again if she's just on time. For once.

At that moment, she couldn't help but have in her mind the memories she had with him in this dream.

==

It was pitch black. Cory couldn’t see anything, and it would be senseless if she did because she was blindfolded. They were playing a friendly game of trust.

Cory felt for her surroundings, trying to grab onto a rail. “I’m dreaming right now, so my eyes are practically closed and you want to blindfold me?”

“Come on. Relax. Just listen to my voice. I’ll catch you if you fall.” At the word “fall”, his voice cracked. She giggled. It always did and to her, it was so cute.

“Promise?” She trusted him but was scared nonetheless. This may be a dream, but the thought of falling and getting hurt would always scare her.

“Of course; I’m right in front of you. Now watch your step.” Upon seeing Cory trying to grab onto the rail, he said, “Hey, no cheating!”

“I’m scared, alright?”

Ronan laughed. “It’s a game of trust. Let go, Cory. Trust me.”

Cory hesitantly dropped her hand.

Ronan proceeded with the instructions. ”Okay. Good. Now move your foot a bit forward... No that’s too much! Oh, no. Cory!”

Cory lost her balance and began falling forward. For a split moment, she was relieved that Ronan was able to catch her but her fear came back when Ronan lost his balance as well. He hugged her tightly before they tumbled all the way down the staircase.

When they regained their bearings, Cory took off her blindfold and jokingly slapped the back of Ronan’s head. “You promised!”

“Ow– in fairness, I really did catch you. It’s just that afterwards, gravity increased on us.”

They laughed it off and silently agreed to never play that game again.

==

Cory smiled at the memory. It gave her a new sense of determination. She didn't want to lose him just because of a headache.

She forced herself to stand and run up the staircase. The rooftop is the only place she has yet to check. If he’s not there, it'd be hopeless finding him

Her heart was being speared with lack of breath and nervousness. It was then thrown in the air and suspended, as she saw the rooftop in vibrancy of colors and a guy standing in the center.

"Ronan," she breathed out.

It took him a second to turn around. When he did, his eyes brightened. It was obvious even from where Cory stands.

 She quickly rushed to him and enclosed him in a tight hug.

 "I thought I'd lost you..." She said, almost bursting into tears.

"I'm sorry." He smiled gently. "Honestly, it's my fault."

 She unwrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Yes it is," she said, half-frustrated. "You could've waited in the cottage!"

"Hey, this whole thing is hard to set-up, alright? You know I'm not into cleaning up a room!" He protested. His voice went back to the same child-like voice–as if there's nothing so concerning to worry about–that lightened up Cory. Still, she was worried.

 "You know I wouldn't really care about this stuff!" She exclaimed. Then she realized what she had just said. "I-I mean--"

"Ouch." Ronan frowned. He had been looking for what could look pretty in their small, dream world. It was hard. And considering the time they generally had left, he had to make it worth it in a short span of time.

 "I just mean it's enough if it's just you, okay?" Cory said. "Right now, all that matters is that I find you."

He chuckled weakly. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

It was only then that Cory had the time to look around. He had surrounded three sides of the rooftop with pink, white, and apricot curtains. On the ground, the unused stock of the cotton blankets were laid and finally had its purpose. There were lit candles on the side, giving more color to everything. Their backyard didn't really have any roses, so the petals of what they had were scattered, those of sunflowers, dahlias, lilies, and jasmine.

Above them was a lovely night sky; it had more stars than when Cory had last looked at it.

"It's beautiful." She smiled.

“Your smile’s more beautiful, you know?” He said.

Ronan sat on the blanket. Cory followed suite, sitting beside him instead of across. Mr. hard-to-set-up opened the woven basket that he placed near the mat and brought out two BLT sandwiches and a large bag of barbeque chips.

“Sandwich and chips for dinner? Pretty fancy,” Cory sarcastically joked. “Ronan, you didn’t even get a table.”

“Ha. Ha. At least I was able to find something for dinner.” He handed her a sandwich and placed the chips in front of them. “Finish your food quickly. We’re going to do something afterwards.”

“This is a dream. We don’t get hungry. This isn’t going to go in my stomach for real.” Like how we’re not touching for real, she bitterly thought.

“But it will satisfy your taste buds.”

“The only thing I wanna taste is you…” Cory trailed off a bit after realizing what she just said. “Too flirty?”

“You’re my girlfriend.” Ronan put his finger on her forehead and pushed it with a little force. “Nothing’s too flirty as long as it’s directed towards me.”

Cory set down her sandwich. “Let’s skip dinner. What are we going to do now?” Her eyes went to the old portable stereo beside the basket. “Blast some music?”

“Something like that.” He sighed and abandoned his sandwich. “One moment, Love.” Ronan turned on the stereo and pressed a few buttons. A very familiar song began playing. He stood up and cleared his voice.

Over the intro of a rhythm guitar and a mandolin, he asked, “May I have this dance?” and of course, his voice squeaked at the last word.

Cory smiled, and gladly took his hand. They stood up, holding each other as they dance to the music. Once the song had started, they were lost in each other's eyes.

And I'd give up forever to touch you

 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't wanna go home right now

None of them spoke. They'd just let the music fill the air in that moment. But in Cory's mind, these words were what she felt inside.

 Each day had felt so dreadfully long without him. Each day, she had lived in the past where she could be with him–feel him.

Then it was like she had been given such a precious gift: to see the love of her life once more even if it was only when she closed her eyes. And that there was still a chance to be with him.

They were so unsure of what would come to happen. But each time they have met in this dream, they had treasured each moment. They had spent every single second as if they would never come back.

And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

And sooner or later, it's over

I just don't wanna miss you right now.

The sky felt so vast above them. She could feel the stars looking down and shining upon them. The end of their remaining time was looming over them. She could feel it. And she knows that he could, too.

But right now, it felt like it would never end. She had cherished that thought, as if it's real; as if she could see the future with him.

And I don’t want the world to see me

Not yet. Cory wanted to stay here for as long as time itself.

‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand

They really wouldn’t. They would think she’s crazy and delusional.

When everything’s made to be broken

Promises–their promises– were not meant to be broken but rather fulfilled.

I just want you to know who I am

If soulmates were real then Cory was sure that Ronan was hers. She had never felt this way with anybody else in her life or in this case, in real life.

===

Cory and Ronan had sat on the edge of the rooftop, beholding the view. In front of them was a wide forest, and stretching out from that was a city without lights. It was probably because it was nighttime, or there was no one who lived there.

 Either way, Cory didn't even think there would even be other people in their dream that would live there. She hadn't seen any other places except their cottage and garden. And this abandoned building, of course.

 "Who do you think lives in those?" Ronan asked. "Those buildings, I mean."

She breathed out a laugh. He was thinking almost the same thing as her. "No idea. Maybe... the people we love?" There was a pause. "Or maybe other people dreaming. Someone like you."

"Heh, is there really someone like me?" He asked smugly.

 "Shut up, you...!" He chuckled at her comment. "Well, I mean no, but... I mean those people who were trapped in a dream, too."

There was a longer silence. It's like she could feel his face looking sadder, and his mind going into his thoughts. He then spoke. "Wonder who's waiting for them on the other side."

 "Their Mom? Dad? Friends...? Someone they love...?" Her voice softens as she remembers the sadness. It's getting closer and closer. And they can't really do anything but wait. Wait until they'd wake up; until they would be able to see what happens next.

Wait until they could know whether they could be together again.

 ==

 "I miss you..." Cory was sobbing. She was in front of Ronan once again. He was looking down at her gently. It was a weird, unexplained feeling; it was a dream, after all.

 "I miss you too, you know?" He cleared his throat. Was he also about to cry? "It's been a long time."

"I know..." Cory kept sobbing.

"But Cory, listen to me first, alright?" He placed his left hand on her right shoulders. She looked up, her hands covering half of her face. He was smiling. "There's still hope. We can be together again."

"How...?"

"It's... a little complicated." He pursed his lips. "Come with me. I'll tell you when we're both settled."

===

 "You mean... this is not just a dream?" She asked.

They were inside the cottage. It was a comfortable home made of wood. They sat 'round a dining table, having a cup of tea.

"Well, it's still a dream. But, you know, I'm real. Sorta. And we're both inside a dream."

 "How could this happen...?" She asked again.

 "I'm not really sure. When I died... Dunno how long that was, but then I felt myself floating somewhere. I can't see, but I was floating. I think? And then I found myself waking up in this cottage. I have no idea where I was, but I just knew I--"

"--Never saw this place before, alright," Cory interrupted. He did tell her earlier about what had happened in the cottage, and how he got the message about the dream.

"Ah, right, I've told you already; right." He said rapidly. It was an old habit of his. Other people were irritated by it, but for her, it just seemed fine. "

 "How are we going to do that? That's..." She looked around and beyond what windows she could see. All she could see was the plants of the garden, and maybe some part of the mountains. "We have no idea how to find it."

 "I'm not sure. But... we could figure that out in the long run. I'm sure of it. Besides, you're one of the biggest brains in our class!"

"How does that relate to any of this? I don't even have an idea!" She half-whispered.

 "Well, you could grab more ideas than I do."

"Ronan, you're not dumb."

"So are you." He countered. "So we could figure this one out. Don't worry about it."

==

Cory couldn’t help but look at her wristwatch again. Only a few more minutes to 6. “All that time and I still don’t have any plans or ideas.”

Ronan gently grabbed her hand and interlaced his fingers in hers. “Let’s not think about that. Time’s too short for us to worry about that right now.”

“Ronan!” Cory let go of his hand and cried. “I don’t want to lose you forever!”

“You’re not going to lose me forever. It’s only for a little time then we’ll see each other again and figure out a way.”

“You knew.” Cory realized. “You knew that there wasn’t actually a way, and you just gave me false hope, so I wouldn’t have to think about this so much. That’s why you prepared all of this. All of those things we did would be our last and–”

“Stop, Cory.” It hurt Ronan to see her like this. As if their souls were tethered, he could feel the exact same pain she was feeling. He cupped her face in his hands and gently wiped her tears away. “I didn’t give you false hope. Hope is hope even when it’s so small.”

Cory held on to either of his hands. “You were always the optimistic one,” she sniffled.

“Maybe I should share some of it to you.”

In that moment, the sun began rising. Cory could feel herself drifting off to what seems like sleep, but she tried so hard to “stay awake”. Her head hurt even worse than earlier.

“I don’t want to fall asleep,” her voice cracked a little.

Ronan embraced Cory, her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “You know that I love you, right?”

“Ronan…”

“Do you love me?”

“Of course I do­–“

“Where’s there’s love, there’s a way.”

Cory weakly laughed. “Copycat. You stole that line from a song.” She lifted her head and looked at him. The sunshine played with his hair and drastically made his eyes turn from warm brown to amber.

“Did not,” he denied.

Their surroundings grew brighter. The two of them watched the rising sun. They held hands for the last time. Wordlessly, they leaned towards one another and kissed. Cory closed her eyes and savored the moment.

Before she completely awoken, Ronan told her, “I love you, Cory. Never forget that.”

Then time turned 6.

===

 Cory jolted upwards. Her heart was beating fast.

It made her a bit more uncomfortable with the fact that the world around her seemed so cheerful. Her room was filled with the warm sunlight coming through the window and her white silk curtains.

It was calming, yet she didn't want to settle with the feeling that something's wrong.

She had lost something.

The thought of her losing something had reminded her yet again of losing Ronan. It's been a few weeks; or months. She had lost count, to be honest. It had seemed so long anyway; regardless of how long it actually is.

 She looked at her bedside table. Her alarm clock said exactly 6:00 am.

Her heart sunk. Seeing the time, she thought it was too early. She felt like going back to sleep but somehow knowing that she can't. 

She wanted to. She wanted to escape the reality where she had lost him. She missed him. So much. Every single moment. Every time his vibrant brown eyes met hers. Every time he had held her hands and wrapped her in a warm embrace. Every time he'd crack up even the corniest, stupidest jokes just to see her smile. Every time she would hear comfort in the optimism of his voice.

But those memories, even the happiest ones, could only remind her of what is lost. All she could think of was his face; his most precious, beautiful face. And each time she did, she would constantly remember how she would never see it again. Over and over again. She'd memorized his messy hair, his lips... the shape of his face... Sometimes, she thought she would be mad and realize that she might be seeing a face of a stranger. His face might not be what she had remembered, and she would cry even harder.

She sobbed, surrounded by the new daylight, on her bed. The space around her made her feel alone. She longed for an arm to embrace her.

She longed for him to embrace her.