Tiffany wiped the sweat off her brow with the inside of her wrist as she brought the water bottle to . It was still strangely overcast outside, but the air conditioning inside the practise rooms broke a few days ago; and it was stifling hot. While the humidity was doing wonders for her voice, the heat and the lack of general composure on her end made things infinitely difficult in getting things done properly. Fragments of the dream-like sequences of the blonde woman started to divide and multiply exponentially after a few weeks of just having them overnight. They began their mitosis during when she was wide awake, ading her mind into a stupor. She was lucky if she caught herself daydreaming and snapped out of it before anyone else noticed, but the dreamy events seemed to happen more frequently as time went by.

While she knew she should’ve taken Jessica’s advice the first time she brought it up with her and gone straight back to Nu Reality, there was just a nagging feeling in the back of her head that kept her from going back. She didn’t know where this reluctance stemmed from, or why she was feeling the way she did. She just knew that it was there, and the implication that she was feeling that way, didn’t put her mind at ease. Because in all simplicity, there was only a few reasons as to why she would be feeling this way towards the place where she could either fix the dreaming problem, or get answers that pertains to them; either way, the dreams could stop. And Tiffany didn’t understand why she was scared of having them stop.

Three assistants rushed in from the hallway with two plastic bags full of various popsicles. As soon as the crinkles from the plastic bags sounded, a group of sweaty trainees swarmed towards the three, scrambling to get their hands on their pick. “Everyone! Take an ice cream, we’ll take 15 more, and then we’ll get back to work!” The producer barked from the back recording studio before closing the soundproof door, while everyone, Tiffany included, yelled back out a reverberating ‘Thank you,’ in unison.

Tiffany maintained her position with her back pressed against the cool wall of mirror, pressing her water bottle to her neck. She was already so tired from the lack of sleep and from the intensive practise sessions, that she didn’t have the energy to swarm with others in a duel to the death over some popsicles. Her worry was short-lived however, as Jessica squeezed through the mob and leaned against the wall beside Tiffany with two popsicles in hand. They were two pink Screw-Bars. Using her teeth to tear one open, she held it up to Tiffany’s face in silence. Tiffany opened her eyes a sliver to glance down at the popsicle before wearily shaking her head. Brows snapping shut into a disapproving frown, Jessica bit down on her bottom lip before shoving the tip of the popsicle against Tiffany’s lip.

Then she gasped. The cold sensation against her upper lip brought back a flood of imagery in her head in a feeling that wasn’t too far off from observing the form of an exploding firework. She could feel the hot Summer air, humid and thick, the wind blowing downwind giving a semblance of defense against the hot air rising from the asphalt. She could see the blue skies above her head, and she could feel the dead weight on top of her, more specifically, on her back.

‘I’m sorry again. I feel so bad,’ Her voice was indeed full of guilt, and Tiffany realized that she was carrying the blonde girl on her back. She could feel the gentle tickle of her blonde fringe on her neck as it swayed back and forth with each step she took. With both her arms tucked beneath the blonde’s knees, she could clearly see the swollen left ankle that dangled.

Tiffany tapped her fingers against the insides of the blonde’s thighs. ‘I bet you do. Did you gain weight?’ Her voice was full of mirth and she twisted her neck to get a glimpse of her companion in her periphery. Her joke was met with a firm chokehold from the blonde, and before Tiffany could let out a hearty laugh, she was met with a face full of ice cream cone.

‘Nooo! Pfft!’ She blew out tiny spittle of vanilla cream from her nostrils and giggled while the blonde determinedly pushed the vanilla cone back towards her face.

‘I’m taking you down with me,’ She huffed as she squirmed on her back to get a better angle.

‘Settle down, fatty…’

‘Fatty…’

“…Fany.”

“Fany?”

“Tiffany??” Jessica waved the popsicle in front of Tiffany’s glazed eyes, finally gaining her attention. Tiffany blinked one and then twice, ran her tongue over her dry lips, and took the popsicle from Jessica’s grip. “What’s with you???” Her question was sharp, and in disdain. To be truthful, Tiffany felt the same way; but more conflicted in a way that she wished that her dreams would stop, but then never stop at the same time.

“Sorry, I’m just really tired and spacing out,” It sounded less lame than she originally thought in her head, but Jessica didn’t buy it for a second; she knew her too well.

“You’ve been spacing out for about 3 weeks,” Jessica let out a short huff of a sigh before taking a bite out of her own popsicle. “You never went back to Nu Reality, did you?”

Tiffany slowly ran her tongue over her popsicle, feeling her heat dissipate as she felt the cool and tangy cream melt in . She could only respond in guilty silence.

-

And it continued like this for a very long time. The images and dreams began to consume her, and to a point, it did scare her. Tiffany began to feel like they were becoming a source of escape from her reality, a delectable drug that she couldn’t stop herself from indulging in, a little too much. It was all the more intimidating because, even if she wanted to control it, she had no way of tapering off her addiction. The images, the daydreams, the glances, the touches, they all came, all at once, plunging her into a different plane of existence. And she felt loved. Different from the way that she felt loved from her family or friends, but really loved from a lover.

If this blonde woman ended up just being a figment of her imagination, warped from her error in session in Nu Reality, Tiffany knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it very well. Because she was beginning to feel like this connection she had with her, she wasn’t going to have with anyone else at any particular time. And it frustrated her to no end, because they were beginning to cloud over her concentration for her career, and her dream.

She once tried to gauge when or what would trigger the lapse in reality and her visions of the blonde. But there was no pattern, no rhyme, no reason. The simplest thing could trip the visions in her mind, a blast of colour and emotions and sensations submerging her senses until some external force snapped her out.

One time, she was in a hurry and so, she hopped two steps at a time to get to the next floor. Next thing she knew, the concrete walls melted around her to reveal a surrounding rich with thick roots, dirt, and evergreen trees.

She was in light linen clothing and heavy hiking boots, hopping up the hill from rock to rock to get to a plateau. There was a distinct crisp in the air, a deciding factor that it was still early in the morning, and the nonsensical chirps of birds in the faraway background supported that judgement. The air felt cool and magnificent against the hot patches of her exposed skin, and she could feel the stings of the edging morning sun.

‘Watch your step,’ A small, white hand stretched out towards her. She took it without hesitation and felt a firm