A choked gasp.
"Hah..! What the hell..what a weird..dream.."
A woman with disheveled hair rose up from her messy bed, rubbing at her eyes.
"Hm..? Why was I crying..?"
She shrugged and went on with her daily routine.
Which involved not getting up from bed.
Instead she stayed sat in bed.
Looking at the wall.
One hour.
Two hours..
Three hours…
Four hours.....
Eventually she was awakened from her trance by a rumbling in her stomach.
"Ahh..always interrupted…how annoying.."
Dejected, she finally got up from bed and went into her kitchen, popping a frozen dinner into the microwave.
"I think I'll treat myself today..I'll have my TV dinner with…some soda!"
She lifted the can out from her fridge as if it were a precious treasure.
"Heh..I can only afford a few of these babies a month..but I deserve one after that scary dream don't I? Yeah!"
Chugging down the can, she smacked her lips in delight.
Looking at the frozen dinner still being reheated she left for the bathroom to brush her teeth to get the sticky sweet feeling from her teeth.
She glanced into the bathroom mirror while brushing her teeth. The figure reflected back could only be described as terrifying.
It wasn't that she herself was ugly. Far from it, she might even be described as above average looking.
Yet her demeanor changed that entirely into a negative.
Her slouching posture, her hunched shoulders and her messy long black hair which almost completely covered her face.
It almost looked like she was about to crawl out of a TV.
The only visible part of her face were her slightly bloodshot eyes.
Which gave credence to her name.
Ruby.
Yet unlike a precious gem stone, Ruby did not shine.
Her entire aura was one of gloominess and depression. As if the light around her dimmed to match her personality.
She sighed and spat out her toothpaste.
Annoyed by her reflection.
Ding!
"Oh! My food!"
Her mood lifted instantly as she rushed back into the kitchen.
She froze.
She couldn't understand what she was witnessing.
"Hm..this tastes like cardboard. How can you eat this?"
A man's voice.
She blinked.
Wasn't something wrong? Last she remembered this was a one person apartment. And she didn't have any roommates. She hadn't ordered any packages so it's not the delivery man. She had no relatives anymore. Is she being robbed? But she had nothing of any value to steal.
Could it be..a rapist?
She looked at herself. Wearing a chewed looking oversized t-shirt and messy shorts. She hadn't showered in several days and her hair was a mess.
..
No, not a rapist then.
So who was it?
She looked at the man who had randomly appeared in her kitchen.
A tall man, though it was hard to tell as he was sitting down. Slender and dressed in odd clothing. If she squinted she could see it as a business casual suit without a tie. But looking closely..the details didn't match. The buttons on the wrong side, the fabric shifting oddly as if it was alive, the coloring which seemed to alternate between bright and dark at random.
It was as if his clothing couldn't decide what they wanted to be.
His hair was long and immaculate. A natural blonde. Tied into a little pony tail which hung over his shoulder.
His face was just like those male fashion bloggers she had seen online. The ones who could only achieve that immaculate androgynous yet somehow still handsome appearance with layers of makeup.
Yet squinting, she couldn't see any obvious usage of makeup on his face.
What was a handsome fashion model doing in her home?
And..why was he eating her food?
Her food?
He was eating her food.
"AAAAAH MY FOOD!"
Lunging forward she grabbed the plastic tray.
"No..it's all gone.."
"I did you quite a favor. It tasted disgusting."
The man wiped his lips with a handkerchief.
"THEN WHY DID YOU EAT ALL! My food..my precious nutrients…"
She slumped down.
"Don't be so dejected. It was only a small portion befitting a child. The least you could offer to a guest."
"This is why I hate people like you..you don't get it..this was my food for the day.."
She sighed and looked sadly at the empty tray.
"Oh..I'm sorry..I didn't realize things were that difficult for you..I shouldn't have stolen the food of a poor person.."
The man sounded deeply regretful.
"Poor? I'm not poor. I have tons of savings."
She scoffed. Offended at the suggestion.
"Oh..? Then why were you so upset..?"
"Why are you asking so many questions..actually who even are you? Why are you in my house? Please leave before I call the police."
Getting up from the floor, she glared the man down, fury crossing her bloodshot eyes.
"Oh. Right. I forgot to introduce myself. I am-"
He stood up and did a slight bow, but was quickly interrupted.
"I don't care. Leave my home."
"You'll understand if I just introduce myself. I'm-"
"I don't care. Leave. Leave my home now. I don't have time for scammers."
Crossing her arms, she continued to stare.
"I'm not a scammer I'm-"
"Again. I. Do not. Care. And if you're some weird organ harvester then tough luck, if I scream, all the neighbour's will be knocking on my door yelling at me to shut up. So you won't be able to escape."
"Those..don't seem like the nicest of neighbors to be asking for help.."
"They're not. But they're consistent in being assholes. So you won't escape if I scream. So…leave. Before I call the police."
She was resolute.
"I can't do that because-"
"Okay I warned you."
She shrugged and took a deep breath.
"What are you-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I ACCIDENTALLY BURNED MY FROZEN DINNER AGAIN AND NOW I'M GOING TO BE HUNGRY FOR THE DAY AAAAAA"
"Shut the hell up!"
"God damn it not again! Didn't I tell you to be quiet or i'll kick your ass!"
"That's it! I'm coming over to kick that dumb bitches ass"
"yeah! I'm coming over to teach her a lesson!"
Her apartment door soon received angry knocks and yelling.
"I warned you. They're angry at me but really they're just angry in general. As long as I give them an outlet that isn't me they'll be happy."
The handsome man blinked in surprise and was about to speak before Ruby rushed forward to the door.
"Hey! Sorry about that but it wasn't my fault! There was a strange guy in my apartment! Please help me just this once!"
"Strange guy? This better not be some excuse again."
"Yeah we are tired of your damn excuses for being a nuisance."
Before long her kitchen was filled with several burly old men looking around.
"Well? Where is this mystery guy?"
"I knew it was just an excuse. Listen we're gonna wrap you in a blanket and throw you down the river this time I swear to God. I'm sick of your shit Ruby."
She headed back into the kitchen, confusion apparent on her face.
"No, what are you talking about..he's right there?"
She pointed at the chair at her table.
…
..
"Ruby there ain't nothing there."
"Are you messing with me? This weirdly handsome blonde guy smiling and waving at you right now! How can you not see that!"
…
…
"Uh…Maybe we shouldn't have yelled at you so much Ruby…"
"...yeah uh..it was our bad really. Just uh..make sure you get some fresh air every once in a while alright..?"
"Take care Ruby..make sure you visit a hospital soon just in case.."
The angry men quickly left her apartment, casting her pitiful glances.
She was left utterly confused at what had just transpired.
"I kept trying to tell you..you wouldn't have had to be so embarrassed if you had let me finish introducing myself."
Giving a fake cough he breathed in and did a light bow.
"It's so nice to meet you Ruby. I go by many names, but you may call me Visio. I am…well it's difficult to describe but..I guess you could call me a dream demon"
He continued after seeing her gaping mouth.
"I am born of dreams..incidentally this time..from your dreams. Which is why nobody else could see me..I do believe they must have thought you were a little bit..hysterical? But worry not. I am very real. And I am here for a very specific reason-"
"ahhhh…I get it..I'm delusional…figured this would happen..well whatever..can't let stuff like this bother me.."
She shrugged and headed back into her bedroom. Leaving the creature of dreams, Visio, standing alone, slightly befuddled