“If you don’t stop – I won’t tell you anything. And that’s a promise.”

Four hushed “sorry”s danced across the room. They hung their heads low, yet no one managed to take their eyes off her for more than a minute or two. Isabel would catch one staring again, and they would immediately dart their eyes over to someone else. She pursed her lips, trying not to smile – feeling like a parent to four children on Christmas morning. A warped Christmas, though – as much as they were anticipating Isabel’s report, she could sense the dread in every one of them.

Finally, she sat back and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Cautiously, they all looked up at her – hoping that she was ready to tell them what she saw.

“I have never seen anything like that before.” Michael exhaled harshly, slinking down in his seat. Isabel frowned, then turned to Max. “But it was familiar. Even though I’d never *been* there – as I followed Michael, I knew exactly where I was. I knew every corner, every street, every building.”

“Do you think it was…” Max’s voice trailed off. It had been so long that they’d discussed ‘home’ that he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it.

“I don’t know.” Closing her eyes, Isabel tried to recall the images from the night before. “But if it is… it wasn’t good, Max. It was dark and gray. Like a city that had been bombed several times over. People were rushing around in a panic – hundreds, thousands – all seeking some kind of safe haven. Michael~” She opened her eyes and looked at the young man sitting across from her. “Michael walked through the crowds in a sort of daze – kind of like a fish swimming upstream, but completely unaware that he was going the wrong way. Anyway… he kept going – away from the craziness – not seeming to notice the large craters in the road or the buildings falling to pieces around him. He got to this clearing… this park on the outskirts of town. There were all these crafts – oval-looking sphere type things – and they were taking off one after the other. Some small ones, some that looked like it had enough room for several people. Michael got in one of the small ones and the top closed over him – it was the first time I could see his face clearly.” Isabel paused and cocked her head at her friend. “You looked so unemotional. Like you’d shut everything out and it didn’t seem like you actually saw what was going on around you.”

Suppressing the snide comment that immediately flew to mind, Maria glanced over at Michael. His head was down, his shoulders slumped, his face tensed – he looked more broken than he had the first night he came to her apartment. As inconspicuously as possible, she slid her hand under the table and took his, and rubbed his thumb. For a moment, she could feel him relax a tiny bit.

Isabel took a sip of water. “The next part was kind of hard to follow. The craft took off, and was flying super fast. Then, it was like it was spinning out of control. Spinning in a direct nosedive, gaining speed with every passing second – it was going down hard and fast. For a while, it was all pitch black. Then white, blue, and then this reddish-yellow colour. I think it was the desert… out near where our pods were.”

“So, you saw the crash?” Liz asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I don’t know.” Isabel’s voice was soft. “Maybe. It was all so surreal. I waited for the craft to open, and Michael got out – but he was still gray. His aura, his colouring – it was as gray as the planet he’d been on. And as he walked around – everywhere he walked, everything he touched turned gray. Kind of like some twisted kind of Midas Touch.”

“All of a sudden, there was this loud noise way across the desert, like another crash. And that noise was the first thing that I saw Michael react to. His eyes got all wide, and he started to freak out – a lot like the people in the city. He ran towards the source of the sound – but it was so far that he had no idea where he was going. And then you…” Nodding at Maria, she continued. “You were sitting on a rock, smiling. Not doing anything, really – just smiling. When Michael finally saw you, he stopped short. It was like he was… terrified… of you. Which was really strange – considering that he felt more fear being around you than he did in that wretched place.”

Apologetically, Michael squeezed Maria’s hand. She appreciated the effort – but it didn’t dispel the feelings that had arisen through Isabel’s story. There was no question that his dreams were more than a simple nocturnal fantasy, and that they were the best way to learn about why he had lost his powers and couldn’t sleep through the night. And here Maria was being told that in this dream-reality, Michael preferred an apocalyptic atmosphere to being near her in any way. She dropped her head so as to avoid the artful eyes of her friends.

“Maria jumped off the rock and walked over to him. I could see Michael catch his breath – totally afraid of what she might do to him. She circled him slowly, still smiling – not maliciously, quite sincerely, actually. But it was when she was standing squarely in front of him that I noticed how strange she looked.”

Maria jerked back in her seat, confused and insulted. She let go of Michael’s hand and narrowed her eyes at Isabel.

“Her hair was so bright – almost a blinding gold. And her eyes were like two large emeralds, her lips were this crazy ruby red. At first she seemed like a caricature, but… not.” Isabel chuckled in disbelief. “I mean, half the world was gray – the other half this muted yellowish-red, and there was Maria – in full living colour. I couldn’t help laughing at Michael’s confusion, especially when he touched her the tip of her nose and she didn’t turn gray.”

They all laughed at the image, thankful for the moment of levity. Blushing, Michael’s grin quickly disappeared when he saw the stoned look on Maria’s face. Without needing to think about it, he knew exactly what was on her mind – almost as if her thoughts were being broadcast into his head. It was all fine and good to know that she confused him – that was nothing new – but why was he calling out for her?

Isabel picked up on Maria’s body language as well. The blonde pulled her hair back into a ponytail and started into the last act of the dream. “Anyway, and I remember this quite clearly, Maria’s eyes popped wide open and she began to giggle uncontrollably. She took Michael by the hand and ran – off in the direction of the noise. At first he refused to run as fast as her, so she slowed down until he caught up. Then, like he was trying to prove something, Michael passed her, so she just let go of his hand and jogged along at her own pace. Maybe a few minutes later, he stopped, all confused and looked around for her. He waited for her to get to him, then took her hand and they started running again. And then they came upon a cliff – I can’t even begin to describe the drop. It was like hundreds and hundreds of feet below. At the bottom was another craft – a bit larger than Michael’s.”

“They tried yelling – but there was no one to hear them. I don’t know if they’d gotten out, or had left, or if they hadn’t… I don’t know. Michael wanted to climb down, but Maria started to walk away – to find a safer route, I think. All of a sudden he got really scared, like she was going to leave him, and he yanked her back. Something happened – she twisted her foot or moved too quickly – and the next thing I knew, she was plummeting down into the canyon. Watching her body fall, Michael slumped to his knees at the edge of the cliff and cried – screaming out her name over and over.”

Reaching over, Michael found Maria’s hand and squeezed it tightly – like he was afraid she might slide off the chair and meet the same fate as the Dream-Maria. She couldn’t look at him – or anyone for that matter. Her eyes were clenched shut and her attention was intensely focused on her breathing. Inhale – Exhale. Inhale – Exhale. That was her answer – that’s what she wanted to know, wasn’t it? In his dream – she dies. She’s not saving him, or even taking care of him – she’s falling off a cliff to her death.

“That’s pretty much it…” Isabel said quietly. “Except…”

“Except?” Max asked.

“Except… the other craft,” she turned to her brother. “I think it was ours, Max. I think it was us that Michael was trying to reach. I don’t even know why I think it – but… it’s like how everything seemed so familiar in the other place. I can’t say for sure that it was home, and I can’t say for sure that it was our craft – but in all the dreams that I’ve gone into - nothing has ever felt so clear.”

**

Shoving the chair behind her, Maria walked across to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of juice. Four pairs of eyes watched her, none more intently than Michael’s. The irony was not lost on him – one of the most important moments of his life, and he was more concerned with how Maria was taking things. After all, it was Maria that urged him to tell Isabel, Maria that told him he should go back to Max and work things out, Maria that … made him do the things he was afraid to do on his own. It wasn’t as if he really wanted to know what his dreams were about, anyway. His motto for the past few years, especially after all the dead ends, was that ignorance was truly bliss. At least, that’s what he’d tried to convince himself.

“Well, we still don’t know what it means.” Isabel turned in her chair and faced the others.

“I have a pretty good idea of what it means,” Maria grumbled into her glass.

“What?” Max looked back at her.

Realizing that she’d actually spoken aloud, Maria coughed and shrugged. “Nothing.”

“No,” Max cocked his head at her. “What did you say?”

Sighing, she put the glass down on the counter. “Think about it. In the dream, Michael couldn’t get to you… because of me.” Her eyes swept over the four. “I’m not trying to make this about me, really. I may not be the only reason he’s having them, but you can’t tell me that his relationship to me isn’t a factor of his nightmares. But let’s face it, we all know that they are more than dreams.”

“But… he found the ship because of you.” Liz said, trying to help.

“Besides,” Isabel slung her arm over the chair and eyed Maria skeptically. “What could possibly be the reason that *you* would come between Michael and us?”

Maria’s glance flew to Michael, who had suddenly become quite interested in the pattern grooves in the table. His nails dug the small indentations deeper as he felt her eyes boring down on him. He was hoping desperately that if he didn’t look at Maria, she wouldn’t press the issue, she wouldn’t figure it out.

“You bound your life to mine.” Maria was always a lot smarter than anyone gave her credit for.

“Maria.” Michael’s eyes begged her not to go on.

“That’s what you did, isn’t it? That’s what the ring is about.” Her hands fell staunchly on her hips, her head shaking as the pieces started to come together.

“Wait. You don’t~” He stood up, and took a step towards her.

“Undo it. Unbind it, break it – whatever.” Maria backed away. “I don’t care. Just make it stop.”

“Michael, what is she talking about?” Now completely confused, Isabel turned around to face the two of them.

Looking past the blonde, Maria glared at the dark-haired man across from her. “Is that why you didn’t tell me, Max?”

“Max?” Liz turned to her boyfriend, her suspicions once again aroused.

Ignoring her, Max looked up at Maria, his hands raised in supplication. “Hey – I didn’t know any more than you did.”

“Know about *what*?” Isabel was past frustrated, entering fury territory.

Sighing heavily, Michael stood with his back to Maria, facing the rest of the group. “The ring I asked Max to give Maria.”

“The silver one?” Liz furrowed her eyebrows.

“Undo it, Michael.”

“I…” Michael spun around and closed his eyes. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he inhaled and opened them slowly. “No. I want you to listen to me.”

“*Listen to you?* Now, of all times, you want *me* to listen?” The petite blonde stepped in, yelling angrily. “No. I’m not going to listen. Five years ago, I would have listened. Three years ago, I would have listened. If you said, ‘Hey Maria, I’m about to join us together forever,’ I would have listened. But you never said that, did you Michael? Did you?”

“Everyone calm down for a minute.” Liz’s interruption surprised them all, herself the most. Around the room, Isabel was frustrated and confused, Max was purposely staying out of everything, Maria was fuming, and Michael was so far into a corner with no easy way of getting out. Liz didn’t know what to do. It was a rare occasion that she’d been on the receiving end of Maria’s ire, and she didn’t envy Michael his position. Softly, Liz tried to bring down the emotional intensity of the room. “Now, Michael, what is the deal with the ring?”

Michael swallowed hard. This was a moment that he *wasn’t* looking forward to – that he never really thought would happen. When he gave Max that ring – Michael truly believed that he would never see Maria again. But when he decided to stay, he knew that this moment would come. He would have to tell Maria what he did, and deal with the fallout.

The clock above the hallway ticked off the seconds, then minutes of virtual silence. With every small click, Maria felt the exhaustion setting in. Her body, her soul, was so unbelievably tired, and she couldn’t stand there any longer waiting for Michael to fess up. She marched over and grabbed her coat from the couch.