Chapter Text
Pearl looked around her and already knew she was lost. She didn't know how she got here. But she knew that she was lost. It was just something that her body was trying to stress out as she began to walk in a place she didn't recognize. In a sense ... She didn't even under what kind of space she was in. Just that she was able to walk forward to find a way out or ... Maybe a way in. That's when her hand hit a doorknob. Instinctively, she grabbed it to open the door, and found herself to be walking inside of a warm room. Not warm in an uncomfortable way ... Rather a comfort you'd find in a house during winter. She could smell a cup of hot cocoa left on a nearby table, which she grabbed and took a sip out of. It tasted like peppermint, a flavor she hated. But for some reason, she kept on drinking it. As if she needed the warmth. She walked up towards a nearby couch and sat down on it, only to finally notice that someone had been watching her in a chair right in front of said couch. Pearl felt a shiver crawl up her spine as she saw the face of this person. Or rather ... Lack thereof.
This was her mother. She knew it by instinct. But her face was awfully distorted. Her nose, eyes and mouth were all just slightly blended together, in a way that made them visible but not really able to be recognized. And she knew that this meant two things.
She was dreaming. Of fucking course she was dreaming. None of this made sense. But ...
It also meant that she was forgetting the face of her mother. And that hurt in a way she couldn't describe. She knew this was her mother because she was in a dream and in dreams, you get to suddenly know informations you're not really meant to know. But she didn't remember her mother's face. Nor her voice. Nor her smell. It felt weird. She didn't love her mother as much as she felt she should've. But ... She didn't want to forget her.
"Alright, here we go again for another nightmare where you're going to destroy me ... Listen I have enough problems already. The last thing I want is to wake up in tears. So be quick."
"I know you're in pain right now. And I wish I were able to comfort you."
"And why can't you do that, huh ?"
"Because I'm not real."
"... Well fuck, you didn't have to put it out like that. But ... Just because you're not real doesn't mean you can't be a good thing. C'mere, give me a hug."
Pearl walked up towards the woman, tried to wrap her arms around her silhouette, but ultimately fell on the floor after going both through her and her chair.
"Outch. That hurt, in quite a few ways."
"I'm sorry, Pearl ..."
The squid sighed before sitting down on the floor, hugging her knees as she glanced back at the woman.
"I hate dreams. They never make much sense, they're either stupidly nice or weirdly painful, and all I can do is sit there and watch. And lucid dreams are the worse because I KNOW this isn't real, I KNOW this is useless and I'm still gonna have a bad time. All I want is a hug to not feel like garbage and you can't even get me one."
"I can't. But she can."
Suddenly, Pearl felt a gentle touch against her belly and back. She looked behind her and found Marina hugging her from behind.
"Holy shit ... Reena ..."
"She's not real either. At least not this version of her. But it's the closest I could bring you."
Pearl sighed as she began to cuddle with Marina, desperate to get as much affection as she could.
"... This isn't working. Why the fuck isn't this working..."
"What do you mean sweetie ?"
"I'm hugging Marina. I'm with her, by her side. I should be feeling better, why am I not feeling better ?!"
"You know something's missing."
"No it's not ... Look at me !! I'm with my best friend ! I have food, I'm warm, I'm ... I ..."
"And where are you right now ?"
"I don't know ..."
"Where are you not ?"
"I don't know ?"
"Where do you think you are ?"
"I dont know ?!"
"And where do you want to be ?"
Pearl looked down and bit her lip.
"... Home."
"I think you have your answer to what's missing."
Pearl felt a single tear roll down her cheek as she sighed and crawled back on the couch.
"... I don't know how long it's been since I left home ... Will I even get to go back there one day ? What if I can never being marina home again ?"
"Don't ask yourself if. Tell yourself when."
"... I'll keep that in mind I guess. Tch. Of all people, why did you have to be the one to show up in my dreams ?"
"I'm the only dead person you know. It's easier to imagine that advice in dreams come from people that are dead to imagine that they are helping you from the afterlife."
"... So are you really my mother ?"
"No. Your mother is a corpse long rotten and forgotten underground. I'm not real."
"I see. Do you ... Still love me though ?"
Pearl woke up before she could hear the answer to that question.
She looked around her, and recognized the metro she'd been sleeping in for a couple hours. She stretched, and buried her head back against Marina's chest before drifting back to sleep, mumbling a couple of words as her mind began to drift away once more.
"I'll bring you back home. I promise you'll be safe."