6
At 9 PM, it was time to sleep again.
I forced myself not to fall asleep.
But strangely, my eyelids felt too heavy to lift.
I tried hard to keep my eyes open, but found that sleepiness was like a swamp, fiercely dragging at my consciousness, pulling it into the thick, sticky realm of dreams.
I sensed a hint of unusual eeriness in this.
I was just used to sleeping early.
I shouldn’t be so drowsy that I felt I must close my eyes immediately.
I don’t know how long I slept, but in a daze, I felt as if a stone was pressing on my lower body, making it difficult to move.
I anxiously opened my eyes and saw a soul–stirring scene.
On the pitch–black bed, another me was sitting on top of me, facing away.
Her lower body was sunk into my body, fused with me as one.
She was falling backwards towards me, her back naturally pressing towards me.
Suddenly, her falling motion paused.
She seemed to sense that I had woken up, her black long hair swaying slightly.
In the dim light, she turned her head to look at me.
I saw a face identical to mine.
That face wore a nearly challenging smile.
Then, like waves crashing into the sea, she fell into my body.
The heavy feeling disappeared, my body lightened, and I could move my hands and feet again.
However, I was covered in cold sweat, all traces of sleepiness gone.
During class break, a cup of coffee was placed in front of me. I hazily looked up to see Sage’s face.
She pulled out a chair and sat down beside me.
“You…” she hesitated, her eyes full of worry.
I forced a smile at her: “I’m fine.“”
“What do you plan to do?” Sage asked me.
I lay on my arms, unable to answer this question.
“Let me help you,” Sage said.
I thought I had heard wrong, propped up my head, and stared at her blankly.
Sage smiled at me: “The counselor really called me to fill out the room change form today, I didn’t fill it out, I’m planning to move back and continue living with you.”
“Aria, I don’t just see you as a roommate, but also as a friend.”
it.”
“When a friend is in trouble, how could I just run away? That wouldn’t be right, would it?”
I looked at Sage for a long time.
To be honest, it felt like there was a saw on my heart, sawing back and forth.
I had to make a great effort to force myself to remain rational, and speak up to dissuade her: “Sage, if I were you, I would choose to stay out of
“Your decision to help me now is a bit too sentimental.”
“We don’t even know what exactly that other me is? We don’t know what she wants to do? We don’t know what kind of terrifying things we might face?”
“Helping me might drag you into it too, it’s not wise.”
“Yes, who doesn’t understand the reasoning?” Sage folded her arms, looking at me helplessly, “But, Aria, look at your dark circles, just one night and you look like you haven’t slept for half a year.”
“I can’t just watch you alone, without even someone to help brainstorm ideas, can I?”
“I can’t bear it.”
Her one sentence of “I can’t bear it” instantly made my eyes moist.
“Stop talking nonsense,” she winked at me, her manner light and playful, “Most unknowns are not as scary as we imagine, the unknown seems scary only because we don’t understand it enough.”
“Maybe, after understanding, we’ll find it’s not worth fearing at all.”
“Aria, isn’t this what you told me?”
I couldn’t speak, I reached out my arms and hugged Sage, sincerely saying: “Thank you!”
Sage hugged me back: “Alright, don’t get sentimental, just tell me, what can I do to help you?”
I calmed down and thought for a moment: “Indeed, I need you to help me do one thing. It’s very simple, tonight, after she leaves, you must wake me up.”
