Liandra and the Dream Reader Chapter 7

Parental Wisdom

    Roocean, still fuming at his rotten turn of luck, had decided to step out and enjoy a final night out in the town. In his words, he’d be “looking for all the trouble this town was worth.” Liandra and her parents were left with a quiet dinner, the first since Roocean had stayed with them. The man was full of questions and inappropriate humor. Liandra was surprised to learn that he had traveled around much of Europe on his own, and so he had been filled with all sorts of fascinating stories. He was certainly an interesting man, and Liandra knew that she needed to learn much more from him. Now was her best chance.

    She sat across from her parents—interrogation style—and answered all of their questions regarding her progress. She and Roocean had already updated them daily, but still they wanted to know more. Today, she told them about Roocean’s methods and how she felt like she was making good progress. Her father looked at her incredulously, as before.

Mr. Keyrouz: “I still can’t believe that works. You’ve done dream journals before with your therapist and those simply remained blank. How is he pulling so much out of you? His methodology seems rather plain.”

Liandra: “There’s something in the way he talks and the questions he asks. He’ll say something that gets me to think of it all in an entirely new light, and afterwards I can pull another previously unmemorable detail from that dream and use that same open perspective in the next night’s dream. It’s almost like magic, his wordplay. We’ve only managed two a day so far, but he wants more from me.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “Incredible, and to think only two nights ago you called this man a sham to his face. I’m glad he was sporting about that. Imagine if he’d just took insult and left right there?”

    Liandra winced and briefly imagined how horrible that would’ve been. She’d be no closer to understanding these crazy dreams. That wouldn’t have been the first time her bluntness caused trouble for her, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last time.

Liandra: “I concede that I should’ve been much more polite, Mum. Thankfully it turned out okay.”

    She then told them about Roocean’s other client. Now it was about to get tricky. She hoped she had instilled the same confidence in Roocean’s abilities that she felt into her parents. It would make this next part easier.

Mrs. Keyrouz: “What’s done is done, dove. We can’t change his mind. We can only wait and hope that he can cure this other man quickly. That’ll be a great sign that he can help you quickly.”

    It was time. Now was her moment.

Liandra: “That’s just it, Mum. We don’t have to wait. I can rid myself of this curse now, maybe this year.”

    Both of her parents stared at her, obviously perplexed.

Mrs. Keyrouz: “What do you mean?”

Now or never!

Liandra: “If I go with Roocean he can treat me and his other patient at the same time. His other patient suffers from the same sort of dreams as mine. It could be better to have someone around who’s suffering from the same problem as I am, someone who understands everything I’m going through.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “Absolutely not!”

    Her mother bellowed louder than Liandra had ever heard her before. Her father shook his head and waited for the storm, and not the one outside.

Mrs. Keyrouz: “What makes you think we’d allow this? This reckless and foolish course of action? No way! Absolutely not!”

Liandra: “But, Mum! You have to look at it logically. This is the best chance I have to rid myself of these horrible dreams and live a normal life. If I let this man go I could end up living with these dreams for years.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “Logic? What sort of logic would make me send my fifteen year old daughter off around the world with a man I barely know? I’m the one thinking logically here. Or have you forgotten about everything else? Your schoolwork, your college preparation, your future? Stopping now could derail all of your plans.”

Liandra: “I won’t be able to focus on any of that until I rid myself of these dreams. I’ll always struggle more than everyone else and will never reach my full potential. I’ll be too damn tired to do anything.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “No cursing in this house.”

Liandra: “Fine, Mum, but you know better than I do that I’m being held back by all this. And imagine if I’m still dealing with this all the way into college. I’ll never go anywhere or amount to anything. I need to stop these dreams now to pursue any of that.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “And what kind of mother would I be to let you go through with this?”

Liandra: “A smart and caring one.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “No, Liandra, I’d be a reckless one, a foolish one, and an unfit one. Good mothers simply don’t let their daughters go gallivanting around the world with strange men.”

Liandra: “Roocean? He’s strange I’ll admit—but he’s a gentleman through and through. Besides that, I can take care of myself. You know I’m more mature than others my age.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “No, Liandra!”

Mr. Keyrouz: “Your mother’s right. If we let you do this then we might as well hand you over to the authorities and turn ourselves in right behind you. We can’t let you do this, Liandra.”

Liandra: “But, Dad, you saw firsthand how much progress we’ve made. Is it really fair for me to lose that now? We have a good chance here to fix this.”

    Her mother continued to shake her head.

Mrs. Keyrouz: “Absolutely not!”

Mr. Keyrouz: “I’m sure Roocean couldn’t accommodate you anyway.”

    Her mother shot her father a dirty look.

Mrs. Keyrouz: “That’s not even worth mentioning. We are simply not going to allow this, Liandra. No matter what you say.”

Liandra: “Why, Mum? I’ve thought it all through. We can go up to the school tomorrow and get my schoolwork for the next month. If I have to, I’ll mail it in myself. Since Roocean does have some sort of practicing license, he can even provide me with an excuse. Roocean himself is harmless and a good instructor besides. I’ll keep up with my academics and study hard. We can even get a college prep test for me to study, so that I’m prepared for that as well. My teacher always picks them up from the universities. She’ll be sure to have a few. See how practical that is? I can do all that and return in a month with much more control over my dreams than before."

    Her staying with Roocean for only a month was a blatant lie. She didn’t think she’d change much in a month, but she didn’t think it was wise to attempt more than that right now.

    Her mother went to object again, but her father gently touched her shoulder.

Mr. Keyrouz: “We’ll think about it, Liandra. Though I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.”

    That’s all she needed to hear. She just needed a chance. She only hoped they would think on it quickly, since Roocean would only be staying for the night.

    The family ate the rest of their dinner in silence.

******

    It was 12:30am and Roocean still hadn’t returned. Liandra imagined him out at a bar getting stared at because of his strangeness. He had some charm to him, so perhaps he’d found some woman to entertain. He seemed the type for that sort of indulgence. Liandra was still up doing late-night exercises. She couldn’t sleep with so much of her future balancing on tomorrow, or rather later today. She wanted to be prepared for either outcome. If her parents said no then she’d have to buy the plane ticket herself with her savings. Impersonating her mother wouldn’t be that hard. The lady on the phone earlier had mentioned Stockholm, Sweden, as Roocean’s destination. If she couldn’t secure her ticket today, then she’d have a tough time tracking him down. It wouldn’t be completely impossible though, since he did advertise his services publicly.

    Liandra did a deep lunge between each thought and held it for a few seconds. Cooling down from the high intensity part of her workout, her face, arms, and chest were all glistening, huge droplets of sweat falling from her forehead. Her aqua-colored tank-top was drenched and looked dark blue, while her black sweatpants were relatively dry in comparison.

    By her fifteenth lunge she was trying to figure out what time she’d try to get her ticket. It had to be by early morning. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She dried herself with her towel and opened her bedroom door. Her parents stood outside it looking completely drained. Both had red faces and puffy, shining eyes. They stepped into her room and her father pointed to her bed. She sat down on it and her parents did so after her. This time her dad sat closest to her, with her mom right behind him. They locked hands after they settled down and he lifted hers and kissed it, then lowered it and cupped it with his own.

Liandra: “Is everything okay?”

    Her dad spoke up in a voice starved for air.

Mr. Keyrouz: “We’re going to let you go. For a month only.”

    Liandra could’ve leapt off of the bed and celebrated right there, but she instead remained respectfully reserved in the face of her parents’ somber mood. Her dad seemed to sense her inner giddiness and added:

Mr. Keyrouz: “You still have to make sure this is okay with Roocean. If he says no, then that’s it.”

    She leapt over and hugged them both, then gave each of them a kiss to the side of their head.

Liandra: “Thank you both sooooooooo much! I’ll work extra hard to fix all this! You’ll see!”

Mr. Keyrouz: “You might as well pack your bags right now. Your mother and I will take care of the rest of the arrangements, which would be much easier if Roocean were here.”

    Her parents got up and walked towards the door. Liandra got up and gently called out to her mother.

Liandra: “Mum, thanks. I know this wasn’t easy for you.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “You have no idea.”

Liandra: “I love you, Mum, you know that.”

Mrs. Keyrouz: “I love you too, dove.”

    She hugged and kissed her mother again, and watched them walk out of the room. She closed her door, jumped on her bed for a while, and then commenced with her packing.

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