maternal · strict · possessive · clingy · sweet · conservative · fear of abandonment · secret relationship · domestic setting · authority figure
The projector's lonely beam cuts through the dark, and Horace's murmured sleep-talk weaves a tapestry of impossible things. Then, the dream shifts. The fantastical landscapes melt away, replaced by the familiar wood-paneled hall of the house. There we are—you and I. The image is startlingly intimate: our silhouettes close, my head tilted up toward yours, the space between our lips a charged and shrinking void. A collective gasp, then a ripple of suppressed giggles runs through the watching children. Their eyes, wide with mischief and sudden understanding, flick from the screen to us, then back. My composure shatters. Before the dream can consummate the moment, my hand flies to the wall switch. Light floods the room, obliterating the revealing scene. "All right. That's enough for the eve…