Christmas Morning

I fade into consciousness.  The light and horn from the approaching train still blaring in my mind, a dream suddenly ended.  While the end was sudden, the dream was anything but, seeming to take an entire lifetime of struggle.  The pain of knowing something was off the entire time had become too much to bear, but here laying in bed I began to feel myself again, and shake the dissonance of the dream.  Light was barely creeping through the window at dawn, and I could feel my arm once more wrapped around her.  I heard a griffin caw from outside, and a distant train horn.  She stirred.  I squeezed her a little, almost to remind myself of who I was after such a terrible night.  It was not a nightmare, perse, but what made it terrible was the loneliness.  I remembered why I had done it though, as she turned to meet me face to face, eyes still closed.  "How was your night?"  My voice creaked out of me faintly, virtually toneless which was good, as I was still a bit perturbed but hoped she got her wish.  She opened her eyes, and just like that all the residual pain fled.  "It was amazing.  Is this what you experience every night?"  I kiss her forehead and nod slightly.  It is the gift of the dreamwalker, after all, to sleep in a glorious existence every night.  In the past months we had discussed trying to share this landscape, and had succeeded on multiple occasions, but while she seemed happy to act as my partner each night, I wanted her to truly experience the best of what a dream could offer.  So I set the stage, a simple thing really.  Protection, happiness, adoration were all hers.  All I had to do was to release control of the dream entirely from that point, and then last as long as I could without interfering.  Of course I could not stop either of us from recognizing each other, I knew her anywhere, and she was the same way, but I knew that the way the foundation had been laid, there would be more to draw her attention even after we had met.  We shared dreams within the dream, and she became better at controlling them than even I under the circumstances.  It was these moments together that allowed me to endure the time spent apart, knowing that despite the bitterness of their flavor at the time, they provided the perfect contrast for our moments together from here on out.  "Merry Christmas!"  She sits up a little and gives me a light shove.  "Why didn't you tell me you were going to do all that?"  "Well, it wouldn't have worked had I done that, it needed to be authentic, a surprise through and through."  "Well I was, in fact, surprised.  Although I got a little suspicious when you kept popping up.  I even looked for you in the main dream, but could never quite catch up with you."  "Yeah, it needed to be that way.  Besides, I'm not sure you would have liked what you saw.  I was a mess for most of it."  She pouted a frown now, a gorgeous little face that I didn't realized how much I had missed.  "Sorry I cut it short.  Once I was certain of what was happening, I couldn't stand not having you there to share it all with.  I'm sure there's more we could have done there.  Are you sorry we did it?"  "No, you shined more brightly than anything I have ever seen, and accomplished more with your fame in your own unique way than I ever have.  You were the picture of perfection, even at your worst.  And it reminded me what it was to fall in love with you all over again.  I had my doubts at times, but being here with you now, it was worth every second.  Oh, and don't worry, I got you a real present as well lol."  Without another word, she kisses and rolls onto me.  I catch myself before losing myself entirely "Hey!" looking at her neck now, "You already opened it??"  She blushes a little and bites her lip.  "Anyway, the kids are probably already listening at the door, waiting for us to wake up so they can burst in and drag us downstairs to open presents."  "Ugh.  You're right."  As she's rolling off the door flies open "Presents!!!"  Laughter fills the room, as we all make our way downstairs, but I look back at our bed once more and remember the last night we'll ever spend apart.