Yesterday's Gone: Season One

where I grew up. It’s my home, a great place to disappear and get lost in the quiet. But I love to travel, and fly out often. I get my fill of adventure, then come home to space and silence. My mom and dad lived over in Festus, close enough to visit, but far enough to leave me mostly alone.”  
     
    Desmond noticed the final swirl sitting at the bottom of Mary’s nearly empty glass. “May I?”  
     
    “No,” Mary said. “Terrible idea. I can’t believe I’m still standing as it is. But I’m glad we did this. Thanks for letting us stay here. It’s nice to get off the road, and get some sleep in a decent place. And I think I might actually sleep.” Paola snored loudly. Mary and Desmond traded a quiet smile.  
     
    “I didn’t ‘let’ us do anything. We’re a team, and I’m sorry about the democracy comment.” He looked over at Paola. “Just know you’re doing great. I can’t imagine how hard it must be, worried about another life full-time like that.”
     
    “Thanks. It’s the uncertainty that makes it so hard. I just want to know what she’s thinking. It kills me to have no idea, and to feel so powerless to help her.”
     
    “She’s doing great too. You should be proud. She’s strong and smart, just like her mom.” He yawned, then said, “Ready for tomorrow?”
     
    “Only if I get the sleep I need tonight,” she said, following his cue again, and quietly thanking him for making it so easy.  
     
    Jimmy had his head against the wall, asleep in the corner. John was passed out, his cheek against the polished wood, fuel leaking from his open mouth. Paola was asleep in the middle of a row of chairs. Desmond made a bed to Paola’s right; Mary stayed on her left.  
     
    “Good night, Mary.”  
     
    “Good night, Desmond.”
     
    They were asleep in less than three minutes.  
     

     
    When Mary woke, her daughter was gone.  
     

     
    * * * *
     

     
    TO BE CONTINUED ...  

 
    ****
     
    EPISODE THREE
     
    ****
     

PAOLA OLSON

    October 16
    Early morning
    Belle Springs, Missouri

    Paola jolted awake as if she’d been falling in her dream. Only it wasn’t gravity which snapped her back to reality, but rather the sound of her name being whispered in her ear.
    She woke expecting to see somebody standing over her. However, nobody was there. The voice must’ve been an echo of her dream world which followed her to her waking life.  
    She strained to listen, in case someone had actually called her name. The only other sound in the eerily still hotel lobby was a low growl rolling from her mother’s open mouth; a baby soft bark so familiar it was more lullaby than irritant to Paola. The world was a blur and her mother was barely visible in the shadows which floated through the room like a dark cloud.
    She blinked her eyes, trying to figure out which side of the dream she was on.
    Must be a dream, the real world isn’t so… murky.
    Paola laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. 99… 98… 97… 96…95... On other nights, she rarely made it past 65 or so before sleep claimed her. 94… 93… 92… 91…90...
    “Paola!” This time the voice was louder, and she had no doubt she’d heard it.
    Paola sat up straight in bed. It was her father’s voice, coming from the far side of the still-murky lobby.
    “Paola, are you in there?”
    This has to be a dream!
    “Paola, please! Are you there?”
    This was definitely a dream. She was sure of it now. Her father wouldn’t be able to find her out here in the middle of nowhere unless it was a dream.
    “Paola!”
    Paola pushed the cushions aside and rose to her feet. It would be nice to see the real him, but that was okay if it wasn’t. The Dream Daddy would have to do for now. Though the shadows scared her, she knew she had nothing to fear. When bad stuff happened in dreams, all you had to do was wake up. And she knew how to do that well; she did it all the time. It’s how she could sometimes dream about the stuff she wanted to dream about, without having to dream about the stuff she didn’t.  
    “Paola? Shortcake?”
    Paola stopped at the side of her mom’s makeshift bed. Up close, she could see her better through the shadows. Mary’s eyes fluttered beneath their lids as she pulled the fat pillow in her arms and cradled it to her chest. Another low rumble came from her throat. It flirted with leaving her mouth but ended up whistling through her nose instead.
    This is like the hide-n-seek dream. That was a good one.