Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled Dream Girl. Please enjoy. I am currently listed at #16 on feedspot’s Top 20 Short Story Blog page. Please check it out. Also, if you haven’t already checked out my FAQ on my upcoming book, Magic Once Removed, please check that out as well. Thanks again!
“I dreamt of her again,” Mark said.
“Jesus, really?” Stan replied.
Mark proceeded to tell his best friend about his latest dream. It once again featured a young petite Asian woman with auburn eyes and thick jet-black hair wrapped into a ponytail. He was also sure to add her thick black-rimmed glasses every time he mentioned her. He was really into that for some reason. Then he, as always, proceeded to describe in vivid detail how he’d kiss those thick pink lips before the two of them went much further. Dirk always stopped him before he could say more.
The two close friends were sitting at a café. It had become something of a daily ritual for the of them to meet there before they went to their respective workplaces. As such, since the former had told the latter about this recurring dream so often and so loudly, most of the regular patrons knew the story by heart. This was despite the majority of them didn’t even know either of their names.
“You’re making some of that up,” Stan insisted. “There’s no way you’d be able to remember all that shit in a dream.”
Mark held up a palm and mocked crossing his heart. “I did not make up a single word.”
Stan rolled his eyes. “All right, fine, whatever. You have to get over it, man. She’s not real and even if she was, what are the odds of you actually ever meeting her? Sure, maybe, and I mean, you’ll meet someone similar. But someone exactly like her? That’s gotta be basically impossible.”
Mark shrugged. “People do win the lottery.”
“Well, the day you meet her is the day I will purchase a lottery ticket.” Stan checked his watch. “I think it’s about time I get going.”
“Yeah, I think it’s about time I get going as well.”
Mark put his fist out for his companion. “Talk to you this afternoon?”
Stan bumped his buddy’s fist with his. “Of course, man. See you later.”
They departed in opposite directions. Both men were within walking distance of their respective places of business. As Mark walked, his attention grew toward a particular individual walking on the same side of the sidewalk he was on. It was unusual to see a man in a bright yellow vest and a big two-way radio. His attention seemed to be on one of the two ATMs. What exactly he was doing, though, was a mystery to the young man, an interesting one at that.
“Oof!”
A young woman had suddenly appeared as if she was from the ether. In truth, she was only moments earlier hidden from view just around the corner and just happened to walk in front of him as he was pondering. Mark, as a result, accidentally bowled her over with his shoulder. She flew backward as if tackled. Meanwhile, a package wrapped in brown paper sailed in the opposite direction of the young woman before landing with a sickening shattering noise on the cement below. From Mark’s perspective, the noise resonated with enough strength to rouse the heavens and hell.
From her derriere, the woman adjusted her thick black-rimmed glasses with both hands, an action that Mark could not help but find adorable. He helped her up to her feet and stammered a chagrinned and almost incoherent apology. As he did this, Mark could not help but get lost in her auburn eyes. Looking further, he was suddenly taken aback by the rest of her. That ponytail, those thick glasses, those lips, the fact that she was a demure Asian girl. Though the two had never met, he recognized her.
“You’re the girl of my dreams!” Mark shouted. He covered his mouth with both hands in a vain effort to push back his words. He expected her to run. Instead, she covered her mouth with one waifish hand and choked back a laugh.
“I’m sorry,” the young man hastily added with his palms displayed. “I didn’t mean-”
The young woman cut him off. “You know, in Korea, we believe that the gods tie an invisible red cord around the finger of those that are destined to meet.” She wrapped her pinky finger around his. “See? This one.” Mark’s palms began to sweat. “Maybe that’s kind of what you are experiencing right now?” she suggested. “And what you really meant?”
Mark stuttered. “W-w-what’s your name?”
“Dương Kim Chinh.”
“I’m Mark DeDumas.”
The two then engaged in what Mark perceived to be a riveting conversation, one which he believed resulted in him making a connection with someone unlike any he ever made before in his life. She told him she was a second-generation Korean-American who had lived her entire life in the United States. Kim also expressed she shared his enthusiasm for popular culture and proved it by seemingly recognizing the allusions he made to some very obscure video games.
True, sometimes she needed to be told several details before she realized what Mark was referring to. Yes, she would also get certain parts wrong. However, he told himself that could easily be accounted for by her self-proclaimed incredibly spotty and sporadic memory.
Besides, the young woman was incredibly flirtatious and forward, which he found incredibly appealing. Unrepressed women were his type. Several times she rubbed the young man’s right arm. “American muscles are so large,” she murmured just loud enough for Mark to hear.
As their conversation was taking place, the man in the hazard jacket would occasionally glance toward them. He seemed to take particular notice when the young lady would make her coquettish remarks. Mark didn’t notice at all. Kim would occasionally look in his direction but otherwise paid him no heed.
“Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?” Mark finally managed to ask. Sure, he already had a cup with his friend and was running a bit behind. Still, another couldn’t hurt. Besides, love was afoot. Drinking another hot beverage while skipping work was but a small sacrifice that needed to be made for someone he was sure was the love of his life.
“I’d love to, but I need to deliver this present to my grandmother. It’s her birthday and-” Her voice drifted. Her eyes shifted to the brown paper package now several feet in front of her. “Oh no! I was enjoying our conversation so much that I forgot all about this!”
She dashed over and picked it up. It made a sound not unlike broken glass. Her brow furrowed as a worried expression enveloped her face. “Oh my God! It’s broken!”
Mark moved toward her and extended his hand but then immediately retracted it. He didn’t feel it would be appropriate to hold her hand. Granted, deep down, or maybe not so deep, he very much would have liked to wrap her in his arms. “I’m so sorry! What was inside?”
Kim sighed. “An antique Korean vase. Expensive too.” She paused as if for effect. “Very expensive.”
Mark’s blood went cold. “I didn’t mean to run into you. I’m so sorry!”
Kim nodded several times. “I know, I know. These things happen, it’s okay, it’s just that-”
Mark tilted his head. “It’s just what?”
“I know there are other vases that my grandmother will like. But I bought this one because it was the cheapest available. Money is tight for me right now. So, I can’t afford another.”
“I could pay for it.” The young man reflexively reached for his wallet.
Kim shook her head half-heartedly. “Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that.”
Mark gave her a dismissive wave. “It’s no biggie. I broke it so it’s the least I could do. How much do you need?”
Kim sighed again. “You see, that’s another thing. The curio shop I visited is like an old-school Korean place run by this really old Korean guy. He like hates Americans or something, I don’t know. Anyway, point is, I’d need cash. And more importantly, you can’t come with me. I have to go alone.”
Mark shrugged and smiled. “No problem. I understand. So, how much are we looking at?”
She hesitated and looked at her shoulder away from Mark. “$500, maybe?” The young woman looked directly into his eyes. “I know that’s a lot and I don’t need the entire amount. I’d appreciate whatever you can chip in.”
Mark grinned. “I can give you the full amount.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I made a lot of money last month. Well, we all did. Last month was a really good one for the dispensary. Made a lot of sales. Anyway, I can easily afford to give you that much.” He looked in his wallet before he remembered. “Wait, you said you needed cash, right?”
Kim nodded demonstrably. “Yep.”
“And I can’t go with you.”
“Nope.”
Mark sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of cash on me.”
Kim’s face brightened. “Oh, well, there’s an ATM over there.” She pointed at the empty machine next to the man in the yellow hazard jacket. “You could get it from there.”
“Okay, sure, that sounds fine.” He walked a couple of steps toward it before pausing. He looked over his shoulder at the young woman. “After you’re done giving your grandmother her present, maybe you won’t have time for coffee anymore. But would you maybe like to get some lunch this afternoon instead?”
She nodded vigorously. “Of course! That sounds great!”
The two exchanged phone numbers before Mark resumed walking over to the empty ATM. He then put his card in the machine and typed in his four-digit code. However, before he could ask for a withdrawal, the man in the yellow vest pushed his hand aside and moved his brown mustachioed, sunglasses-wearing face in front of his.
“I’m sorry sir,” he said. “I was so focused on my work that I did not notice that you had walked over here. Both of these machines are out of order. Some idiot installed some new software yesterday. Now both of them are infected by this huge bug. These things now only give you half of what you asked for yet the bank still thinks you withdrew the full amount.”
Then the man withdrew from his pants pocket a thin white card. “This thing contains the software with the necessary fix.” He pointed with his thumb at the machine he was occupied with. “I’m still working on this one. I’ll get to that other one soon.”
He pulled Mark’s card out of the machine, handed it to the young man, and pointed to the drug store across the road. “You can find a working one over there, inside. Use that one in the meantime.”
Mark thanked the man before turning his attention back to Kim. “I’ll only be a minute. Will you be all right?”
“Of course.” She winked at him, smiled coyly, and placed a crimson-tipped finger on the corner of her mouth. “Hurry, though. I’ll be waiting.”
Mark practically sprinted across the road. His lack of caution nearly caused an accident. The driver was only more than happy to express his displeasure over what might have happened. This did not dampen the young man’s spirits, though, not even slightly. Quite the contrary, in fact. He was so elated over recent events he could not help but give his friend a call to gloat.
“What’s up?”
“You won’t believe it, Stan! I actually met her!”
“Who?”
“My dream girl?”
“The girl you’ve been dreaming about? She’s real?”
“Not only is she real but we’re going to have lunch together this afternoon.”
“Seriously? Shit, I guess I will buy a lottery ticket after all.” Stan sighed. “Look, dude, I’ve got something I need to do. I’ll call back in five minutes, a’ight?”
“Sounds good to me!” Mark gleefully put away his phone, ran inside the drug store, and sprinted to the back. There it was, the ATM he was looking for. Luckily for him, it was currently unoccupied. He eagerly placed his card in the machine and typed in his four-digit code before typing the amount he wished to withdraw, $500.
He heard a buzz. Mark was denied.
“INSUFFICIENT FUNDS”. The onscreen text baffled him. Mark had deposited over $5,000 into his account only a day before.
“Bullshit,” he whispered.
Again and again, he tried only to be met with the same result. With every successive failure, his ire grew as did the number of expletives he spouted. Not to mention, his voice grew increasingly louder. So much so that he began to attract a crowd. Once he grew cognizant of this, he muttered an ashamed apology to the sea of staring faces. Their silent internal judgment, and for most, hypocritical condemnation, were their only response. Mark then hastily grabbed his card from the machine, pushed his way past the mass, and sprinted out the door to save himself from further embarrassment.
After escaping the hypercritical mass, he paused just outside so that he could give his bank a call. There was no answer. Mark checked his watch. It was only 8:30. The bank wouldn’t open until 9:00.
Left with no other option, he decided to cross the street to return to his supposed newfound paramour. His head rattled with ways in which he was going to break the bad news
Only, he didn’t have to.
She had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the man in the yellow hazard jacket.
He looked to the left. He looked to the right. He took several steps scanning all over for any sign of her. The horrific truth dawned on him slowly. His mind simply did not wish to accept it but soon he was left with the truth. Desperately hoping he was wrong, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number.“I’m sorry, but the number you’ve called has been disconnected.”
Incredulous, he dialed the number repeatedly only to be met with the same soulless response. In a complete frenzy, he tried different combinations of the phone number, adding and subtracting numbers with the vain hope that it was simply mistyped. The angry voices that answered let him know what a ridiculous notion that truly was.
His mouth then gaped. His mind struggled to fully process what had just occurred. He felt nauseous and nearly vomited. The young man tried but was unable to move.
The phone suddenly vibrated in his hand. He meekly answered, his voice only as loud as a rasp. “Hello?”
“So, tell me all about your dream girl.”
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