(no subject)

[whentheroserots]

[it was rough going for about a week there, but the worst of the dreams have passed, it seems. Garry can almost forget the gallery ever happened.

(but only almost. he still needs to remember - Ib needs him to remember. to forget the gallery would be to forsake the little girl who saved his life, and that was bad enough the first time.)

so he sleeps, reasonably assured that he's unlikely to wake up screaming tonight.]

Comments

[lightswitchraving]

[which clearly means it's time for another visit. it missed you, Garry— why would you leave?]

[whentheroserots]

[WOULD YOU LIKE A LIST?

but no okay lllllooking around... wait where is Ib 8(]

[lightswitchraving]

[not there, sadly :( but the museum is still and eerily silent, and that makes it easy to hear something faint and far off:]

—arry? Garry, where—

[whentheroserots]

Ib! Ib, just hold on, I'm coming!

[lightswitchraving]

[an almost startled pause, and then:]

Garry! Garry?! Garry, I lost my rose!

[...something about her voice—her tone?—seems off, but both it and the realization of it are elusive]

[whentheroserots]

[even if they were not, Garry would have trouble grasping on to them in the wake of the far larger emergency.

she lost her rose.]

Oh, Ib! It's all right, I promise - I'm coming, we'll find it together. Just keep talking so I can follow your voice, all right, Ib?

[lightswitchraving]

[except that small voice seems to have gone quiet. for several moments, there's no sound at all, only oppressive silence—

and then a shrill, terrified scream]

[whentheroserots]

IB!!!

[breaks into a run]

[lightswitchraving]

[the hallways twist and turn in unfamiliar pathways, only to be further confused by the fact that it's barely light enough to see more than a few feet ahead at a time. there are no statues or paintings to come after him, however, nor anything else—

at least, until he turns a corner and bounces off of... something. the initial impression is of a deeper shadow and a cracked, grinning mask, ropes of a tarry substance catching him by the wrists—

but the darkness lifts, and what is holding onto him is a man. or man-shaped, at the very least.]

There you are. Garry, is it?

/2

[whentheroserots]

[oh god oh god it's touching me IT'S TOUCHING ME]

Eeeeeeek!?

[whentheroserots]

[wait]

I... I haven't the time for this!! I need to find Ib!

[lightswitchraving]

[just chuckles, low and buzzing.]

She isn't here. Did you enjoy my impression of her?

[whentheroserots]

Impre...

[knowtheweight]

[her new dreams are pleasant enough, and certainly an improvement over the nightmares. she's sleeping through the night now, and getting a lot more rest. her schoolwork has already recovered from its brief decline. the only downside, so far, is a peculiar listlessness in the mornings when she awakes. but it doesn't last long, and it's a small price to pay.

Ib swings her legs back and forth, the fancy chairs at the bakery too tall for her feet to reach the ground, and takes another dainty forkful of her cake. she'd been very proud of herself for finding this bakery. not too far from home, absolutely delicious, and very friendly towards little girls who stop by after school and take two hours to eat a single piece of cake. the owner, a kind older lady, has started giving her a free cup of tea whenever she comes in.

and, they make macarons.

she hasn't tried any yet. but she gazes at them longingly, when she's not watching the door for any sign of a familiar, ragged figure.]

[whentheroserots]

[the address is real. and it is really a bakery.

as crazy as the whole thing seems, Garry is glad he didn't discount that dream now. even if Ib isn't here, maybe he'll see her here later. he wouldn't have thought to come here before - it's in the rich part of town, and while Garry isn't exactly poor, upscale places like this are still a little rich for his blood.

but it makes sense, now that he thinks about it. Ib wore well-fitted clothes, made with high quality fabric, picked out for her by her mother. that had to mean her parents had the money to spare on fine clothes. so it just made sense, if she lived around here.

he clucks his tongue at himself. really, it took a dream to figure that out for him? he's hopeless.]

[knowtheweight]

[well, how could he have known to look for her in this particular bakery? and even if he had thought to come here, he would have had to be there at the right time. Ib can't be here all day, after all - a fact she's all too sadly aware of, as she looks down at her dwindling cake.

it's getting late. the light outside is starting to take on that ruddy sunset look. her parents don't mind if she takes her time getting home, so long as she tells them where she's going (and she always does), but they do insist that she be back by dark.

she doesn't sigh as she bends to finish her cake. she's too used to this disappointment for that.

maybe tomorrow.]

[whentheroserots]

[a bell jingles merrily as Garry pushes the door open. my, what a lovely, cozy little place this bakery is. even if he doesn't meet Ib here today, he doesn't think he'll have any objections to coming back.]

[knowtheweight]

[Ib looks up at the jingle of the bell, the habit well-established by now. she's so used to hoping each visitor is Garry, and being disappointed, that for just a moment she doesn't realize she hasn't been.

but as her brain starts to catch up with her, she freezes, eyes going wide as saucers.]

...

Garry?

[whentheroserots]

[it's really her.

she's really here.

the nightmare wasn't lying.]

[whentheroserots]

Ib... it's really you!

[knowtheweight]

[he really did it... Uboa really kept his word.

it's always awkward getting down from the high chairs, but once her feet are on the ground again she all but launches herself at Garry, flinging her arms around him.]

Garry! Garry, I missed you!

[whentheroserots]

[he drops to one knee as she approaches, warmly returning her hug. he's all but trembling... feeling the reality of her, warm and safe and okay, is overwhelming.

he hadn't fully realized how difficult it was to be without her until he no longer had to be.]

I missed you too, Ib! My goodness, it seems like it's been ages!

[knowtheweight]

I didn't know where to look for you... or how... I-I was scared and I missed you a lot!

[whentheroserots]

[nnnooooo no shush sh sh we are not going to discuss that in front of the nice bakery lady]

But here I am! And here you are! And I must say, this cafe is a simply lovely place! It's great to meet again here, isn't it?

[knowtheweight]

[yes okay good point we might look crazy

fortunately I am easily distracted]

Oh! Garry, they make macarons here! We promised, right?