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# <center>The Perfectionists</center>

## <center>Chapter 12</center>

## <center>Just a Dream</center>

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Ariel stood there, peering out into the abyss, wondering at the strangeness of it all, as the light grew apace, revealing the world around her in progressively greater detail. Yes, it was definitely a couple, standing there under the high, peaked archway that delineated one of the missing walls of the open room. They stood perfectly still, like two dolls at the top of a wedding cake, holding hands, looking straight ahead. They were both dressed formally, elegantly, her gown shimmering in the golden light as dawn became day. 

She was brought back to herself by something that tickled at her ankle. Something dry and cool, that spiraled around her naked calf toward her knee, moving up her leg. She looked down at it, and was surprised to find that she felt uncharacteristically calm and self-possessed, given the circumstances. Which were that her suspicions had been confirmed: it was a snake. *The* snake, in fact. The one who’d whispered to Eve, in all of her other dreams of the Garden. 

It hadn't been in the grove, she remembered now. And if it wasn’t in the grove, it had to be *somewhere*, didn’t it? Just like Zelig and Melissa (was it them? It looked like them...), who seemed to be standing in that ridiculous open air tower room across the way, waiting for their ship to come in. The snake had to be somewhere, too. Might as well be slithering up her left leg, right? 

Uh… no. There were plenty of other places it could slither, and even if she'd been fully clothed she wouldn't have liked the idea of a fucking python coiling around her leg. Even if it *was* a gorgeous emerald green color, with alluring opalescent highlights flashing brilliantly from its scales. 

It had passed her knee now, and was moving up her thigh. 

“Hey.” she said brusquely. “Buddy. Back off. Go be creepy crawly somewhere else.” 

The snake paused to look at her, apparently considering her request. Was she imagining things, or was there a twinkle of amusement in those reptilian eyes? 

“You think I am male?” it asked. Its voice betrayed no trace of sibilance or menace, as a cartoon snake’s would have. It had, instead, a clear and resonant quality, like a struck bell.

*Oh, it talks*, she thought. *Of course it talks.* “Yeah well,” she began, “No offense? But you do have kind of a… you know. Kind of a *phallic shape*.” She spoke that last part in an exaggerated stage whisper, as if she were purposely outing one of the snake’s more embarrassing secrets in front of an audience of detractors. Then, resuming her usual conversational tone: “This *is* a dream isn’t it? It’s a fair assumption.”

The snake laughed. “Yes”, it replied, “It would be a perfectly fair assumption. If this were a dream.”

“It isn’t?” Ariel exclaimed, alarmed. Immediately she was angry at herself for taking the bait. Probably the dream snake was just messing with her (probably? It had already slithered halfway up her leg…), but its insinuation hit closer to the bone than she cared to admit; after all, she’d had the same thought herself not half an hour ago. 

The snake resumed its ascent, sliding silkily along her thigh. “Well”, it responded, “not *just* a dream.”

Ariel stared at it in a daze for a fraction of a second. Then she snapped: “Ok, I mean it, get off my leg now!” She began to push at it with her hands, but it was stronger than she was, all spine and muscle. 

The snake stopped again, gazing up at her placidly, its black tongue flicking out and back into its lipless mouth. It almost looked as if it were smiling. “Why?” it asked.

“Because!” Ariel was yelling now, frightened and angry at the snake’s persistence, “This is *my* body. You have no right to just slither all over me without my permission. If you were just a regular snake, who couldn’t understand what I was saying, ok. But you’re a fucking *talking* snake! So yeah, no means no!”

The snake tilted its head to one side quizzically. “What makes you think that regular snakes don’t understand you?”

For some reason, that was just too much. She freaked out and began jumping up and down, stomping on the serpent’s tail and pounding on its coils, then grabbing its neck just below the head and doing her level best to strangle it, screaming bloody murder. “I hate this fucking dream! Get off of my leg you stupid piece of shit snake or I’ll bite your forked tongue off and swallow it so you never speak again, you deranged psychotic creep of a predatory… Nnnnghhrrhghghrhghg!!! Wake me up! I want to wake up! This dream SUUUUUCCCCCKKKKSSSSSS!!!! I want out! NOW! get me the FUCK out of here!!!”

The snake, meanwhile, had completed its journey up along her body and was gazing directly into Ariel’s eyes, its flickering tongue vibrating inches from her lips. Which was when she discovered that her threat to bite off its tongue had no teeth (as it were). She couldn’t bring herself to do it. Too nasty and bloody and gory and cruel. Instead she took a deep breath, and, looking the snake directly in the eye, whispered: “Wake me up or I’ll simply step off the edge of this cliff, so that we *both* fall to our deaths.” 

The snake laughed again, shaking its head. “You think that if you frighten yourself badly enough it will wake you up. But… if this *isn’t* a dream,” (and here it nodded and winked at her in what she thought was an obnoxiously conceited manner), “behaving as if it *were* a dream could be a fatal mistake…”

Ariel’s eyes got hard, and her mouth tightened. “Yeah… I’m calling your bluff, asshole.”

And she stepped over the edge of the cliff.




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*©2018 Bennett Italia, all rights reserved.*

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It's National Novel Writing Month! Along with sixteen other freewriters from [@freewritehouse](https://steemit.com/@freewritehouse) I've accepted the challenge of writing an entire novel in one month (the others are: [@amelin](https://steemit.com/@amelin); [@botefarm](https://steemit.com/@botefarm); [@felt.buzz](https://steemit.com/@felt.buzz); [@grow23](https://steemit.com/@grow23); [@improv](https://steemit.com/@improv); [@kaelci](https://steemit.com/@kaelci); [@kaerpediem](https://steemit.com/@kaerpediem); [@linnyplant](https://steemit.com/@linnyplant); [@mariannewest](https://steemit.com/@mariannewest); [@ntowl](https://steemit.com/@ntowl); [@stinawog](https://steemit.com/@stinawog); [@carolkean](https://steemit.com/@carolkean); [@byn](https://steemit.com/@byn); [@kipswolfe](https://steemit.com/@kipswolfe); [@aislingcronin](https://steemit.com/@aislingcronin); [@nonsowrites](https://steemit.com/@nonsowrites)).

Each of us must write 50,000 words total, which breaks down to 1,667/day, in the month of November.

This is not as easy as it sounds. Many experienced writers take at least a year, sometimes three or four, and sometimes much longer, to write a novel, and here I'm expecting myself, a newbie, to do it in one month. But I'm doing it anyway, because: 1. it's fun; and 2. it's helping me to become a better writer, which is really the point. My intent in doing this is to push my own envelope, and... yeah, let's just say *that* plan is working. Almost too well.

Word count for this chapter is 984

Thank you for checking out this ongoing story, I hope you've enjoyed it!

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 For a chance to WIN SteemBasicIncome, read and comment on my #freewritemadness posts ![NovMadFan.gif](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTKTKWQumCoPqsM8vEAPY6rWhE9uoX7p9sg88JnqnHJPs/NovMadFan.gif) [For more information visit the @freewritehouse](https://steemit.com/novmadfan/@freewritehouse/it-s-almost-time-for-the-november-freewritemadness-are-you-ready-to-be-a-novmadfan-20-shares-of-steembasicincome-to-be-won)

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*I'm dispensing with the freewrite prompts from here on out in this NaNo novel, but...*

*Come take part in the festivities at [@freewritehouse](https://steemit.com/@freewritehouse)! Lots of contests and other fun stuff for both writers and fans *

*Many thanks to the incomparable [@mariannewest](https://steemit.com/@mariannewest) for hosting these wonderful daily freewrites :) https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-390-5-minute-freewrite-wednesday-prompt-sweating*

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