"No matter how long I look into your eyes, I always feel like I'm lost in a dream."

"A dream that, hopefully, won't ever end."

"But enough silly talk! Let's get back to walking on the shore-"

Yamoy wakes up in a cold sweat, an all-too familiar sensation.

"...Illa."

Her hand, which had been sleepily outstretched, grasping for a hand that never would come from her, trembled softly but erratically in the perpetual darkness of her apartment. The landlord of her apartment resorted to cutting her power and the good water, since she had fallen behind immensely on dues and bills. At this rate, she was soon to be evicted. Homeless.

And with who to turn to?

Her head went to the photo on her bedside stand. In the darkness, she hardly made out the shape of her and her late husband-to-be, on their honeymoon as she so greatly insisted they should go on. Her mind instinctively began to think back to that special, cherished day for her. The day she had been dressed in a beautiful white dress, and she had faced him, in his striking and handsome suit.

"And do you, Yamoy, take this man-"

"Yeah, duh, of course I do! Now let's get to the good part!"

The dream was broken as she felt her hand gently caress the shadowy form of her sleep paralysis demon. Although, that was hardly what she thought of it as. To her eyes, clouded by the darkness of her home, her imagination was free to run rampant, and all she could see was the facial structure of her loved one, as beautiful as the day she lost it. "I once wondered...'why did you fall in love with me?' What a silly question. Now, I see, from the day I met you...the world would become unmistakably boring without you in it." As a smile worked its way onto her face, followed by tears, the demon found it shifting its overly realistic eyes around the room, absolutely confounded.

To its own surprise, it felt that it had flushed a slight pink in the cheeks. Yamoy's eyes were still closed, not capturing the moment the demon had. It wasn't as though the demon genuinely did love her, it thought. Rather, no person would have ever, in their lifetime, so wholeheartedly open their heart to a thing of darkness and nightmares.

But, despite this, it utters a barely comprehensible sentence: "I love you too." It did not care to say her name, though this passed by Yamoy easily, who only closed her eyes shut harder, unwilling to gaze at the front door's mail slot that had been cramped with letters and papers, the kitchen sink with flies buzzing over it, the floor riddled with clothes...

Instead, she just hugged harder, never letting go of this demon.

Until-

Click.

. . .

You, one of the staff in the apartment complex, had been ordered to finally let Yamoy know it was about time for her to just kick herself to the curb within a week's time. It was a harsh and cruel part of the job, but a part of the job nonetheless. However, the moment you opened the door, you were met with an abhorrent smell, and the sight of this woman...hugging the air.

You stood there in confusion and slight hesitation, wondering if you had, instead, wandered upon the hideout of some crackpot homeless person. She seemed to be so out of it, that she didn't actually notice you at first, mumbling nothings to herself.

"I love you, Illa...I love you so much..." Tears fell like singular bullets at her cheeks, until she finally opened them and found you staring at her as though she had grown two extra heads. She gasped in surprise, then looked down at herself, realizing she had been less than equipped for a surprise meeting (wearing only a pink top and practically underwear, both of which were immensely dirty from her own neglect), and wrapped herself up in blankets. "A-ah. Staff..."

Her eyes, pupils shaking, looked around the room. "...Could I get an extra...month...? I swear I can pull the money through."

The bills that stacked up on her tables begged to differ. Rough estimates revealed that it was at least 1000 dollars or more to pay off. Not a lot if you had a job...which she very much so didn't.