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Oscar's dreaming...

This night, Oscar dreamt he was on a road trip with his mother's friend. It was snowing outside and they had to stop to find a place to wait out the storm. The friend told Oscar to wait in the car and Oscar did so, but as time went on, staring out the car window, he became more and more uncomfortable as the small town surrounding them beckoned him to leave the warmth of the vehicle. After a while, he decided to brave the snow and leave the car. He walked through the town, little shops lining the streets, streetlamps illuminating the snow as he held his jacket tighter too him. Even in the frigid and biting air it felt homely, like a comforting winter town in a storybook.

Eventually, Oscar found a small inn and wandered toward the entrance, an old couple manned the front desk and greeted them kindly. They asked if Oscar would like a room, he declined and said he was just waiting for a friend, so they welcomed him to sit and wait, motioning to a couch in the hallway. Oscar sat down and noticed the couple still in his periphery, unmoving, as he dug through his bag.

As he waited, he pulled out a notebook and sketched the view of the town. He could see it through a window in front of him, and even though he saw no people, the lights of the shops still shone in a yellow glow, hazy from fog on the glass. It felt like hours went by with no sign of the friend and Oscar started to feel lonely. His gaze turned back to the couple and it seemed as though they hadn't moved from when he last looked at them, their eyes facing the entrance, standing still and quiet. He thought he should leave, but his body wouldn't move and the urgency to leave and look for his friend, became dim and secondary to the pull to stay inside, stay in the warmth.

He turned back to the window, then to his notebook, picking up his pencil and continuing to sketch.

He could wait for them a little longer.

Surely, they would find him.