Chapter 49: Rude Awakening

Derek was floating, maybe he was a piece of paper floating high above the clouds, carried by the wind. Or maybe he was the clouds, weightless simply because he existed. Or perhaps he was neither paper, and nor was he a cloud, maybe he was the wind itself. Going wherever his heart desired.

It was a wonderful way to feel, and Derek leaned into that feeling, smiling in his sleep. And to make it all even better, he still had the spring and sunshine in his hands.

That bit of goodness adding to all that was right with the world and making his first real sleep in years that much sweeter. It was a lot of complex thoughts for someone sleeping to have, and Derek was not really having them, just impressions of them.

As far as he was concerned in his slumbering state. There were only two universal truths in the world. Sleep was good, and the piece of sunshine and spring that he held in his hands was just divine.