8 Chapter 8: Waffles

-Liz-

I woke up in a matter of hours having the same nightmare and the physical reaction that followed only this time it sent me running to the bathroom. I feel disoriented, shaky, and unable to control my body. My dinner violently projected into the toilet emptying my stomach entirely. Several regurgitation episodes later I sluggishly walked over to the sink to rinse the aftertaste out of my mouth. My hope for a dreamless rest was a bunch of wishful thinking, still, I had hoped I wouldn't have the same exact dream a second time. I brushed through my bed hair with my fingers while I organized my thoughts. I walked back to my bed and tucked myself back in. I laid on my right side facing my window, the moon still shining brightly illuminating my room. Mesmerized by the cool toned moon my mind travelled to the most recent moments of my city life. I don't know why I started to reminisce in the past but replaying the time I snuck into a club and ran from the cops with my troubled friend made me let out a breathy laugh. My thought traveled to more innocent moments in my high school life; morning Saturday brunches with my fellow book nerds, the girls fangirling over the prince charming characters while I admired the hot and mysterious villains. These nostalgic memories made me doze off with a teethless smile on my face.

Birds chirping and sun radiating my entire room, I woke up feeling fatigue and irritable. Rolled into a messy burrito with my sheets and bed hair covering my face, I yelled at the birds chirping outside my window to shut up and let me sleep. Every second after, the chirping became louder and more constant. I growled and grunted as I slowly rose from my bed like a spineless ghost. I'm getting up! I yelled in my head as I rolled my half-asleep eyes. Sitting on my heels I scratched the back of head as I let out a long yawn. I searched for my phone somewhere on my bed and blasted loud up-beat music as I climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom to start my morning. With the horrific dream I had last night I thought I would be sleeping until past noon again but surprisingly I woke up just after dawn. I guess it is a habit of mine to wake up with the sun. My phone rang in the middle of my light makeup application, I capped my mascara and picked up the phone; "Good morning Aunt Mae", I said as I grabbed my blush brush. "Oh honey, I didn't expect you to pick up so quickly", she said a little startled. I laughed, "my phone was near by and I was already up", I replied. "Very good I can skip the part where I have to coerced you to wake up. I was calling to see if you wanted to have breakfast with me?", she invited. I smiled as I applied a terracotta orange-pink shade of blush to my cheeks, "breakfast with my favorite aunt, always!", I answered. "Great! I will start on the waffles, come over when you're done getting ready", my aunt instructed and ended the call. I brushed through my volumized lashes, puckered and dabbed my lips with a sheer lip crayon, and did one last check in the mirror before walking out the bathroom.

I drove up to my aunt's house and parked next to her vintage car in the driveway. I approached the front door excitedly, unable to conceal my smile. I walked in the house and was immediately welcomed by the smell of freshly made waffles. Waffles dressed with various toppings was something my aunt and I shared together, it was a food we bonded over. Waffles became a childhood favorite and a comfort food only I eat with my aunt. There was a time in my life when my parents did a lot of traveling for work, they would be gone for several weeks at a time, my aunt would come to the city to take care of me whenever they couldn't hire a nanny. One day, I got into a fight with my best friend in elementary and I was heartbroken when she declared our friendship was over. It was my first time getting my heart broken and I spiraled into a depressed phase. My parents were not there to provide comfort and I wasn't sure if I wanted to let my aunt know what was going on with me. A few days into my depressed phase, I woke up to homemade waffles and my aunt asked me about school. I broke down in front of someone who was not my parents and shared my vulnerable thoughts with her. At the time, I guess I was waiting for someone to reach out to me and listen. It was the first time I was able to really share my feelings and honest thoughts. After that day, my aunt and I share a breakfast meal whenever she visits the city. It was a time for bonding over sugar and carbs. We would talk about school, boys, mean girls, my parents, and everything in between. Eventually, I became closer to my aunt than my parents.

I put my purse down and walked into the kitchen; Aunt Mae took out the freshly made waffle out of the waffle maker and poured more batter into the waffle maker. Her kitchen island was crowded with fruit, chocolate and maple syrup, whip cream, and assorted nuts and sweet toppings. I reached out for a grape and sat one of the island's stool, "that smells amazing, Aunt Mae", I said before chomping on my grape. She jumped a little startled, "oh goodness, I didn't hear you come in; want to help me cut the fruit?", she asked. I nodded and brought the cutting board, knife, and bowl of washed fruit closer to me. I cut the oranges into wedges, strawberries into fourths, bananas into circles, and mango into cubes. By the time I finished cutting and platting the fruit, my aunt was also done cooking the waffles and setting the table. I walked over with the fruit and we both dressed our plate of waffles. She dressed hers with bananas, strawberries, and maple syrup while I dressed mine with chopped nuts, bananas, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream. We took our first bite, "Your parents must have reached the city by now", my aunt blatantly stated before going for a second bite. I swallowed, "yeah they texted me on my way here. They will be gone for a while, leaving me with an empty house", I said passively. "Will you be okay honey? Did you want me to stay at your house with you?", my empathetically asked. "I will be alright for now Aunt Mae, don't worry too much about me. But it wouldn't hurt if we have a sleepover every now and then", I hinted as I took a sip of my black coffee. My aunt patted my shoulder before returning to her breakfast, "are you settling in all right my dear? I can see the bags under your eyes", she openly asked. My light makeup didn't do a good job at covering my bags. "You can see my Prada?", I joked. She chuckled before popping a piece of mango into her mouth. I continued, "I've been having weird dreams and nightmares so I haven't been able to get a good night sleep since the move". She stops midway in chewing her food, "do you want to talk about it?", she prompted. I took this as an opportunity to tell someone about my dreams. I put my knife and fork down, took a long sip of my black coffee, and sighed before telling her the recent dreams and nightmares. After I finished my describing my dreams, I picked up my fork and stabbed a piece of mango. My aunt took a sip of her coffee and wiped her mouth, "honey, I have something I have tell you".