Aristotle once observed, "Often when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream." It is the earliest description of a phenomenon known as "lucid dreaming." A lucid dream is one in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. As such, they are able to take advantage of existing in a fantasy state. They are able to control and manipulate their environment in a way that would not otherwise be possible. They become masters of fantasy.

All such experiences eventually end when the dreamer awakes, often leaving the awakened dreamer longing to return to their sleeping state. They return to humble reality and the limitations that come with it.

The same was not true for Vincent.

He existed in a perpetual state of lucid dreaming--of "lucid living." His very life was a very real dream. It was truly a gift...but it did come with certain shortcomings. Because of the blurred distinction between dreams and reality, there were times when Vincent was unsure of the nature of his environments. Was what he was experiencing real, or was he still asleep?

As a result, Vincent did not allow himself to enter the deeper stages of sleep. (He did this also because he was fearful that he would inadvertently bring his dreams alive, with potentially dangerous consequences.) He trained himself to be able to awaken on command and immediately evacuate the dreamscape. Though such occasions of confusion were rare, he wanted to be prepared just in case.

However, in this moment, Vincent could not wake up. There was no escaping this dream.

Perhaps, Vincent speculated cautiously, I am not dreaming?

Susanna was there right before him.
She was asking him to join her.
And she was naked.

Surely this cannot be reality, he thought. But if it is a dream, his mind continued, should I not make this a...good dream?

Susanna lay still and stretched out across the ground. She held her out before her, inviting Vincent to land, and he gently descended upon her welcoming palm. The living platform slowly lowered and he disembarked upon the middle of her chest. Despite the chill in the air, her skin had a thin layer of perspiration upon it. Vincent could feel Susanna's body rising and falling beneath him; she was breathing heavily. Beneath his feet, he could feel her heart beating very swiftly.
"Are you okay with this?" Vincent asked her earnestly.

She gulped and nodded her head, her body slightly trembling.

"Then I am honored," he said. "But you must be cold..."

Susanna nodded again, a subtle smile gracing her face. With Vincent's suggestion, she wrapped herself back in the blanket, forming a cloth cocoon that enclosed the both of them entirely. The light was able to penetrate the periwinkle fabric, but it shone with a light blue hue. The world of Susanna's body became even more enchanting, almost mystical. Soon, the air became much warmer and humid from their breath.

"You have given me a beautiful gift, Vincent," she said. "And I have nothing else to give you in return. Other than myself..."

"Susanna, I'm not sur--" Vincent nervously stammered.

"Oh, I worded that wrong. Sorry, I'm very nervous," she said. "There are limitations as to how far we can go. I'm not entirely comfortable or ready for that yet. But in return for all that you have done for me, I want to give you permission to...explore me."

"Explore you?"

She paused and collected herself. "This night, my body is yours. Apart from my...sensitive areas," she said, referring to her lower regions. "...you have free rein to go where you wish."

Hearing Susanna's words made Vincent's heart to race. "I accept!".

She smiled back. "Just be careful. I would feel awful if you were to be harmed."

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Don't worry," he said. "I will be very delicate."

Turning away from her face, Vincent surveyed the living landscape before him. Before him on either side rested her breasts. They heaved up and down with each inhale and exhale. Vincent had stolen many fleeting glances at them, but this was the first time he had taken them in in their natural fullness. Each one rose from her chest by a measure of at least twelve feet--twice Vincent's height. He stood in awe.

Vincent stood in a valley: the expanse between the twin mounds. They were at rest and her cleavage was separated, otherwise Vincent would have been trapped between them. He slowly made his way over to her right breast and placed his hand upon it. It was very soft--even softer than her stomach. As he did so, Susanna let out a timid titter. Running his hands along her breast, her walked its circumference, which took him several seconds and he had to be careful as he neared the edge of her ribcage.

Very carefully, he placed his whole body upon her breast and began his ascent. With every movement, he could feel her flesh jiggling, making it slightly difficult to climb. He wobbled a bit before regaining his balance. The task was not made easier by Susanna's heavy breathing, which increased as he climbed higher. Soon, he was resting atop her breast.

Her nipple was still prone to her breast. The skin surrounding it was a slightly redder shade of pink and was very delicate. It was by far the smoothest of Susanna's skin that Vincent had touched and it felt as if he was touching nothing at all. He kissed her flesh gently. The area was tingling with sensitive nervous and it reacted to his touch. Before long, he noticed that her skin was contracting together beneath him, forming wrinkles and creases. Her nipple arose from its resting state and Vincent watched it grow and enlarged until it stood firm and erect. He approached it and placed his hand upon it. Her nipple was about as wide as his forearm was long. Fully erect, it stood up to his upper thighs.

Vincent grasped her nipple with both arms, embracing it tightly. This sudden movement sent a shiver down Susanna's spine and she let out a soft moan. The air in the cocoon was growing more humid and Susanna had to open it up for a moment, sending fresh cool air into their enclosement. Her nipples grew even harder, to the point where her skin was very taut. Vincent covered its surface in kisses, gently nibbled it with his teeth, and rubbed it all over with both hands, much to Susanna's pleasure.

"Would you like me to stop?" he asked her after a few moments.

She nodded silently, nearing the point of being overwhelmed with sensation.

"Okay. I'm coming down." Vincent himself was nearing that point, his adrenaline rushing about his body. He took a deep breath to regain his clarity and focus, lest he descend into a more carnal, uncontrolled state of mind.

He returned to the familiar ground of her abdomen. Unlike before, the sun was not shining upon it, but it was still very warm. He rested prostrate upon it, his ears to the ground. Below him, Susanna's bowels were busy at work, rumbling and grumbling and tumbling about, digesting their earlier meal of mushrooms. Occasionally, he would feel her stomach would tremor and tremble. It was mesmerizing, as if listening to a living machine. In the distance, he could hear her heart thumping in its usual, though quickened, rhythm.

Susanna was becoming more comfortable with the situation, though will a little shy, especially with the thought that someone was inspecting every square inch of her body. She was not ashamed of her body, but it was still made her anxious thinking of it. She hoped that Vincent approved. No man had seen her in the way that he was now doing.

Despite her increasing comfort, she grew nervously alert as she felt his movements go further south. "Umm, Vincent?"

"Don't worry, Susanna," he called. "I respect your privacy and would not violate your trust."

"Thank you," she said in relief, though she had trusted him already. She very much liked Vincent, perhaps even loved him, but she did not feel like their relationship was ready for such a move...yet.

Vincent continued traversing Susanna's body. He visited her toes, but did not stay along as he quickly learned that her feet were very ticklish. She giggled and squealed as he slid down her left foot, running his fingers down the arch on his way. He could feel her muscles tense up and he decided it would be in their best interest if he refrained from doing so with the other foot. Though her feet were far less dangerous when she was laying down, he did not want to cause her to thrash about. Susanna only had so much self-control...

Eventually, Vincent made his way back to her chest and faced Susanna's head. Rather than climbing up her neck, he made a surprise move and jumped off near her left shoulder, his fall cushioned by a bed of auburn hair. It descended from her head like a copper waterfall and gathered together in a soft, voluminous pool. A small cave was formed underneath her neck at the base of her head. Out of curiosity, Vincent checked to see if he fit; he did and he shimmied himself through the narrow tunnel, emerging on the right side of Susanna's head.

"Having fun?" she said, amused.

"More than you know."

Grasping several strands, Vincent ascended her hair and made his way up to her face. As he climbed past her ears, Susanna could hear him making cute little grunts as he made his ascent. Soon, he was standing on her cheekbone right next to her nose.

"Whew!" he exclaimed. "This adventure is turning out to be a workout! Be glad all you have to do is stay very still."

Susanna laughed, nearly knocking Vincent back down to the ground.

"Hey! I said you had to stay still!"

"Sorry!" she said, then giggled again.

When he found his balance again, he walked over to Susanna's eyes. They were as wide across as he was tall and standing before them was like standing before tranquil pools. He could see her pupils moving around, trying to keep track of where he was. Jokingly, he ran to and fro around her lower eyelid, making the pupils chase around to find him. Suddenly, the entire area began to twitch as one of her eyelashes dislodged and fell right into her eye.

"Oh my...um, this is quite uncomfortable," Susanna said, clenching her eye closed to prevent further disturbing it.

"I might be able to help," said Vincent. "In a second, open your eye again."

Water was starting to pool in the corners of her eyes as her body emitted tears in an attempt to dislodge the eyelash, unsuccessfully. Vincent crouched over and got into position above her eyeball. When she opened it again, he only had a split second before she began to twitch again, and he did not want to risk falling onto her eye and causing her harm. Susanna opened her eye, she was treated to a view of Vincent's crotch, as he straddling her eye with a foot on each eyelid.

"Well, well..." she teased.

Quickly, he reached down and extracted the thick hair from her eye's vitreous membrane.

"Got it!" he shouted. "Feel better?" The eyelash was half as long as his arm. He waved it around like a trophy.

"Yes, yes, much better, thank you. What would I ever do without you?" she sarcastically remarked.

Vincent was a rather intelligent young man, though there were times when he found himself lacking in wisdom and good judgment. Certain ideas would enter his mind that he would later regret. Such an example was the following: Rather than discarding the eyelash, Vincent wore a mischievous grin. Without warning, he sprinted down Susanna's face. Bounding off her cheek, he lept to the tip of her nose. With his feet braced on either side of her nose, he bent over and proceeded to shove the eyelash up Susanna's nostril and wiggle it around.

Immediately upon doing so, Vincent realized that he had made a huge mistake. The ground began to shake and he could feel a great force arising within Susanna. He tried to run, but the trembling made him lose his grip and he tumbled head first until he was sitting in front of her nose.

Susanna sneezed.

"Vincent?! Where are you? Are you okay?" she said, sitting up.

She scrambled to look for him, but her movements only seemed to make the predicament worse. He was somewhere on her body, but every time she moved, he fell from one location to another. He himself was dazed and confused, crawling around frantically to escape. He had no idea where on Susanna he was and was afraid that she was going to accidentally crush him.

"Yipe!" she exclaimed. "No, no, no, mister!"

Vincent had heard Susanna, but was still disoriented. He kept crawling, hoping to find his way out from under her. Before he could make it any further, he felt her fingers grasp onto his legs and pull him away and out of the crevice he was in.

"My butt is off limits!"

As soon as Vincent recovered from his dizziness, he was visibly embarrassed. "Great Forest, I didn't intend--"

"And what on earth compelled you to tickle my nose?!"

"Umm...not my best move, looking back. Probably could have thought that one through some more. My eardrums would have appreciated that, at least."

Susanna sighed and tsked, "What am I going to do with you Vincent?"

After that climactic ending, their evening was drawing to a close. It was getting late and both of them were nearing the point of exhaustion. Susanna's request still stood. She wanted Vincent to stay with her that night. She wanted to feel his small yet strong body resting upon her. She wanted to be able to look down and to see his sleeping face.

She did not want him to be gone from her.

"That might be...dangerous," he said in response.

"What? Why would it?" she asked. "If you're afraid that I'll crush you or roll over on you, I'll have you know that I am a very still sleeper and I would be especially careful knowing you were around."

"Oh no, it's not that at all. In fact, it's not about you. I feel very safe around you, Susanna. It's about...me."

Vincent explained to her that the dangers of sleep for him, especially with his new power. He did not want to endanger her by accidentally igniting a fire while they slept. He could not get too comfortable.

"I understand," she said. "But could you at least stay near me?"

"I think I can do that."

Together, they put together a makeshift bed for Vincent with grass and with a fabric scrap from the blanket. They placed it between Susanna and the campfire, right within Susanna's reach and gaze. Finally, they settled in for the night.

"Good night, Vincent."

"Good night, Susanna."

The sun rises inevitably. The night always ends. Morning always comes.

These facts are true, but they are not always desired.

Both Vincent and Susanna knew that the life they had lived over the last couple of days could not be sustained. Wonderful and memorable as it was, it was going to have to end. This was not spoken by them. It had not been discussed, but it was known and it was dreaded.

In their dreams that night, they imagined about these days continuing on end. Susanna dreamed of exploring more of Cairnbridge with Vincent, discovering waterfalls and caves, wandering through the fields and valleys. Vincent dreamed of growing closer to the woman he had come to adore and who, surprisingly, returned the affection.

Despite all of his power, Vincent wasn't sure that even he could make those dreams become real.

The sun arose.