Helanie:
Two days had passed, and we still didn’t understand what was going on. Both Gavin and Lucy were sleeping peacefully. It didn’t look like she was attacking him. We could only watch through the small window. If any of us stepped inside, we disrupted their peace. My mom insisted we let the two of them sort it out.
Finally, after two days, I heard Jenny call for us. "They’re waking up! They’re waking up!" She rushed into the dining room, jumping up and down. We had just finished lunch, and already there was good news.
"Really?" I asked with a smile, glancing at Norman, who gave me a reassuring nod. He had stayed by my side, dealing with all my tantrums without a single complaint.
We all hurried to the room, and as soon as I opened the door, Gavin sat up on the bed and rushed toward us, hugging us happily. I had already told them how to get out of the dreamland. Once the job was done, every participant just had to say they wanted to come out. Then they’d return. Staying longer didn’t save the pearl, the pearl was already gone when everyone left. My mom said the more people went inside, the faster it dried out. That’s why I was glad I hadn’t gone with Gavin.
Lucy was waking up now, and all eyes turned to her.
"You realize she’s going to wake up as the entity, right?" Gavin warned, letting us know not to get our hopes up. We all knew it, but still, we stared at her.
"Ah," she groaned, yawning, still looking exhausted. When she realized we were watching, she rolled her eyes.
"So, did you have fun in there? I’m surprised she didn’t kill you." The entity grimaced, already making us angry. Hearing her was irritating. We wanted to hear Lucy.
"How was Lucy?" I ignored the entity and looked at Gavin. He wore a strange but comforting smile.
"Just like I remember my dimple friend," he said, blushing slightly.
"Right," I murmured, staring at him a little too long before turning back to the entity.
"Now what?" Jenny asked, poking her head between me and Gavin to look at Lucy.
Before long, the entity began to grimace. "Ugh, what is going on?" she complained, wriggling restlessly.
"She said she wants to take back her body," Gavin explained. We already knew that, but how was she going to do it?
I asked Gavin, "How?"
"Just wait and watch. It’s all about belief," he muttered.
The moment he said it, the entity looked straight at him, shocked. He was right, it was all about belief.
"No! It doesn’t matter how much she believes in herself. I’m not going to—" The entity screamed mid-sentence, making us realize Lucy was truly fighting hard to reclaim her body.
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