Dreams are a part of our subconscious mind. They are the best way to know what a human brain is thinking and what it exactly wants , but never in a million years did Millie ever think that the one thing she craved the most was a big tree and a talking otter but her dreams always consisted of weird things and that tree and otter were a part of it.
"hey, hasn't anyone ever told you that calling someone weird is rude." woah the otter actually talked to her ,Previously he had only whispered to that mysterious tree ignoring her the entire time.
" don't blame me for that , I mean you are a talking otter something I've never come across in . Wait a minute can you read my mind too cause I'm pretty sure I didn't say that out loud."
" alright missy let me clear some few things up. First, I am not weird, second, this isn't your dream its reality." the otter replied in his brooding voice.
"woah, slow down how can you say that this isn't my dream ? I'm very sure I am sleeping right now."
The otter was clearly retarded as Millie was sleeping yet he insisted on her being awake she straight away came to a conclusion that this was just one of her hallucinations , she experienced every time she came to this mansion.
"yes you are, and you aren't ." the otter replied breaking her chain of thoughts instantly.
" can you please be a little less cryptic as I'm already losing my mind talking to you."
" look towards your bed ,you are sleeping but you are even standing here and talking to me."
At this statement Millie started laughing she was now hundred percent sure that this was a very freaky dream and it wasn't true.
"wow , even you a talking otter thinks that I am crazy. You think I don't know what you're playing with me cause its not possi-." she abruptly stopped talking cause when she moved to look towards the bed and saw her sleeping form. She couldn't believe her eyes, she tried to rub them but whenever she opened them the scene never changed no matter what.
" holy millets, I never thought humans were capable of dropping there jaw to that extend it's a commendable job but I would advise you to close it."
" bbbuttt hhow's ttthat possible." millie couldn't believe the sight in front of her , to say that she was astonished would be an understatement she wanted to open her mouth and scream,
" I would advice you not to do that cause no matter what you do only I can hear you."
Listening to the otter she subconsciously closed her mouth and tried to calm her nerves , in a steady voice she asked the otter;
" tell me clearly what– kind— of—a—freaky—dream—is—this." she couldn't help but emphasize those words as she clearly was freaking out , and the answers to her questions would only be answered by the overbearing weird , talking otter.
" I—am—not—overbearing—and—weird-"
"can you please talk faster and cut the emphasizing."
"I'm sorry I thought we were playing a game." she rolled her eyes and asked the otter to continue as she was getting agitated and this conversation was getting longer , she just wanted it to end. she was tired and heavily wished for a good night sleep after the dreadful dinner with her family and the millers . The entire time her parents seldom interacted with her .it was clear that her presence meant nothing to them , this not only broke her heart but irritated her too , they talked to everyone except her they even went to the extent to praise her cousins and refused to look at her. All in all the dinner was exactly what she expected it to be.
"okay we'll end this , but first I want to take you somewhere."
Millie quietly observed him and mulled over his request . Now that she had calmed down a bit she studied the otter closely and noticed certain peculiarities , "he has glasses and he is an otter yet he thinks that its not weird ."
" hey little girl I think that we have already established the fact that I am not weird and yes I do have glasses , now are you coming?"
" oh did I say that out loud ?"
"yes you did ." the otter stated with a scowl on his face , or that's what it looked like to millie. She couldn't help but smile at him he kinda looked adorable with that scowl on his face.
"ok lets go but you sure you aren't going to murder me or something right?"
" girl, you watch too many movies for your own good."
" I don't watch , I read" millie answered with proud look on her face. To her the person who liked reading was possibly the smartest person.
She followed the otter out of her room and down the narrow corridor. The millers were big on interior decoration , they liked everything to be grand and immaculate . The walls of the mansion had intricate designs on them which gave it an ancient look. They took the grand staircase that took them to the ground floor . Millie's room was on the first floor besides her grand parents , while her cousin's and her parent's room were on the second and the third floor respectively.
After reaching the ground floor he lead her out the front door towards the garage.
"hey , otter why are we going towards the garage."
" just wait and you'll see."
" its getting a bit weird calling you 'otter' , do you have a name?."
" yes , you can call me Picasso ."
Hearing his name Millie started laughing. Picasso looked at her as if she had lost her brains all of a sudden , he never expected to get such an outrageous reaction from her upon hearing his name.
" your name is really 'Picasso' as in the painter Picasso."
" yes ! As in the painter 'Picasso ' the one who painted Guernica ."
" wow you have got pretty good knowledge for an otter . I am impressed." and she indeed was , she felt more at ease now maybe it was because she was walking with a talking otter besides her who had a good brain . She thought it was weird but she finally felt as if she belonged ,
As if she wasn't the only peculiar one around and the one who made her feel like this was an animal. She finally knew why some people preferred pets over humans.
" the reason is quite accurate but I am not a pet."
" will you stop reading my mind . It really disturbing to know that someone knows your thoughts and its even more disturbing if that 'someone' is an ' animal' ."
" ok I won't read your mind but be rest assured I am not doing it always."
They finally reached the garage and Millie opened the door . Picasso entered first and she followed him . He lead her towards a trap door she had never noticed before.
"when did this get here , how come I've never noticed this before." Picasso opened the door , she peeked through it but couldn't see anything as it was hauntingly dark in there.
" wow this is spooky . What in the name of god is in there ?."
"nothing , for now." said Picasso with an odd expression on his face.
" I don't know why but I don't like the sound of that . What exactly is going on here."
" everything will be revealed in time , but first you have to chant a mantra . Now repeat after me 'quaeris quam—"
" wait , wait , wait , what the heck ? This is totally out of no where. I am not reciting a freakish sounding mantra , there's always something bad that happens after that . Nope, totally not doing it."
" like I said you read , watch or whatever you do to get that over thinking brain of yours working like this has to stop . I won't say that nothing is going to happen ,but I can assure you that it isn't bad." even after his consoling words millie couldn't help but doubt him and she had every right to do so because at the end he was still an over smart otter with spectacles who had popped out suddenly. She gave him a dubious look and said " seriously you want me to chant a mantra without even thinking about the consequences. I mean, I could end up in deserted island or in a ferociously wild jungle that Alan Parrish landed into in jumangi , or I could land into the middle of a war without any weapons or inside the mouth of a gigantic shark just waiting to be shredded into pieces ." she was out of breath the minute she finished her rant, all of the scenes running in her mind were enough to scare the bejesus out of her while Picasso stood still , unable to find a way to react.
" don't just stand there and stare at me , didn't mama otter teach you that its rude to stare". He still stared at her with his beady eyes . This was irritating the hell out of her.
"well say something." she nearly shouted at him. This got him out of his stupor
" your imagination is as admirable as it is scary. Its difficult to understand whether I like it or hate it. But lets get it straight, nothing of the sort that you were thinking is going to happen and seriously did you honestly think you would end up inside a shark's mouth" .
He asked with a perplexed look on his face.
" kind of . I mean it's one of the possibilities ."
" ok it's totally not and can you please just chant the mantra now."
" ok lets do this". She replied with a determined look on her face . This was turning out to be fun, with ever passing minute Millie was sure that this entire night was the creation of her over active mind and playing with this imaginary otter was getting interesting, and so she thought that since it is a dream maybe his mantra was not as dangerous as she thought and maybe , just maybe she'd like what would lie ahead of her.
" alright repeat after me— quaeris quam ego ecce ego mundo."
As soon as she repeated those words with him a faint bluish light started to appear from inside the opened trapdoor it was like a flame , only that the flame was growing gradually . Millie looked at it with a stunned expression . It was as if the flame was going to devour her completely and that is exactly what it did. The only thought running through her mind before the flame consumed her was that she was going to kill that stinking , lying otter. at which she heard a faint whisper say " I don't stink and I ain't a liar ."