A Hundred Dreams

Maybe it was love.

I was terrified to embrace the love.

Every night, Kevin would read books in my room until I fell asleep before going to bed. The most recent bedtime book was a book about some discoveries that I didn't comprehend. He had casually read it to me.

When the sleepiness set in, I felt the back of his palm gently touch my face, followed by a sigh.

Half-asleep, I asked him what was wrong.

It seemed like a millennium until he said, "Will you also give him carefully selected gifts?"

Who is 'him'... Alvin?

I shook my head instinctively, half-asleep. "He's gotten a few from me. I stopped since he didn't enjoy it."

It had been so long that I couldn't recall what I had given Alvin. Most of them were small items like ties, socks, or handkerchiefs, but I recall him remarking, "What's the point of giving me a gift if it's my money?"

I was about to counter that I didn't spend his money when he said, "It looks terrible."

So I swallowed my words and said, "All right."

It's clearly not