A little while later, after picking up their "supplements" and instant ramen for dinner at the convenience store, they finally arrived at Cole's house. Celes was immediately thrown off by the exterior; the old place was half-destroyed. She glanced at Cole, who looked completely unfazed as he opened the ruined gate. Cole turned to her.
"C'mon in," Cole invited.
"Oh, right," Celes replied, startled out of her inspection of the house.
"CREAAAK," Cole opened the front door and let Celes step inside. Once in, Celes saw that the interior was an utter wreck and really shouldn't have been habitable. Cole walked past her.
"My room's upstairs. Let's go," Cole invited.
"Oh, right," Celes replied.
They walked past the living room, where the roof was completely open to the sky. There, Celes saw a sofa, and she froze, totally shocked. She saw two human skeletons, still with bits of hair on their skulls and wearing house clothes, sitting pressed together on the sofa, as if watching a television that was no longer there. Celes covered her mouth to keep from crying out, but Cole, seeing her stop and stare at the living room, walked over to her.
"Oh, them? They've been sitting there since I woke up three years ago. I haven't tried to disturb them," Cole said.
"I... I see. Okay," Celes replied.
They walked up the rickety stairs to the second floor. Cole then led Celes into his room. When the door opened, Celes was shocked again. Cole's room was absolutely chaotic, even though the structure inside was sturdy enough to live in. On the floor was a portable stove and several empty ramen wrappers. In the corner, there were huge piles of clean clothes since there was no closet, and a bed was pushed against the wall. Next to the bed was a small table, above which was a curtained window.
To the left, schoolbooks were strewn everywhere, along with scattered stationery. Nearby, she saw a portable lamp and a small generator connected to an electrical socket. She also spotted an overflowing trash can that was starting to smell, and clothes were strung up like a clothesline running across the ceiling.
"Um... Cole, you've lived here for three years?" Celes asked.
"Yeah. Sorry about the mess," Cole replied, tidying up the bed and pulling a futon out from underneath it.
"Um... I need to use the bathroom first. Where is it?" Celes asked, taking off her bag and placing it on the floor.
"Next door. Oh, but don't use the bathtub, okay?" Cole answered.
"No, I just need to pee," Celes replied.
Celes turned, walked out of the room, and headed toward the door next to Cole's. She opened it and "GASP," she immediately covered her mouth. The shower and toilet areas of the bathroom were clean, and there was even a new washing machine, but the other half, where the tub was, looked like it had never been touched. There was a human skeleton in the bathtub, with a few strands of hair still attached, seemingly enjoying a soak. The skeleton was naked, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.
"Cole... living here alone for three years... I'm better off moving around and occupying the Draugr's houses... I truly feel sorry for him," Celes thought.
While Celes was in the bathroom, Cole grabbed the trash can and went downstairs. He walked into the living room and dumped the contents of the trash at the far, ruined end of the room where the roof was open. Then he turned to look at the two skeletons sitting affectionately on the sofa.
"Sorry, guys. I dump my trash in your living room every day," he murmured.
Cole casually walked back upstairs. When he opened the door to his room, he saw Celes tidying up his textbooks and stacking them.
"Sorry about this. You didn't say you were coming over, so I didn't get a chance to clean up," Cole said.
"It's fine... I'm used to it anyway," Celes replied, bending down to pick up a book.
"If you want to change clothes, they're over there," Cole said, pointing to the pile of clean clothes.
"Yeah, I'll borrow a few of your shirts later. Speaking of, where did you get all these clothes?" Celes asked.
"From the closet downstairs... and also from some destroyed houses nearby... that's how it is," Cole said.
"Hmm... okay. And all this stuff?" Celes asked, gesturing around the room.
"Same deal. I took it from empty houses around here, including the washing machine in the bathroom," Cole answered.
"Hmm... okay, I get it. (She sat on the floor.) So where am I sleeping?" Celes asked, glancing at the bed and the futon.
"You take the bed; I'll take the futon," Cole replied.
"Sounds good," Celes said, standing up.
"BLUGH," she flopped onto the bed and lay down. Cole opened the futon blanket and sat beside her. He turned to Celes, who was staring at the ceiling with one hand resting on her forehead.
"Yesterday, why did you pass out in the warehouse?" Cole asked.
"Oh, that? I ran out of power... I just needed a quick rest, but thanks for carrying me out," Celes answered.
"You were awake?" Cole asked, surprised.
"Of course I was awake. I totally knew you were the one who shot the cold wind to put out the fire," Celes said, turning to look at Cole and smiling.
"Ugh, why didn't you just say something?" Cole replied, embarrassed.
"I didn't know who you were or what your intentions were... that's all. But when I saw your student ID and your name, plus seeing your picture... I was sure you were the boy from my dream," Celes replied.
"You dreamed about that park too?" Cole asked, shocked.
"Yeah, we were both listening to the music... along with our four other friends," Celes said softly.
"That's right. Since I woke up in this house, that's the only dream that keeps coming back to me, and it leaves me empty, so I'm always trying to figure out who I am," Cole replied.
"Same here. But after I found out about the world and read that man's book, I never dreamt again... that's why I got so lonely and was starting to lose hope," Celes replied.
"Yeah, I know. I sometimes feel the same way," Cole replied.
"Tomorrow we leave, Cole. We'll find out who we are," Celes stated.
"Yeah, we'll go together," Cole replied.
Silence returned to the room. Cole lay down on the futon while Celes lay on the bed. Exhausted, they both fell asleep without another word. Yet, their eyes shifted beneath their lids, as if they were dreaming or remembering something.