C-THM06 (Nov 26, 1995)
Puzzle
“Dreaming for One, I ros-e in a stupor.”
#35 Trivia | 1 Word
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: The last three words can effectively be discarded.
Clue 2: The dash between 's' and 'e' is important. Why would the letters 'ros' be set apart?
Clue 3: Another term for Dreaming, also spelt out - cryptically - in this clue?
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Oneiros
Explanation: It’s a cryptic clue - 'one-i-ros'. Dreams were sometimes personified as Oneiros.
Summary of Receipt
Umbra comes back, tears through 35’s dreams, and steals whatever it is Clemens hid in there. He also warns 35 to be careful - or else she might end up becoming an Anathema. 71 and the Owner already know about the incident and with any luck 1313’s strange resistance can be replicated so this doesn’t happen again.
Transcript
RECEIPT #006
FILED UNDER: CAFE-THM
DATE: 11/26/95
EMPLOYEE #35
Nothing is ever easy in the coffee trade, is it? Maybe I just got too complacent with Mrs. Umbra’s visitations. I don’t—I don’t know. I guess… for whatever it’s worth… I think this is the last time Mrs. Umbra will bother me. At least, over whatever it was Mr. Clemens hid inside my dreams. I can’t be certain, but I think he got it. Mrs. Umbra got whatever it was he was looking for.
I tried my best to keep him at the surface of my subconscious, but he was so fast. He was faster than I’ve ever seen him move inside my dreams. I tried to chase after him, but I couldn’t. It was like I was walking through molasses. Every muscle in my body was rendered inert. Probably some sort of effect of his paralysis. For the first time, though, he didn’t chase me. He just tore through my dreams, through my subconscious, on his own. He must’ve been plotting this out from the very beginning. Learning my dreamscape and how to get to the center of it.
I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t— well, whatever it’s in the past now, I suppose. He did come back to gloat before jolting me awake. I was too terrified to really catch everything he said to me, but there was one thing that stood out with perfect lucidity. “You had better be careful, lest you become an Anathema yourself.” Then he was… gone. I already told #71 and the Owner what happened. All we can do now is hope that whatever immunity #1313 has can be replicated so this won’t happen again. Even if Umbra won this time, we certainly haven’t seen the last of him.