Dreams

Dave woke suddenly at night due to the noise of thunder. When he saw the clock, it was 2 a.m. He got up from bed and went to drink water from the fridge. It was raining very heavily with loud thunder noises. While he was drinking, suddenly, from his back, a voice whispered, "Dave, feel me to know." Dave felt that breeze on his neck, just behind his neck. He suddenly looked back with a scared expression, but there was no one behind him. He went back to his bed.

"Dave, I can go home alone," said Ellie. Dave replied, "No, it's too dark and not safe for you to go alone." Dale went with Lily to her home, and when he was leaving that place, he saw the time was 11:22. Then his eyes opened, and he woke up. It was 8:11 a.m. He got ready, and on the way, he saw the railway station, which reminded him of the dream where Lily was beside the station. In the dream, he said to her that it was too late and that he would accompany her. Ellie was his childhood friend, and he had a crush on her, but he was happy to be her friend. After their studies, she went abroad, so he was never able to meet her again. But after so much time, Ellie came into his dream. When he checked the time again, it was 9:22.

"Oh, shit, I'm going to be late for the office," Dale exclaimed. After office hours, at 5 p.m., he was at the bar with his friend Sam. He told Sam, "She came in my dream after so many years." Sam said, "Oh, that girl whom you mentioned was your childhood friend, and you had a small crush on her, yeah, I remember her." "Yeah, she came in my dream," said Dale. "That's nice, man," said Sam. "Yeah, but something is bothering me. I mean, why after so many years she come, I don't remember the dream so well. The only thing I noticed was that I saw her at the railway station," said Dale. "Don't stress yourself too much," said Sam. "Here, take this drink." "Thanks, man, for offering," said Dale. "Go home and take some rest... okay?" suggested Sam. "Okay," said Dale. They went to their respective homes. Dale ate his dinner while still thinking about the dream, hoping to remember any other details he saw in it. While lost in thought, he eventually fell asleep.

"Come here, son," said Dale's dad. "How does this shirt look on my little king?" he asked. Dale's eyes opened all of a sudden. "Another weird dream. Dad was buying a shirt for me, but in the library," he murmured. He called his dad, "Yeah, hello son?" "Are you okay, dad?" Dale inquired. "Yeah, I'm perfect. I'm 56 but still fit. Okay, Dad. Why, though? Are you okay?" "Yeah, Dad, I'm fine. If you are feeling stressed, then take some rest, son. Okay, Dad, I'll take it. Okay, bye, son. Yeah, bye, Dad." Dale checked the time on his phone; it was 6:22 a.m.

After checking the time, he got ready for the office. At the office, Sam observed Dave being silent. He asked, "Are you okay, Dave?" Dave answered, "Yeah, I'm perfect." Sam said, "I can catch your lie, you know, right? Tell me the truth, brother. I'm always with you." Dave said, "Thanks, brother, but it's actually about dreams." Sam said, "Okay, let's talk at the bar after office hours." "Okay," said Dave.

At the bar, Sam asked, "Now tell me, did Lily come again in your dream?" "No, this time it was not Lily; Dad came in a dream, and he was buying me clothes, but in a library," Dave said. Sam said, "Buying clothes in a library, it's actually weird. Listen, Dave, I think you are stressed. Tomorrow is Sunday; take rest tomorrow." Dave said, "What if another dream shows up?" Sam said, "See, sometimes dreams can be weird. No one can explain the meaning of some dreams, so don't think too much about these dreams. And here, take a drink." "Okay, as you say, Sam, and thanks for the drink," said Dave. They went to their homes. After eating dinner, Dave went for a shower. While showering under cold water, a voice whispered to him just behind his neck, and he felt the breeze on his neck, "Dave, feel me to know." He was scared by that and suddenly looked behind, but there was no one in the shower except Dave. After he came from the shower, before going to bed, he thought, "I think Sam is correct; maybe I'm stressed." He goes to his bed.

"Come fast, Dave," said Dave's mom. They were in a supermarket. As his mom went forward in the lane, his mom disappeared, and the people around him too disappeared. He was alone. "Hello, sir, the shop is closed; come back tomorrow, sir," the worker said to Dave. Dave said, "But my mom was here, and she disappeared all of a sudden." "Stop playing, sir; it's already so late," the worker said, and he went. Dave was in confusion. He saw the clock in the supermarket; the time was 11:22. Then suddenly a voice whispered to him from the back of his neck, and he felt the breeze on his neck, "Dave, feel me to know." He was scared, and then his eyes opened; he was confused and scared. "Another dream," he thought. He called Sam, "Hey, are you free today?" Sam said, "Yeah, why? Something happened?" "Yeah, I'll tell you; meet me at Arena Coffee Shop by 11 a.m.," said Dave. "Okay," said Sam. At the coffee shop, Dave said, "Another dream, and this time my mom came." Sam said, "Oh, did she say something?" "No, but she disappeared all of a sudden. She doesn't come often in my dreams; this is the first time she came after her death," said Dave. "I'm sorry to ask this, but how did your mom die?" said Sam. "She died while drowning in deep water," said Dave.

"Sorry to hear that," said Sam.

Dave said, "No, it's okay. By the way, can I gain consciousness inside my dream?" "You mean lucid dreaming," said Sam. "Yeah, how can I do that?" Dave asked. Sam said, "I don't know much, but I think it happens automatically. Listen, Dave, I think you should go to your hometown and spend some time with your dad and sister. I think you are too tired and stressed, which is not good for your health." "But the boss will not give a holiday," said Dave. "Leave that all to me. Now you go home and take some rest," said Sam. 

After going home, Dave started searching for ways to achieve lucid dreaming. He found a drug named Galantamine, which increases lucid dreaming. He went to the medical shop to buy Galantamine. While coming home after buying it, he saw a small boy staring at him. As Dave got closer to the child, the boy ran away. Dave followed him but ended up in a dead end, and the boy had disappeared. He was a little surprised by the boy's behaviour. "Why did that boy run away, and how did he disappear?" exclaimed Dave. When he checked his watch, it was 6:22 p.m. He went home.

His sister, Alice, called him. "Hello, Alice, how are you?" Dave asked. "I'm good, Dave. Actually, I need help," Alice replied. "Sure, what help do you need?" Dave inquired. "Actually, I need some money for the dance night," Alice explained. "Oh, I see. It's nice. Enjoy yourself, okay, Alice? How much money do you need?" Dave asked. "I haven't decided yet, but I'll message you later," Alice replied. "Okay, Alice, take care of Dad and yourself," Dave said. "Yeah, Dave, and take care of yourself too. Okay, bye," Alice said. "Goodbye," Dave replied. After hanging up, Dave noticed that the time was 6:55 p.m. He sensed something strange but couldn't explain it properly to himself. After eating his dinner, he took the Galantamine and went to sleep.

"Dave, where are you?" shouted Alice. Dave heard his sister's voice and responded, going near her. But when he reached her, he saw her staring at something, completely still. "Hey, Alice, what are you looking at?" Dave asked. Alice turned to face Dave, her face expressionless. She started walking towards him with the same strange look. As she walked past him, Dave questioned, "Hey, what happened? Are you okay, Alice?" She didn't respond and continued moving forward. On the wall, there was a digital clock, and the time was 12:22 p.m. Dave realized that he was in a dream. He looked around and found himself in an empty shop with yellow-coloured walls. He followed his sister, and suddenly, he was in a park. It looked like evening, with snow covering the park and creepy snowmen scattered about. Dave thought, "It's just a dream; they're not real. My sister is not real. I need to focus on finding answers."

As he moved out of the park, he felt like the snowmen were moving. When he turned back, all the snowmen were facing him, their expressions creepy smiles. Dave, with a surprised and scared tone, said, "How is that possible? Snowmen just moved from their initial positions, and now they are all giving me a creepy smile. I don't have to focus on this; it's just a dream. I just have to find answers and ignore all this stuff," he told himself confidently.

As he turned forward and started moving, an eerie voice whispered to him from behind, and he felt the breeze on his neck. "Dave, feel me to know." Suddenly, Dave turned around with a scared expression, but there were no snowmen in the park anymore. He was surprised and thought, "It's a dream, right? Anything can happen." As he moved out of the park, he noticed an abandoned school bus entirely covered in snow. He went near it, hoping to find a clue. As he started searching, he saw the number plate of the bus, which read 112233. Dave was shocked and drew a conclusion.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a clock tower behind him, and the time was close to 5:55. Due to the shrill noise, snow fell from the top of the clock tower onto Dave. He was buried under a heavy pile of snow, making him very uncomfortable. He struggled to get out, but it felt like the snow was increasing. Then, suddenly, he found himself inside a swimming pool filled with cold water. The reflections of the water were visible on the roof, and there were no lights, creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. Dave came out of the pool, fully wet, thinking, "How many dreams are transitioning? I was about to die under that heavy amount of snow. Thank God the dream changed."

He noticed something strange, though. "Hey, I remember this pool. I used to come here for swimming classes when I was in school. So these dreams are somehow connecting to my past," he exclaimed. Suddenly, a boy appeared out of nowhere at the corner of the pool, the same boy Dave had seen on the street. "Hey there, who are you, kid? What's your name, and do I know you?" Dave asked. His voice echoed throughout the pool's interior. Without answering, the boy turned away, and a number was written on his shirt: 112233. After turning away, the boy started running, and Dave followed him, finding himself suddenly in a school corridor from his childhood.

"Another transition of the dream. Now I'm exhausted by these things; I need to find the answer fast. Hmm, I'm in my childhood school, on the top floor corridor, but something is not right. This corridor is the shortest one, but here it feels longer, with no end. I can't see the end due to the darkness in both directions. But I need to keep moving to find the answer," Dave thought as he continued forward, with his heartbeat and footsteps echoing through the dark corridor.

Suddenly, he heard another person's footsteps, different from his own. With a scared expression, he turned around, seeing a person with their face hidden inside a hoodie approaching him. Dave shouted, "Hey, who are you?" with a shaky voice. "It's just a dream; it's just a dream; it's just a dream," he repeated in a panic. The person suddenly started running, and Dave, extremely frightened, ran too. He found himself running in an endless dark school corridor, with the person chasing him. Then, the footsteps stopped. Dave turned around, and no one was there. His heart was pounding, and he was drenched in sweat. Exhausted, he sat down, thinking, "What the hell is going on with me? I seriously want to wake up."

Suddenly, the person appeared behind him and whispered in his ear, "Dave, feel me to know," while scratching his hand. Dave woke up in shock, his hand bleeding badly. The time was 6:22 am...

Dave immediately grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around his wounded arm to stop the bleeding. "Shit, how can it be possible? That person scratched me in my dream, but the effect is showing in reality. Am I still dreaming? Could this be another transition of a dream?" Dave questioned himself in a confused tone. He struggled to decide whether he was in a dream or reality. "I should just go about my daily routine; if it's a dream, I'll know by the occurrence of strange things."

Dave freshened up and went to the doctor to show his wounded hand. "Oh my goodness, what happened to your arm?" asked the doctor. Dave replied, "I just fell down some stairs." The doctor examined the deep cut and commented, "It's strange; how can someone have such a deep cut? It's like a wild animal scratched you with its sharp nails." Dave tried to dismiss it, saying, "No, it's nothing like that." After treatment, Dave left the hospital and decided to take a leave from his office.

Back at home, Dave began searching for any connection between the dreams. "First the dream of Lily, then father, mother, Alice, snow park, swimming pool, school corridor. These all are related somehow to my past except that snow park. I don't remember a day like that when I was in a snow park. So why did it come? The sequence of dreams is not matching with the park's dream. I must have entered into another person's dream. Is it even possible to do so?" Dave questioned himself. "Maybe I should go into my dreams again to find the answers. And yeah, the strange occurrence of time, it's actually weird. It can't be a coincidence; coincidences don't occur so many times. Then what is the logic behind these strange occurrences of times? And yeah, I remember the number on the bus, 112233, and the same number on that boy's shirt. Maybe I should go find that bus with the number 112233; maybe I'll get some clues from there."

Dave ventured outside to find the bus. The atmosphere was eerie and bizarre, with a freakish and spine-chilling breeze and dark clouds. He was experiencing spooky and scary vibes. As he walked along the street, suddenly a bus pulled up next to him and stopped. Its doors swung open, and Dave, somewhat shocked, noticed the number plate on the bus: 112233. Without thinking much, he entered the bus in search of clues. 

Inside, Dave noticed something strange. Both the driver and the passengers were acting strangely and weirdly, adding to the eerie atmosphere outside. Dave questioned himself in a confusing and nervous tone, "Am I still in a dream?" Suddenly, the bus doors closed, and all the passengers, along with the driver, wearing strange and creepy expressions, started moving toward Dave. He tried to engage them in conversation, saying, "Hey, guys, are you all okay? We can talk, you know. How about a coffee or a drink maybe? Shit, these people are deaf, I guess."

His words had no effect on them, and they continued to approach him. Dave was overwhelmed with fear, his face covered in sweat, his heart racing, and his throat dry as he swallowed hard. He found himself surrounded by these strange figures, utterly helpless. "Shit, how is this even possible? Why am I sleeping so much? I have to wake up. Come on, Dave, you can do it. Come on, wake up, man," he said with a sense of desperation. "It's no use."

Then suddenly, a girl appeared, opened the bus door from the outside, and quickly pulled Dave out. The passengers and driver, with their strange looks, allowed them to narrowly escape, but they kept following Dave and the girl. She dragged Dave to a corner of the street, behind one of the buildings. Dave, still shaken, asked with surprise, "Hey, hey, hey, leave me. Who are you? Are you one of them too?" The girl replied, "No, don't worry, I'm a human like you, Dave." Dave, still puzzled, asked in a surprised and confused tone, "Wait, how do you know my name? Tell me the truth. What is going on here? Who are you? Where am I? How do you know me?" Interrupting him, the girl said, "You will get all your answers, okay? But first, we have to get out of here and reach a safe place. I don't know what those people will do to us if we stay. We are still in a dream, and we need to find that boy because he has all the answers to our questions." Dave was a little shocked by her last statement, and when he checked the time on his watch, it was 11:22 a.m.

To be continued...