"What we see and experience in our dreams might not necessarily be real, but the emotions attached to these experiences certainly are."
-Scientific American
During a dream encounter, your soul finds respite in an atmosphere devoid of the world's mind-set of tension; this is true whether you remember the dream or not. Dreams that cannot be remembered still have value because they are sown into the dreamer's spirit.
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The first time he appeared was a couple of months ago. You were looking at an Instagram picture on your feed. He had fluffy hair and wore a long sleeve dark green shirt that buttoned up, but not all the way and left some of the skin on his chest exposed.
But you couldn't see his face.
For some reason, it was obscured.
Something about him caught your attention, though you didn't know who he was. Never seen him before. Your fingers hesitated to touch the screen until you finally swiped away.
A few nights later, he was there again. This time, having brunch with you and your friends. Where did he come from? He sat across from you and seemed to keep to himself. You looked at him, wondering why he was so shy.
Then again, but this time, you were at his house. Sitting on the floor in the living about to watch a movie. Him on your left and some other guy on your right. Again, he said nothing.
Strange.
It's not like this guy was the focal point. He was just another person in your dreams. But why? Apparently the mind doesn't make up faces. But you thought long and hard and you honestly can't say that you've seen him in real life.
Was he somehow buried beneath your subconscious?
Or merely a figment of your imagination?
It was hard to tell. But suddenly, he kept showing up.
His face was finally revealed to you. He had brown/hazel eyes with a beautiful smile. He also seemed more confident, in comparison to how he was when he first started appearing.
Often enough he would come around, and the two of you were in different scenarios those nights. It was implied that you were in a relationship together, you're not sure if it was ever made official.
There was one dream where you got jealous of him being around someone else. Even in your sleep, your chest felt tight.
And then a couple days later, he got jealous when you were simply having a conversation with another guy.
What sucked is that you could never remember the entire dream. Maybe only ten percent of what actually happened.
As long as he was there.
"I swear, they feel so real." You told your friend one day.
"You been eating weird shit before bed?" She joked.
"I'm serious."
She hummed and you could tell she probably thought you were crazy.
Maybe you weren't explaining it right.
"Well, you say he keeps showing up," She started. "And I'm not expert on this, but I think your mind is trying to tell you something. And dreams are personalized, so it's up to you to figure it out."
One morning your time with him was disrupted as your mom had woken you up from your sleep to tell you to wake up. Ignoring her, you closed your eyes tightly and tried to pick up the dream where it left off. You weren't ready to leave yet. But unfortunately, he was gone for the day.
There were some nights where he never came. Or where there was nothing but darkness the whole night.
It felt like a guilty pleasure.
Rushing to your bed every night hoping that you'll get the chance to see him.
In some ways he still remained a mystery. Your soul spent so much time with him, but you didn't even know his name.
Maybe it didn't matter.
***
His laughter sounded like bells. The soft curve of his smile. Your cheek being caressed and a strand of hair being pushed behind your ear.
You two stood stood in his kitchen. The house was new, you could tell. It was different from the other one.
He pulled you close and brought you into his arms. You sighed and closed your eyes feeling the warmth from his body.
Only for you to wake up and realize you're still in bed. But it was still dark outside as it wasn't time for you to get up yet.
You laid there and could still feel his warmth as is he was actually in bed with you. Even wrapping the blanket around you tighter to try and preserve it before it was lost, and eventually falling back asleep in his comfort.