Chapter Seven: In Between Two Strange Men

“Hey, what are you staring at? Do I have something funny on my face?” she asked, her voice playful but filled with a hint of curiosity. She had noticed him gazing at her intently, a soft smile playing at the corners of his lips. His expression was distant, as though lost in thought.

“Did I ever tell you that you’re incredibly pretty?” he responded, his voice genuine and warm. "I was just admiring your face earlier. Honestly, I’ve been drawn to you since the very first time we met. And even now, you still captivate me."

His words were direct, without any hint of pretense, as if he had no fear of expressing his feelings. It made her feel both flattered and a bit confused. Could he really mean it?

She tilted her head, trying to process his words. “I want to believe it, but you’re just a dream. Aren’t you? But thanks anyway,” she said, her voice tinged with sadness. The reality of the situation hit her once more. She knew she was only dreaming. This connection, this feeling she had for him, it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

“This isn’t like any other dream of yours, Cara. I’m not just a figment of your imagination. I’m in your heart,” he said, his words as if he had read her thoughts. The certainty in his voice made her pause, and she stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. How could he know exactly what she was thinking?

She felt an odd sensation—a mix of awe and fear. Her heart raced as she thought about how real everything felt. She wanted to believe in him, in them, but she was terrified. Terrified that it was all just a dream. That nothing could ever come of it.

“Wake up and find me,” he whispered, as though speaking directly into her mind.

Cara stopped in her tracks. She wasn’t sure if she had heard him aloud or in her thoughts, but the words made her heart skip a beat. She looked at him, her gaze filled with a new kind of curiosity. “What do you mean?” she thought back, unsure of what to make of this strange connection.

Still, he didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he stepped closer to her and embraced her gently. It was as if he was trying to tell her without words that everything would be okay. That, somehow, they would be okay. But Cara couldn’t shake the overwhelming fear that gripped her. Fear that, when she woke up, everything would disappear. That this beautiful connection, this dream-like world, would fade into nothing.

She felt a tear slip down her cheek, the sadness in her heart too much to bear. It was like watching the final, heartbreaking scene of a movie—the kind of movie where there was no happy ending, where dreams and reality didn’t mix, and where love was never fully realized. She hated that kind of ending. But most of all, she hated that she knew this was all just a dream.

Her desire for a happy ending, one filled with love and joy, burned in her chest. She couldn’t let go of the hope that somehow, this dream could become her reality. So, she continued to dream, night after night. Each time, she found herself falling deeper into this strange, beautiful world where the man she couldn’t touch was always by her side.

Weeks passed, and each time she fell asleep, she found herself in his arms again, in the paradise of her dreams. She wanted to believe they were more than just a fleeting fantasy. She wanted to believe they were meant to be, even though she had no idea how it could happen. But when she woke up, she felt a strange ache in her chest, as though she had left him behind, stranded in the dream world.

In her waking life, she was still just herself—infatuated but not in love, longing for something that felt both real and impossible. Every night, she yearned for him more, and each day, she tried to remind herself that he was just a dream. But it was hard to ignore the pull she felt toward him. It was as if he existed somewhere, just beyond her reach, waiting for her to find him.

Reality, however, had other plans. In the waking world, she was receiving love letters from someone named Mr. Smith, a mysterious figure who seemed to be following her. She couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that she was being watched, but there was no way to trace him. No face, no clues. Just letters—words filled with affection, with promises of some kind of connection. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel like he was somehow connected to the man in her dreams.

At first, Cara was terrified. She’d feel his presence in the streets, as though he were always just behind her, watching from the shadows. But even though the fear lingered, there was something comforting in knowing someone cared. She began to think of him as a guardian angel, someone who looked out for her. She didn’t mind the feeling of being followed anymore. She had become numb to the mystery. What bothered her more was that she had no idea who he was. No face to go with the name. No answers to the questions she desperately needed to ask.

She waited, almost patiently, for the day Mr. Smith would show himself to her. She imagined the moment when he would finally reveal himself, when their worlds would collide—when the dream and reality would merge, and everything would make sense. She imagined a moment of connection, a face-to-face meeting, like the start of a new chapter in her life.

One morning, as she awoke, a strange feeling lingered in her chest. She had been thinking about the man in her dreams more than ever, and yet the answers still eluded her. She didn’t know what was happening. Her mind swirled with confusion, uncertainty, and longing.

Although part of her wanted to confide in her parents or her best friend Jean, she knew they wouldn’t have the answers. Jean, after all, was a brilliant psychologist, but even she couldn’t make sense of the strange dreams and the growing sense of confusion that gripped Cara’s mind. Jean had told her to ignore it all, to live her life as normally as possible. But that was easier said than done. These strange men—Mr. Smith and the man from her dreams—were already entwined in her daily life.

Cara drove to school that morning, her mind racing. As she passed the familiar city attraction—the one she had dreamed about so many times—she pulled over her car. She couldn’t shake the pull of the place, the connection she felt to it. It felt like it held answers, even though she knew she couldn’t find them.

She wandered through the area, hoping to see someone she recognized, someone from her dreams. But the place was crowded with tourists and families, just as it always was. And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different. There was a slight shift in the air. She felt a presence, a fleeting connection that only lasted a moment.

Then, out of nowhere, a little girl appeared in front of her, smiling brightly and holding out a single long-stemmed red rose. Cara took the flower, surprised by the gesture, but before she could say anything, the child dashed off, disappearing into the crowd. Cara looked around, but the little girl was nowhere to be found.

Confused and a little unnerved, Cara returned to her car, trying to push the odd encounter from her mind. She drove on, the weight of the day hanging heavily on her shoulders. As much as she tried to focus on her schooling, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling that this was just the beginning of something even more confusing, even more mysterious, than she could ever have imagined.