A Heartfelt Dream - By D.J.J.Mizzi
The stars twinkled and sparkled like faraway candles in the night sky. A cool breeze brushed against his skin and whispered untold secrets into his ears. Secrets of love. The emotions they evoked were sea blue, wobbling and stirring and emanating with nostalgia. Softly, the grass pushed up against his skin and gave him a pleasant itch. He sat up, only now noticing the beautiful city alive before his eyes, glowing magnificently. The waves lapped gently against the shore and sprayed light foamy water onto his bare legs. The scene before him was life-filled and mysterious. It made him think longingly of odd memories from long ago. For a moment it seemed as though this dream would last forever. But as sweet as it was, no dream will ever last forever. Yet that doesn’t stop you hoping that you’ll have the same dream the next night. You never do, though. Nor do you the night after.
He opened his eyes, to the sound of his alarm beeping loudly, but then closed them again without going back to sleep. His thick quilt had kept him warm and cosy throughout the cool night, and that warmth was there still, calling for him to melt back into his soft mattress and go back to sleep. Unable to resist that call, he hit the snooze button and drifted off without actually dreaming. The alarm went off ten minutes later. He hit it again. And again. He snoozed his alarm three times before he actually got out of bed, and he only resisted the temptation to snooze it a fourth time out of fear of being late to work. As it was, he would be cutting it close. He had a shower. Ate breakfast. Buttoned his suit, buckled his pants, locked the doors and then caught the bus to the train station, and the train to work. He already felt ordinary, but everything about his life made him feel even more ordinary. A thousand people, if not more, he passed in a day. And every one of them just like him. Ordinary.
His office job was no different. Mundane and boring. The sound of tapping keyboards and formal dialogue filled the space. His trousers were tight and his blazer was uncomfortable. Every day was the same. No better. No worse. And in no way was it like his dreams; the exotic, mystical, fantastical escape that awaited him at the end of a long day.
Time passed dismally. At ten o’clock he got a message from his mother. Just checking in, hope you’re okay. Stay safe. He waited till one o’clock before he took his break and went down the street to get some food from the shop down the road. When the clock hit three, he stopped working and began playing minesweeper. He got back to work after five minutes. At four he placed a pile of reports on his boss’ desk. At five he shut down his desktop computer, pulled his bag over his shoulders and farewelled his co-workers with a wave and a laugh. He walked down the hallway until he came to the thick steel double doors of the lift. The down arrow on the side lit up green when he pressed it. A few moments passed before a loud ding sounded and the doors of the lift opened.
He gasped. The lift was empty, except for a young girl with long dark brown curls that had been tied up into a ponytail with a scarlet ribbon. Her eyes were sky blue, and her lips were red like a rose. She wore formal attire, and carried a bag by her side. The company he worked for was quite large, with many different teams and sections and many people he’d never met. And he was sure that he’d never met her before. He would have remembered if he’d had. He stood frozen for a moment. But quickly recomposed himself and stepped into the lift beside her.
There was another ding as the doors closed and shut with a thud. A hearty silence settled between them. The girl turned a little, she looked up at him, and he looked down at her at the same time. He only just managed to catch her awkward half-smile, which was as warm as a clear summer’s day, before she looked away. He opened his mouth to speak, but felt his heart begin to beat abnormally fast and decided not to. Her cheeks reddened slightly in the silence that followed. The lift began its descent. Floor 12. Floor 11. Floor 10. They both stared ahead at the silver doors in front of them. Floor 9.
A single moment. It was now or never.
‘Courage dear heart,’ he said aloud without even thinking.
She looked at him again, this time with quite a puzzled manner, but then her face lit up as she suddenly realised he had recited a quote. She noticed The Great Divorce was sticking out of her bag awkwardly because she hadn’t zipped it up properly.
‘You’re a fan of Lewis?’
He unzipped his own bag, pulled a thin book out and held it out to show her. Narnia.
She laughed and her face reddened even more this time. She opened her mouth to keep talking, but then the doors of the lift opened. The girl peered up at him, as if she was about to say something else, but then her gaze fell down and she walked out of the lift. The doors closed and his heart sank. The lift was hardly moving again before he noticed she’d dropped something. The Great Divorce was lying on the lift floor, half open. He picked it up. Her full name was written on the inside of the first page. He stood up straighter, with a heartfelt smile drawn over his face. He guessed he would have to return it.
He never had the same dream twice, except for those two nights. Once again, he was lying on the soft grass, in front of a glowing city with the foam of the waves splashing gently upon him, and a beautiful voice sending dazzling notes floating gently through the air. And when he woke up it was like the dream had never ended. After he’d found her name, it wasn’t hard to get in touch with her. His company’s email addresses were all the same. First letter of the first name and last name. He received a reply to the email mere minutes after he hit the send button.
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Glad you picked it up. Can you meet me somewhere during my lunch break? And maybe, if you’d like, we could get some coffee while we’re there.
Indeed, today was not an ordinary day.
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