A Thousand Years in Perfect Symmetry

the sound of your own heart

When Alhaitham woke up, the sunlight was already streaming in through the windows. The quiet sounds of the insects outside chirped through the air, brightening the morning with a lively atmosphere.

Alhaitham sat up from his bed, stretching out his arms, and quickly got up to finish his morning routine. He showered, brushed his teeth and hair, got dressed, and then he returned to his room to think up a second draft.

He narrowed his teal eyes when the desk came into view. The paper he'd left the previous day was gone. Instead, there lay an empty space where it should have been.

Alhaitham let out a dull sigh. He hadn't put it away, had he? Quickly, he filed through all of his drawers, growing annoyed when none of them contained the first draft. Then, his thoughts moved to Kaveh.

Surely, he wouldn't have taken it? They'd been on good terms last night despite what had happened the night before. He wouldn't have pretended all day just to get back on him.

Brows furrowed with confusion, Alhaitham exited his room and paced into the living room. Kaveh was already seated on the couch, drawing away on his sketchbook.

Alhaitham stopped at the edge of the sofa, placing a hand idly on the armrest. Kaveh stopped drawing and placed the pencil down, cautious red eyes turning toward him. "What is it this time?"

Alhaitham's confusion grew further. Why did he sound mad at him? Had he been wrong yesterday?

Alhaitham just stared at him, choosing to ignore the malice behind his words. "Did you do anything with my first draft of that paper I was writing?"

Kaveh rolled his eyes. "I didn't touch your shit, if that's what you're implying," He spat. "I was in my room all last night."

"Are you angry with me?"

Kaveh's expression shifted to one that almost matched the confusion on Alhaitham's own face. His brows furrowed and he bit his lip, placing the sketchbook down as well. He stood up and walked over to Alhaitham, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What do you think, Haitham?" Kaveh definitely sounded angry. "You basically told me my life's work was pointless last night."

Last night? Alhaitham paused. No, he'd... He'd apologized for that. Kaveh had accepted the apology. This was all wrong—

Ah. Memories of previous long Akademiya discussions rushed back as Alhaitham recalled the beep he'd heard from his Akasha system last night. This was a dream. A repeat of the yesterday everyone had experienced that would happen again and again until the Akademiya was satisfied with their dream harvesting.

Kaveh (dream Kaveh?) was still glaring at him and it made it all that much harder to think. Alhaitham wasn't supposed to be here, was he? He had always been under the impression he'd be avoided when it came time to harvest dreams from the people of Sumeru. What had made a difference?

Alhaitham swallowed down a rush of anxiety. He hoped seeing the Grand Sage yesterday hadn't swayed his opinion that badly. This must've been a mistake.

"I don't think a simple apology takes that much thought, Haitham," Kaveh said coldly. He leaned to his side, snapping his fingers in front of Alhaitham's face and startling him back to— not reality. This was not reality.

Alhaitham took a quick step back, his brain rushing to catch up with his surroundings. He could remember at least, that made him different from everyone else, he supposed. He took in a deep breath.

This was still Kaveh's consciousness. Most of the so-called people he could come across in her would still be real people, the real consciousness of a person who was currently sleeping in their real bed, unknowing of the events that were happening in their sleep. For all they know, they didn't experience dreams and this would all be over the moment the Akademiya decided the harvest was over.