Timeless Regrets.

Dream or Reality? (Chapter - 3)

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

I woke up.

I looked at my phone. A day had passed.

I guess I woke up from that strange dream, I thought, feeling a pang of disappointment. My chest felt heavier than usual, like a part of me wanted to stay there.

I stood up and got ready for school. Nothing was different. My Mother had already left for work, as always, long before I woke.

I made my own breakfast, but my mind was still foggy, replaying fragments of the dream. As I walked to the train station, the same dream kept creeping back, a strange comfort and unease settling over me. I smiled, absentmindedly kicking a pebble down the road. But when I arrived at the station, something made me stop in my tracks.

She was there.

Standing alone, as if waiting for someone.

"Saman—" I nearly called out the name I had given her in the dream before I stopped myself, embarrassed.

This is reality, not a dream. Stop being ridiculous, I thought, shaking my head.

But just as I was about to board the train, she turned—and then I heard it.

"Jonah!".

She called my name.

I froze. My heart pounded against my ribs. My breath caught in my throat. No. This can't be real. How does she know my name?

She walked over to me, smiling like we had known each other for years. "I was waiting for you," she said, her voice casual. "Like we planned yesterday."

Wait... planned? We didn't—? My mind raced, grasping for answers, but all I could manage was a confused stare. The world around me seemed to warp, everything moving too fast and too slow at the same time.

"Are you okay?" she asked, tilting her head, concern in her eyes.

"Am I... dreaming again?" The words slipped out, unbidden, my voice barely above a whisper.

She blinked, looking at me like I'd said something absurd. "What?" A small laugh escaped her lips. "Of course not. Did you fall asleep reading some dream novel?" She gave me a playful nudge, her laughter ringing in my ears, but it felt distant.

I stood there, still in shock, trying to process everything. The dream. Her. This moment. It couldn't be real. Could it?

"I... don't understand." I muttered under my breath, unable to shake the overwhelming sense that something was wrong—like the fabric of reality itself had twisted.

Then she pinched my arm, catching me off guard. I flinched.

"See? Not a dream," she said, grinning as if that settled everything.

I rubbed my arm, still dazed. "Right..." was all I could manage. Nothing made sense, but if this was my reality, then I had to accept it.

We boarded the train, and I sat in my usual seat, by the window. The sun was rising, casting golden light over the horizon, painting the world in a soft, unreal glow. She sat next to me, and everything felt... off. Like I was seeing things through a filter, a layer of separation between me and what was real.

She broke the silence, her voice soft. "I was wondering yesterday why you kept staring out the window... but now I get it. The view is beautiful from here."

I turned to her, the same strange sensation lingering in the back of my mind. "Yeah... it is." My voice wavered slightly, but I forced a smile. "Best seat on the train."

She chuckled, her laugh warm and genuine, but to me, it felt like an echo.

I tried to shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Maybe I should just go with it—stop questioning everything. After all, what harm could come from enjoying this, whatever it was? For now, I decided to let it be.

Maybe this was reality. Maybe it wasn't. But for now, I would let myself believe that the dream was continuing.

"I forgot to ask you yesterday—what class are you in?" she asked, her tone casual, though her presence still felt surreal to me.

"O-oh... me?" I stammered, trying to keep my composure. "I'm in Class A."

I hesitated for a moment, still unsure how to process any of this. "What about you?" I asked, as naturally as I could manage.

She tilted her head slightly, thinking. "I don't really know yet. Yesterday was my first day, and they're still figuring out where to put me."

Her words were so matter-of-fact, but they only added to my confusion.

"So... I just went to any class I saw," she continued, smiling like it was the most normal thing in the world. "But I didn't see yours, so I thought I'd ask."

I forced a small laugh, though inside I felt my sense of reality unraveling more by the second.

"They told me I need to go to the president's office today to get my schedule," she said, her smile unwavering. "That's when I'll know which class I'll be assigned to."

The way she spoke was so light, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more beneath her words. What was she really doing here? How could this possibly connect to my dream?

As the train arrived at our destination, we stood up, waiting for the doors to open.

"By the way," she said, glancing at me with curiosity, "what novel were you reading? You mentioned it yesterday."

Her question took me by surprise, reigniting the confusion I felt, yet a warmth spread through me at the chance to talk about something I loved. "Oh, it's this one about...," I began, but I lost my train of thought momentarily, caught in the surreal nature of it all.

We walked side by side, engrossed in our discussion, as people around us glanced our way. Their curious stares didn't bother me; I was too deep in conversation, excited to share my thoughts about the novel.

When we reached the university, our paths diverged. "I have to go to the president's office," she said, her expression shifting slightly as she pointed down the hallway.

"I'll see you later then!" I called out, watching her head off, a mix of anticipation and uncertainty swirling in my chest.

I stood in front of my classroom, everyone already talking to their friends. The female classmates drawing hearts on the blackboard, meanwhile the boys were talking about the basketball match they watched on television. Everything seemed to be normal.

I took my seat next to the window in class, my mind still racing. Was this really happening, or was I still dreaming? I found myself crafting wild hypotheses about the situation I was in, trying to reconcile the pieces of my reality with those of my dream. Every thought was tinged with disbelief. My feet flickering up and down as i look at the window next to my seat. my thoughts getting deeper and deeper.

"Prof's coming!" One of my classmate screamed.

Snapping me back. I quickly readied myself and pulled my pen and notebooks. 

Class is about to start.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.