I ran a long way to get to where I am, but every time I close my eyes to sleep I am brought back to where you are—worlds away.

I try to wake myself from my slumber, but I have fallen deeper with every futile attempt.

It was first unclear to me why the light was blinding and the air salty, but when my vision became clearer, I noticed that what you were holding out towards me was a seashell. You said you would get me more and we would place them in a glass jar to remind us of this day. The waves roared loudly, and the seagulls pranced around the shore. The water was as blue as it could get. The sun was right behind your head as you looked down on me, lying on the warm sand. I winced at the brightness of the sun as I gazed at you. Your face was backlit, but your touch was familiar and your voice told me who you were. You pulled me up and we ran towards the water. I saw your perfect face and I could swear that my heart skipped a beat. The coolness of the water felt perfect and the laughter you gave me as I splashed water towards you gave me a pang because a part of me realized that this must be just a dream, but I continued to splash water towards your face. You chased me and I started to run back to the warm sand, I knew you were getting closer so I accelerated even more. A wave of cool water came crashing on my running legs as you caught my hand. I could feel your warm breath on my neck and I felt my face giving a smile. Everything went into slow motion and my vision became blurred, fading into nothing.

The sun peeked into my curtain which I lousily closed before going to bed. I was certain that today I will not see you; this was reality. I am sure that our paths will not cross today, after all, now it’s only in my dreams that I see you, in a different dimension where nothing else matters, right through the white haze.