Have you ever had a dream that felt too real to be yours? For Kaelen, this was his secret truth every night, he lived in someone else’s nightmare. This is the story of borrowed dreams, a mysterious connection, and the courage it takes to face the dark together.

CHAPTER 01

The Nightmare Market

“No! Please, stop!” a voice cried out.Kaelen’s eyes snapped open. His heart was beating very fast, like a drum in his chest. His room was dark and quiet. He was safe in his bed. But he could still feel the cold fear from the dream.It was the same dream again. He was running through a dark market at night. The stands were full of strange, scary masks. Someone was always chasing him. And he always heard that voice a girl’s voice, full of fear.

He looked at his clock. It was 3:17 in the morning. Every night, it was the same time. Every night, the same bad dream.The next morning, Kaelen sat at the kitchen table. He was very tired. His mother looked at him.“Kaelen, you look terrible.

Did you sleep badly again?” she asked, handing him a glass of juice.Kaelen just nodded. He didn’t want to talk about it. How could he explain? How could he say, ‘I have the same scary dream every night, and it doesn’t feel like mine’? It sounded crazy.

“Maybe no video games before bed,” his dad said, reading his newspaper.Kaelen just said, “Yeah, maybe.”

But he knew that was not the reason.Later, at school, he met his best friend, Ben.

“You have those dark circles under your eyes again, Kaelen,” Ben said. “The nightmare again?”“Yes,” Kaelen said quietly. “The same one. The market. The masks. Someone chasing me. And… I think I heard a girl.”

“A girl?” Ben’s eyes got big. “Is she pretty?”“Ben! No!” Kaelen said, frustrated. “She’s scared. She’s crying for help. It’s terrible.”“Okay, okay, sorry,” Ben said. “But it’s just a dream, right? Dreams can’t hurt you.”“It doesn’t feel like just a dream,” Kaelen said, looking down at his hands. “It feels… real.

It feels like I’m watching a movie that belongs to someone else.”“That’s weird,” Ben said. “Maybe you should eat less cheese before bed.” He laughed, but Kaelen did not.

That night, Kaelen was afraid to go to sleep. He watched the clock. 11 PM… 12 AM… 1 AM…His eyes became heavy. Exhaustion overtook him. Sleep pulled him under. He was there again. Cold air. The market surrounded him. It was empty and dark.

Strange masks hung on the walls, their eyes looking at him.Dread seized him. He ran.His steps made no sound on the stones. He slipped into a narrow alley.

And then, he saw her.It was just for a second. A girl with long, dark hair. She was hiding behind a big basket. She looked up. Her eyes were wide with fear. She was real.She looked right at him.“You?” she whispered. Her voice was the same one from all his nightmares. “You’re not supposed to be here.

This is my dream!”Suddenly, a shadow fell over them. A tall figure with no face stood at the end of the alley. It started moving toward them, fast.The girl looked from the monster back to Kaelen, confused and terrified.

“Run!” she screamed.Kaelen turned to run, but it was too late. The thing was upon him. He felt a cold hand on his face—“Ah!” Kaelen sat up in bed, breathing hard. Sweat was on his forehead.

The room was dark. It was 3:17 AM.But this time was different. This time, he remembered everything. He remembered her face. He remembered her words.

‘You’re not supposed to be here. This is my dream!’Kaelen’s hands were shaking. It wasn’t his dream. It never was.He was borrowing someone else’s nightmare.

The Echo in the Waking World

The words from the dream echoed in Kaelen’s mind all through the next day. “This is my dream!” They played over and over like a song he couldn’t forget. He couldn’t focus in school.

His teacher, Mr. Adams, called his name twice during history class. “Kaelen? Are you with us?” Kaelen just jumped in his seat and said, “Sorry, sir,” while his classmates giggled. He was not with them. His mind was in that dark market, looking at the girl’s scared face.

After school, he found Ben at their usual spot by the big oak tree. “Ben, we need to talk,” Kaelen said, his voice serious. Ben was eating an apple. “What’s up? You look even worse than this morning.” Kaelen took a deep breath. “Last night was different. I saw her.

The girl from the dream. She saw me too.” Ben stopped chewing. “She saw you? In your dream? That’s impossible, man. It’s just your brain making stuff up.”

“No, listen!” Kaelen insisted. “She talked to me. She said, ‘You’re not supposed to be here. This is my dream!’ Ben, what if… what if it’s not my dream? What if I’m somehow seeing her dreams?” Ben stared at him for a moment, then laughed. “Whoa, that’s a big thought. So you’re saying you’re, like, a dream thief?” Kaelen shook his head, frustrated. “Not a thief! I don’t want them! She called it her dream. I’m borrowing them without wanting to.

I’m… a dream borrower.” The words felt strange but right. Ben finally saw that Kaelen was not joking. His smile faded. “Okay, okay. If that’s true, which is a huge ‘if,’ what are you going to do? You can’t just find a person from your dream.”

“Why not?” Kaelen asked. “I remember her face, Ben. I remember it perfectly. What if she’s real? What if she lives here in the city? I have to try to find her.” Ben sighed, knowing he couldn’t change his friend’s mind. “Okay, crazy man. How do we find Dream Girl?” Kaelen’s eyes lit up with a plan. “We start looking. We go to the mall, the park, the library. Everywhere. We have to find her.”

The next Saturday, they went to the big shopping mall downtown. It was crowded and noisy. Kaelen looked at every girl they passed, searching for that face—the dark hair, the specific shape of her eyes. After hours of searching, they sat down on a bench, tired.

“This is impossible, Kaelen,” Ben said, drinking a soda. “There are thousands of people here. We’ll never find her.” Kaelen felt his hope fading. “I know,” he whispered. “But I have to know.”

Just as he said that, he looked up. Across the crowded food court, near a fountain, a girl was sitting alone at a small table, reading a book. She had long, dark hair. She looked up from her book for a second to push her hair behind her ear.

Kaelen’s heart stopped. It was her. It was the exact same face from his nightmare. His mouth fell open. He couldn’t move. He could only stare. “Ben,” he whispered, grabbing his friend’s arm. “Ben, look. It’s her.”

Ben followed his gaze. “Who? The girl reading?” Kaelen nodded, his eyes wide. “That’s her. That’s the girl from the dream.” Ben squinted. “Are you sure? She looks… normal. Not very scary.” Before Ben could say more, Kaelen stood up. His legs felt weak, but he started walking toward her.

His heart was pounding again, but not from fear. From a crazy, impossible hope. He walked across the food court, past the families and the groups of friends. He stopped right in front of her table.

She was focused on her book and didn’t notice him at first. He just stood there, nervous. Finally, she felt someone watching her and looked up. Her eyes met his. For a second, she just looked confused by the strange boy standing there. Then, her eyes changed. They grew wider. She recognized him. Her face became pale.

She looked just as shocked as she did in the dream. She slowly closed her book, never looking away from him. Kaelen knew what he had to say. He took a small step forward. His voice was shaky and quiet. “Hello,” he said. “I… I think I know you. I think I’ve been in your dreams.”

The Search Begins

The girl stared at Kaelen. Her face was white like a sheet of paper.She looked very shocked. Her mouth opened a little, but no sound came out.Kaelen’s heart was beating very fast. He wondered if he had made a big mistake.Maybe she would scream. Maybe she would call for help.He quickly spoke again. His voice was soft and nervous.“I’m sorry. That was a strange thing to say. Please don’t be scared.”

He took a small step back to give her space.The girl blinked a few times. She finally found her voice.“What did you say?” she asked. Her voice was quiet, like a whisper.“I said… I think I know you from somewhere,” Kaelen said, carefully.

He did not want to say the word ‘dream’ again.The girl shook her head slowly. She looked confused and wary.“No. You said… dreams. You said you’ve been in my dreams.”

She said the words as if they were foreign and heavy.Kaelen felt a shiver go down his spine. She had heard him correctly.He nodded slowly, afraid of her reaction.“Yes. That’s what I said.

It sounds crazy, I know.”The girl’s eyes studied his face. She was looking for something.A long moment of silence passed between them.The noises of the food court seemed to fade away.

Then, she spoke again, her voice barely audible.“The market. With the masks.”Kaelen’s breath caught in his throat. His fears were confirmed.It was real. All of it was real.“Yes,” he breathed out.

“The dark market. And the… the thing that chases us.”The girl’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.It was a look of pure relief and utter terror mixed together.

“It’s you,” she whispered. “The boy in my nightmares. I thought I was going crazy.”“I thought I was going crazy too,” Kaelen said, his own relief washing over him.He was not alone.

She saw him too.“My name is Kaelen,” he said, offering a small, shaky smile.The girl hesitated for a second. Then she nodded.“Lyra,” she said softly. “My name is Lyra.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lyra. Well, not nice because of the… you know. But nice to finally know you’re real.”Lyra almost smiled. It was a small, fragile thing.“We need to talk,” she said, her voice becoming a little stronger. “But not here.”Kaelen agreed immediately. “Okay. Where?”Lyra looked around, thinking. “There’s a small park behind the library.

It’s quiet. Can you meet me there in one hour?”“Yes,” Kaelen said without hesitation. “I’ll be there.”

Lyra gathered her book and stood up. She gave him one last, long look.Then she turned and walked away quickly, disappearing into the crowd.Kaelen stood there, stunned.

Ben ran over to him, his eyes wide with excitement.“What happened? What did she say? Did you get her number?”Kaelen turned to his friend, a dazed look on his face.

“Her name is Lyra. And it’s all real, Ben. She dreams of me too.”Ben’s jaw dropped. “No way.”“Way,” Kaelen said. “I’m meeting her in an hour at the park. She knows it’s real.”Ben was speechless for a moment. Then he grinned.“This is the weirdest and coolest thing that has ever happened.”

Kaelen nodded, his mind racing. He had found her.But now, they had to figure out why this was happening.And what it meant for both of them.

A Face from a Dream

Kaelen stood in the park. He felt nervous. He kept looking at his watch. Only five minutes had passed since he arrived. It felt like an hour.He wondered if Lyra would come. Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe she decided he was too strange.He sat on an old wooden bench. He watched the birds hop on the grass.

His mind was full of questions.Then he saw her. She was walking slowly down the path. She looked around, searching for him.He stood up and waved his hand a little. She saw him and walked over.She sat down on the far end of the bench. She left a big space between them. She still looked unsure.

“Hi,” Kaelen said. His voice was soft.”Hi,” Lyra replied. She kept her eyes on her hands.A long quiet moment hung between them. The only sound was the wind in the trees.Kaelen knew he had to speak first. “So. The dreams.”Lyra nodded. She finally looked at him.

“How long?” she asked.”How long have I had them?” Kaelen guessed. “For months. Every night. Always the same. Waking up at 3:17.”Lyra’s eyes got bigger. “3:17? I wake up then too. My heart is always pounding.””It’s the same for me,” Kaelen said. He felt a connection. They were sharing this fear.

“For me, it started a few months ago too,” Lyra said. “But… it’s my nightmare. I know it is. I’m always the one running. I’m always the one it’s chasing.”She looked down again. “But then you appeared. A few weeks ago. At first, you were just a shadow.

Another thing to be scared of. But then last night… I saw your face clearly. I knew you were real.””I saw you clearly last night too,” Kaelen said. “That’s how I found you today. I remembered your face.”Another silence fell.

It was a little more comfortable this time.”Can you describe it?” Lyra asked quietly. “The thing that chases us?”Kaelen felt a coldness just thinking about it. “It’s tall. Very tall. It doesn’t have a face. Just… a smooth, blank space. And it’s fast. So fast.”

Lyra shivered. “Yes. That’s it. Exactly.”She pulled her jacket tighter around herself. “Why is this happening to us? Why are we sharing this?””I don’t know,” Kaelen admitted. “I thought I was going insane.

My friend Ben thought it was because of cheese.”A small smile touched Lyra’s lips. It was the first time she almost smiled. “My mom says I watch too many scary movies.”They looked at each other. For the first time, it wasn’t a look of fear.

It was a look of understanding.They were both in this strange situation together.”Does it feel like your dream?” Kaelen asked. “Or does it feel like you are just watching it, like a movie?”

Lyra thought about it. “It feels like my dream. The fear feels like mine. The running feels like my legs are tired. It’s all mine. But then… you are there. And you don’t belong. It’s like you walked into my room without knocking.Kaelen understood. For me, it’s the opposite.

It doesn’t feel like my dream at all. The fear isn’t mine. The place isn’t familiar. It’s like I’m borrowing your scary movie to watch. I’m just a visitor.”Lyra looked surprised. “You’re just a visitor? But you are there every night.””I know,” Kaelen said. “And I’m sorry. I don’t want to be in your dream.

I don’t want to scare you more.”Lyra shook her head. “You don’t scare me. Not anymore. The thing without a face scares me. You… you just confuse me.”

The sun was starting to go down. The park was getting colder.”We should go soon,” Lyra said. She looked at Kaelen. “Will it happen again tonight?”Kaelen’s shoulders slumped.

“Probably. It always does.”Lyra nodded, a determined look on her face. “Then maybe we shouldn’t run.”Kaelen was confused. “What do you mean?””Maybe tonight, in the dream,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “We don’t run. We stand together. And we face it.”

The Rules of Dreamshare

Kaelen stared at Lyra. Her idea was terrifying. “Face it? How? That thing… it’s pure fear.””I know,” Lyra said, her voice quieter now. “But what if we can change the dream? If it’s my dream, maybe I have some control. Maybe we both do.”

Kaelen had never thought of that. The dream always felt fixed, like a track he had to run on every night. The idea of changing it was new.”What would we do?” he asked.”I don’t know yet,” Lyra admitted. “But we can make a plan. Before we sleep.”She looked at him, her eyes serious. “We need to agree on a signal. Something to remember. To know we are both there, and we are trying to change it.”

Kaelen thought for a moment. “A word. We can both try to remember a word.””Okay,” Lyra agreed. “What word?””Courage,” Kaelen suggested. “We will both try to remember the word ‘courage’ when we see each other in the dream.

It will remind us of the plan.””Courage,” Lyra repeated. She nodded. “I can try to remember that.”They sat in silence for a moment, the plan hanging between them. It felt fragile, like a tiny shield against a monster.”Where do you live?” Kaelen asked suddenly. “I mean, in the real world.”Lyra pointed vaguely east. “Over on Elm Street. In the white house with the blue door.”

“I live on Maple,” Kaelen said. “We’re not that far.”Another small connection. Another piece of the puzzle.”Do you think this has ever happened to anyone else?” Lyra wondered aloud.”I don’t know. I tried looking online for ‘shared dreams’ but I just found weird websites about aliens,” Kaelen said with a small shrug.Lyra almost laughed.

It was a nice sound. “My search was about ‘seeing a boy in my dreams.’ That was even worse.”They shared a smile. It was a strange, new feeling. Finding humor in their nightmare.The streetlights in the park flickered on. It was getting dark.

“We should go home,” Lyra said, standing up. “I need to try and get ready for… for tonight.”

Kaelen walked home slowly. His mind was no longer full of fear. It was full of Lyra. Her face, her voice, her courage.That night, getting ready for bed felt different. He wasn’t just waiting for a nightmare. He was preparing for a mission.

He got into bed and closed his eyes. He focused his thoughts.Remember the plan. Remember the word. Courage.He repeated it in his mind like a prayer.Courage. Courage. Courage.He fell asleep.And the dream began, as it always did.

The cold air. The dark market. The scary masks watching him.

Lyra took a step forward, standing next to Kaelen. She reached out her hand.In the dream, Kaelen reached out and took it.Their hands touched. It didn’t feel like a dream touch. It felt real. Warm. Solid.The faceless thing stopped moving. It stood very still, just a few feet away from them.

It tilted its blank head, as if confused.For the first time ever, they were not running. They were standing together.The dream world around them seemed to flicker, like a bad TV signal.And then, everything went black.

The Lure of the Dreamweaver

Kaelen woke up not with a gasp, but with a slow, dawning awareness. The usual crushing fear was gone, replaced by a buzzing sense of wonder. He could still feel the ghost of Lyra’s hand in his, the warmth and solidity of it feeling more real than the blanket he was lying under. They had done it. They had stood their ground.

The dream had not ended in a frantic chase; it had simply… stopped. He looked at his clock. 3:17 AM. The time was the same, but everything else was different. He spent the rest of the night in a peaceful, deep sleep, his mind quiet for the first time in months.

The next day at school, he couldn’t focus. He was bursting to talk to Lyra. During lunch, he found a quiet corner and sent her a text message. “It worked. It actually worked.” A few minutes later, his phone buzzed. “I know. I slept. Really slept.

Can you meet after school? Same place?” Kaelen typed back a fast “Yes” before he even finished chewing his sandwich. The hours dragged on until the final bell rang, and he practically ran to the park.

Lyra was already there on their bench. She looked different. The tired shadows under her eyes were lighter, and she offered him a real, genuine smile as he approached. “You felt it too, right?” she asked as he sat down. “When we held hands? It didn’t feel like a dream.”

Kaelen nodded, his words tumbling out. “It felt real. And when it stopped… it just stopped. It was confused. We changed it, Lyra.” They talked excitedly for a while, replaying every second of the shared dream, feeling a triumph that was entirely their own.

As their excitement settled, a new curiosity took its place. “But why did it work?” Lyra wondered aloud, twisting a strand of her dark hair around her finger. “What is that place? It’s not a normal dream. It feels too… solid.

Too repeated.” Kaelen agreed. “It’s like a record playing the same song every night. But last night, we jumped the needle.” They sat in thought for a moment, until Lyra’s eyes lit up with a new idea. “The market… the one in the dream. It feels familiar to me, but I could never figure out why.”

She pulled out her phone and started typing. “There’s an old part of the city, near the river. My grandma used to talk about a night market they had there a long, long time ago. It was called the Night Market of Whispers, or something like that.” She showed him a black-and-white photo on her screen from a historical society website.

It showed an old, narrow street lined with stalls, selling trinkets and fabrics. The architecture was different, but the feeling was eerily similar to their dream. “Do you think… our dream is based on a real place?” Kaelen asked, a strange feeling creeping over him.

“Maybe the place is just a setting,” Lyra said, her voice dropping to a hushed tone. “But what about the thing? The faceless man. That can’t be real.” Kaelen looked at the photo again, his mind racing. “What if it’s a story? An old town legend? Maybe we can find out more.” Lyra bit her lip, thinking. “There’s an old used bookstore downtown.

The owner, Mrs. Elm, knows everything about this city’s history. She’s kind of… mysterious. My mom says she’s been there forever.” A plan formed between them without another word. They would go to the bookstore.

They needed answers, and the dream itself seemed to be pointing them in a specific direction. Their shared nightmare was no longer just a curse; it was becoming a mystery they had to solve together.

Intentional Dreaming

The bell above the door of Elm’s Books jingled softly as Kaelen and Lyra stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of old paper and dust. Towers of books leaned precariously against every wall, and the narrow aisles were a maze of forgotten stories. Behind a cluttered counter sat an elderly woman with sharp, bright eyes that seemed to see everything at once.

This was Mrs. Elm.She watched them over the rim of her glasses as they approached. “Looking for something specific, dears? Or just browsing?” Her voice was like the rustle of pages turning.Lyra spoke up, her voice a little nervous. “We were hoping you could help us. We’re trying to find information on an old local market. The Night Market of Whispers?”

Mrs. Elm’s eyebrows rose slightly. She placed her book down slowly. “That is an old name. A very old name. Not many remember that. Why do you ask?”Kaelen and Lyra exchanged a quick glance. They had agreed on the way not to tell the whole strange truth. “A school project,” Kaelen said, the lie feeling clumsy on his tongue.

“On local history.”Mrs. Elm studied them for a long moment, her gaze lingering on the dark circles under their eyes. She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “A project. I see.” She stood up with a soft groan. “Follow me. The books you need are in the back. The oldest stories always are.”

She led them to a dim corner of the shop. She pulled a large, leather-bound book from a low shelf, its cover worn smooth with age. She opened it carefully. Inside were drawings and faded photographs. And there it was. A picture of the market from their dreams. The stalls were different, the people were smiling, but the layout, the narrow alleyways,

it was unmistakable.“It was a place of wonder,” Mrs. Elm said, her finger tracing the image. “People said you could find anything there. Toys that never broke, music boxes that played songs from your childhood… and other things. Rarer things.”“Like what?” Lyra asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Mrs. Elm looked at her. “Stories say you could find traders who dealt in less… tangible things. Thoughts. Memories.” She paused, letting the words hang in the dusty air. “Dreams.”Kaelen felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cool air of the shop. “Dreams?”“Oh yes,” the old woman said, her eyes glinting. “They said you could borrow a happy dream for a night or leave a bad one behind.

For a price, of course. Nothing valuable ever comes for free.” She closed the book with a soft thud. “But it’s just an old story. A fairy tale to scare children. The market closed down generations ago. It’s just a parking lot now.”

She turned to go back to her counter, then stopped. She looked back at them, her expression unreadable. “Be careful what you borrow, dears. And be careful what you search for. Some doors, once opened, are difficult to close.”

“And we’re sharing one,” Kaelen finished, the weight of it pressing down on him. “A bad one. One that was left behind.” He thought of Mrs. Elm’s words. ‘For a price.’ “What’s the price, Lyra? What are we paying by dreaming it every night?”

Kaelen stared at her. “Ask it? Lyra, it doesn’t have a face. It doesn’t have a voice. It’s a monster.”“It’s a memory,” Lyra insisted. “Mrs. Elm as much as said so. A bad dream that was left behind. Maybe it’s not chasing us to hurt us. Maybe it’s chasing us because it wants to be heard.”The idea was insane. It was also the only one they had.

That night, as Kaelen got into bed, his fear was mixed with a new purpose. He wasn’t a victim of the dream anymore. He was an investigator. He closed his eyes, focusing not on the word ‘courage,’ but on a new intention. Find the answer. Listen.The dream began.

The cold air. The dark market. The masks.He saw Lyra. She was already there, waiting for him. She didn’t look scared. She looked ready.The faceless figure emerged from the shadows. It began its swift, silent approach.Instead of holding hands to stand their ground, Lyra took a step forward.

Kaelen, his heart hammering against his ribs, stepped with her.They walked toward the thing that had terrorized them for months.It stopped moving, its blank face tilted in that same confusion.Lyra took a deep breath, her voice clear and strong in the dream silence.“What do you want?” she asked.

The faceless thing did not move. Then, the air around them grew cold. The masks on the walls began to shake. A sound, like a distant wind, began to grow louder. And in the wind, they heard a single, whispered word.

The figure raised a long, shapeless arm and pointed not at them, but past them, toward the deepest, darkest alley of the market.

The First Touch (Awake)

Kaelen’s fingers trembled as he typed his reply to Lyra. “Yes. I heard it. It said ‘mine.’” He hit send and stared at his phone screen, waiting. The single word from the dream echoed in his mind, carrying a weight of possession and sorrow that chilled him to the bone.

The reply came instantly. “It pointed. Did you see? It pointed to the alley.” Another message followed. “I’m scared. But I need to know. I can’t do this alone.”Kaelen didn’t even think. He called her. She picked up on the first ring, her breath shaky on the other end of the line. “Hello?”

“You’re not alone,” Kaelen said, his voice firm despite his own fear. “We’re in this together. Always.” He could hear her let out a small sigh of relief. “I can’t sleep now,” he continued. “Can you?”

“I know,” he said. “But the dream is over. We’re awake. And I… I need to see you. To know that we’re both okay.” He heard her take a deep breath. “Where?” she finally asked.

He saw a figure walking toward him under the yellow glow of a light pole. It was Lyra, bundled in a large coat, her hands buried deep in her pockets. She looked small and vulnerable, but her eyes were wide and alert. They stopped a few feet from each other, the silence of the night stretching between them.

“This is it,” Lyra said, her voice quiet in the vast emptiness. “It feels so strange to be here. Knowing what we know.”“It feels more like the dream than I thought it would,” Kaelen admitted, looking around at the dark outlines of buildings. The feeling of being watched was the same.

They stood in silence for a moment, the events of the dream hanging over them. The shared fear had created a bridge between them, and now, standing in the real world where it all began, that bridge felt incredibly strong.

Another step closer. Now they were only a foot apart. Kaelen could see the faint mist of her breath in the cold air. “That’s what brave is, Lyra. Being terrified but doing it anyway.”She finally looked up at him. The streetlight caught the tears welling in her eyes.

They weren’t tears of fear now, but of overwhelm, of exhaustion, of a connection so profound it hurt. Without thinking, driven by a need to comfort and to be comforted, Kaelen reached out.He didn’t take her hand. He gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away a tear that escaped down her cold skin.The touch was electric.

It was a hundred times more intense than in the dream. This was real. Her skin was soft under his thumb, warm despite the chill. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned into his touch, her eyes closing for a brief second as a shuddering breath escaped her lips.When her eyes opened again, they were looking directly into his, and the world, the parking lot, the past, the terrifying dreams,

all of it faded away. There was only her. Only them.His hand slid from her cheek to cradle the back of her neck. He leaned in slowly, giving her every chance to pull back, to stop him.She didn’t.

She rose onto her toes to meet him halfway.Their first kiss was not desperate or wild. It was soft. It was a question and an answer. It was a promise. It was a silent agreement that whatever they were facing, they would face it together. It was warmth in the cold night, solid ground after months of terrifying falls. It was real.

When they finally parted, they stayed close, their foreheads resting together, their breaths mingling in the space between them.No words were needed. The kiss had said everything. The connection they had feared was a curse had just become the most real and beautiful thing either of them had ever known.

The Dreamweaver's Truth

The world came back slowly. The feel of Lyra’s forehead against his, the soft sound of their breathing, the cold night air on his skin. Kaelen opened his eyes. Lyra’s eyes were still closed, a small, peaceful smile on her lips. He never wanted to move.But the real world had questions that needed answers.

The kiss had changed everything, but it hadn’t solved the mystery. It had only made solving it more urgent. They needed to be free of the nightmare to truly have each other.Lyra opened her eyes. They were clear and focused. “We have to go back,” she said softly. Her voice was steady. “We have to see what it was pointing to.”

Kaelen knew she was right. The dream was a lock. The thing, the memory, had given them a key. They had to use it. “Tonight,” he agreed. “Together.”

The transition was different. There was no sudden jerk into the market. The world faded in around him. He was already there. And Lyra was already by his side, her hand finding his instantly. Their grip was firm, certain. They were a team.The market was silent.

The faceless figure was there, but it did not approach. It stood at the mouth of the main alley, its blank head turned toward them. It was waiting.“It’s okay,” Lyra whispered, her voice strong in the eerie quiet. “We’re going to follow you.”As if it understood, the figure turned and glided down the main path. They followed, their footsteps making no sound.

The monster was no longer a hunter; it had become a silent guide. It led them away from the main stalls, down a narrower side alley they had always run past, and stopped before a small, forgotten stall tucked into a shadowy corner.

This stall was different. It wasn’t full of masks or trinkets. It was empty, except for a single, small wooden box sitting on the counter. The box was dark and old, carved with strange symbols that seemed to move in the dim light.The faceless figure pointed a long, shapeless arm at the box.

This is it.The thought entered both their minds at once, not in a voice, but as a shared certainty.Lyra reached out, her hand hovering over the box. She looked at Kaelen, a question in her eyes. He nodded, giving her the courage. She touched the lid.The moment her fingers made contact, the dream dissolved.

But they didn’t wake up.Instead, they were somewhere else. They were watching a scene unfold like a movie.A much younger Mrs. Elm, her hair dark and long, stood at the same stall. She looked sad. She held the same small box. A man was with her, his face blurred and indistinct. They were arguing, their voices muffled as if heard through water.“I cannot keep it!” the young Mrs. Elm cried, her voice full of pain. “It hurts too much. The memory of us… it’s a nightmare now. I need to forget. I need to leave it behind.”The man said something they couldn’t hear, reaching for her. She pulled away, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. She opened the box. A wisp of dark, smoky light floated from it, carrying a feeling of immense sadness and betrayal. It was the essence of a broken heart, a ruined love, a nightmare made from a beautiful memory turned painful.

The scene shifted. Years passed. The market closed. The box was forgotten, buried under progress and time. But the sealed nightmare within it… it festered. It grew lonely. It longed to be remembered, to be felt, to be acknowledged. Its energy seeped out, finding two young, nearby hearts that were open and receptive, one who dreamed deeply, and one who felt like an outsider.

It pulled them in, night after night, making them feel its pain, making them share the burden of a sorrow that was not theirs.The vision ended.Kaelen and Lyra were back in the dream market, standing before the stall. The box was gone. The faceless figure was still there, but its shape was softening, becoming less solid. The air around it shimmered with a deep, profound sadness, but the malice was gone. It was just lost. It was just hurt.

It wasn’t a monster. It was a heartache.It looked at them both, and for the first time, they felt its emotion clearly. It was an apology. And a plea for release.Then, it faded away, dissolving into the dark air like mist.The dream began to break apart around them, the market crumbling into light.Kaelen’s eyes opened.

His clock read 3:17.His phone buzzed. It was Lyra. He answered it.He could hear her crying softly on the other end. But they weren’t tears of fear.“It was never ours,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “It was hers. She left it behind, and we found it.” “We have to see her,” Kaelen said, the solution now clear. “We have to give it back.”

Our Dreams, Our Own

The bell above the door of Elm’s Books jingled, but this time it did not sound friendly. It sounded like a warning. Kaelen and Lyra walked in, hand in hand. Their grip was tight, a silent promise of solidarity. They had faced a nightmare together. They could face this.Mrs. Elm was at her counter, polishing an old brass lamp.

She looked up as they entered, and her polite shopkeeper’s smile faded when she saw their faces. She saw the determination in their eyes. She saw that they knew.She didn’t pretend. She simply sighed, a sound of deep, old weariness, and put the cloth down. “You went back,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

“We saw,” Lyra replied, her voice clear and strong. “We saw you. At the market. You put your pain in a box and you left it there.”Mrs. Elm’s shoulders slumped. The mysterious, powerful old woman was gone, replaced by someone tired and filled with regret. “I was young,” she whispered, her eyes looking at something far away.

“The hurt was too much to carry. The market… it offered a way to forget. A temporary trade. You leave the bad dream behind, and for a little while, you get peace. But you can never truly leave it. It waits. And it calls for someone to feel it, to share the weight.”

Tears welled in the old woman’s eyes. “I am so sorry,” she said, and the words were heavy with genuine sorrow. “I never meant for it to find anyone. Especially not children. The price was always meant to be mine alone to pay… eventually.”“What is the price?” Lyra asked.“To take it back,” Mrs. Elm said, looking at her wrinkled hands. “To finally be brave enough to feel that old hurt again.

To remember what I was so desperate to forget. I have been hiding from it for a lifetime. I was a coward.”Kaelen and Lyra looked at each other. They saw the old woman’s shame and pain. Their anger softened. They had faced the dream together. She had faced it alone for decades.

It’s not ours to carry,” Lyra said gently but firmly. “It’s yours. We brought it back to you.”

The sun was streaming through his window. He smiled.His phone buzzed. A message from Lyra. “I slept. I dreamed about a talking cat. It was wonderful.”He typed back, “Me too. No market. No fear. Just… sleep.”There was a pause before her next message came. “It’s over. But… what about us?”Kaelen’s smile didn’t fade. He knew the answer. The dreams had been the bridge, but they were not the foundation. What they had built on that bridge was real.

He called her. “Meet me at the park,” he said. “Our bench.”

Lyra’s eyes filled with happy tears. The worry vanished from her face, replaced by a brilliant, joyful smile. “I like the real you, too, Kaelen.”He leaned in and kissed her, right there in the sunlight. It was even better than the first time. There was no fear, no cold, no rushing. There was only the warm, gentle certainty of a new beginning.

They pulled apart, resting their foreheads together, just as they had in the parking lot.“So,” Lyra said, her voice playful. “What should we dream about tonight?”Kaelen laughed, a real, free, happy laugh. “I don’t know,” he said. “But I know they’ll be our own dreams. And maybe… maybe we can just tell each other about them in the morning.” And for the first time in a long time, the future was not a dark market to be feared. It was a bright, open road, and they would walk it together. Awake.

THE END

To my dear readers,

We’ve reached the end of Kaelen and Lyra’s journey, and my heart is so full. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for reading their story. Thank you for following them into the dark market, for holding your breath during the chases, and for hoping with them for a happy ending.A special thank you to everyone who shared their theories, thoughts, and kind words in the comments. You didn’t just read this story; you became a part of it. Your excitement and curiosity made writing it even more magical.I hope this tale of borrowed dreams and found courage stayed with you. Remember, the most beautiful connections are often built on bravery, understanding, and the choice to face things together.With all my love and gratitude. AUTHOR PARK JIAN 💖