I was in love.

At least, that's how it felt.

I could still remember vividly the taste of his lips, the scent of his hair, and the way his eyes sparkled when looking at me. It was one of those moments that felt like it could last forever, and yet, it was over in the blink of an eye.

It had been so hard to let him go.

Almost as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest, and I was left standing there, alone and confused.

It made sense, I knew something had been wrong the second i wasn't allowed to get down the bus, and now he knew that too. I wasn't sure what it was at the time, but the feeling was unmistakable.

For some time I tried to force myself to fall asleep, the same way that I had done before, in a stupid attempt to wake up. But it was all in vain. It was as if life was conspiring against me and didn't want me to return to the real world. I felt like I had been banished to this dreamland forever.

I couldn't help but wonder what it all meant. Why was I stuck in this limbo? Was there some kind of message that my mind was trying to convey to me?

The loneliness was overwhelming whenever he wasn't there with me. It was as if my subconscious had become a separate entity, a world of its own.

Lonely at first, when the shadows weren't around.

After a while, they finally came back, as if everything that's bad has a way of returning. They walked slowly, as if trying to reach the air in front of them, trying to make their way towards me. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I watched them approach.

I attempted to do what Jasper had done, to invoke another subway car out of sheer will, but it seemed like I was never the one of the two that could control my dreams. It was as if the power was beyond my grasp, and I was left feeling helpless and vulnerable. Perhaps there was a way to tap into the power of my subconscious mind and unlock its full potential, to harness the energy within me and use it to manifest my desires into reality.

So I took a deep breath and started walking, trying to keep my pace steady and my mind focused. I had read in a book that, if you're afraid and start running, is like letting fear control you. It's so stupid how I was able to remember that detail but not much else about my life. With one foot in front of the other, I tried to reach the opposite side of the station.

They were right behind me, a cold energy trying to engulf me. My mind raced with questions as I tried to comprehend the situation. Who were they? What did they want from me? Were they some kind of supernatural beings tasked with protecting the realm of dreams? It seemed very possible, considering the surreal landscape that surrounded me.

Perhaps, I had unknowingly stumbled into their territory, and now they were determined to remove me from their world.

Or maybe, they were simply curious about my presence and wanted to learn more about me. Regardless of their intentions, I felt uneasiness wash over me as their energy grew stronger with each passing moment.

The further I walked, the more the station seemed to transform. The walls began to peel and the once pristine floors became covered in trash and debris. The feeling of being in an old, abandoned place began to sink in and I couldn't help but feel the loneliness of it.

With each step, I looked around hoping to find any sign of life or direction. Unfortunately, the situation only seemed to worsen as I realized that all the exits were either boarded up or shrouded in shadows. It was as if I was trapped in a place that had been forgotten by the world.

As I stood there, trying to make sense of my surroundings, a feeling of panic began to settle in. It was as if a dark cloud was forming inside me, growing larger with each passing second.

What if I was trapped there forever? What if I was never able to find my way back to reality?

The more I tried to push it away, the more it seemed to swallow me whole. My mind was racing with questions, all of them leading to the same terrifying conclusion.

But I couldn't give up. I had to find a way out, no matter how long it took or how hard it was.

And I wish I could say I found a tunnel of light, or created a portal with my mind and became the master of my own dreams. I wish Jasper had appeared right then and there. But no. The only thing I felt was a tug on my wrist, then one on the back part of my shirt.

One by one, the shadowy silhouettes started consuming me. My heart raced as I struggled to scream, but my voice was trapped in my throat. I tried to cry, but my eyes were dry as the freezing grasp of the shadows that pinched me relentlessly.

The darkness seemed to grow thicker and thicker around me, suffocating me until there was nothing left but the all-consuming void.

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the darkness that had been chasing me for so long. Tired of running, tired of fighting.

More flashbacks, more disorderly thought that wanted to make sense but really didn't.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally mustered up the courage to open my eyes. To my surprise, the shadows that had been haunting me were nowhere to be found. I couldn't believe it - the subway station that I had entered just hours before was gone. In its place, I found myself in the midst of the most bizarre and surreal landscape I had ever seen.

It was as if reality had been warped and twisted in ways that I couldn't even begin to imagine.

The trees in front of me were tall and skinny, reaching up to the sky with no leaves on their branches. They seemed to have been standing there for centuries, guarding the land from intruders. The sky above was dark and gloomy, as if a storm was coming. The air was thick with fog that reminded me of the day Jasper and I started talking, when the world around us was shrouded in mystery.

As I looked around, I realized that the trees had eyes in their bark. They looked uncanny and almost alive, like they were watching me and communicating with each other in their own language.

The feeling became worse and worse, something was still not right. Although I was relieved that there were no more icy hands pulling and tugging at me, I still wasn't entirely sure if it was for better or for worse.

However, I realized I needed to find the courage to keep going for my own mental health. Staying in one spot with all those eyes watching made me feel defenseless. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up.

So I breathed deeply, took a step forward, and continued to investigate the area, with my heart racing and my thoughts spinning with both positive and negative possibilities.

I started to walk through the forest, looking for any sign of life or civilization. But all I could see were more of those eerie trees, their unblinking eyes staring down at me from every possible direction. The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of my footsteps on the forest floor. Each step seemed to echo through the trees, a reminder that I was completely alone once again.

Only dirt and branches, not a single leaf, not a piece of green that made it at least more bearable.

The only source of light came not from the dark, cloudy sky overhead, but from the glowing wood that surrounded me. It was an eerie sight, and I couldn't quite decide how I felt about it. On one hand, the glow was beautiful in its own unique way, casting an otherworldly aura over everything in the forest. On the other hand, it was a stark reminder that I was trapped in an insane nightmare.

I walked for what felt like hours, my sense of unease growing stronger by the minute.

As I walked, my heart was pounding so hard that I could hear the beating in my ears. My palms were sweating profusely, and my legs felt like lead. My mind was racing with thoughts of what could be waiting for me just beyond my line of sight. Was it a person? An animal? Or something even more sinister?

Despite the overwhelming sense of danger, I knew I had to keep moving forward. My survival instincts were kicking in, and I reminded myself that panic would only make things worse. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind, focusing on the sound of my own footsteps and the rhythm of my breathing.

The minutes seemed to stretch into eternity until my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the distance. It was a little sparkle, almost like a beacon of hope, that hung from a tree branch. The glimmer seemed to be calling out to me, promising answers to at least some of my questions.

As I inched closer to it, I noticed the curious stares of all the eyes around me, but I couldn't help myself and grabbed the little trinket anyways. It felt oddly satisfying to have something tangible to hold onto, something that could potentially lead me to the answers I was seeking.

Right then my knees faltered and I felt dizzy, my vision became blurry.

Slowly, the puzzle pieces that existed only as fragments in my mind began to fit together. It was a difficult and agonizing process, but piece by piece, I remembered the face of my mother and the day she gifted me the beautiful necklace I was holding in my hand. As my memories returned, I was able to recollect more and more details about my childhood - from my last name to the house where I spent my early years.

When my vision came back I saw something else sparkle, something different. Little by little I started realizing where all these objects were, and they had to be important.

A teddy bear, my first MP3 player, a torn notebook paper. I had to sit on the floor for a couple of times, just because the weight all those memories beared inside my brain was so big. The last one, a little tricycle, started rolling farther and farther away until I had to run to finally reach it.

It stopped right in front of a well, and being the nosy girl I was, I leaned over to see the bottom and fell right through it.

That must have been exactly what Alice must have felt when she first went down the rabbit hole. I just hoped my Wonderland wouldn't have murderous queens nor weird pig babies that couldn't stop crying.

I plummeted faster and faster, screaming until my lungs hurt. Felt the wind rushing towards my face, drying out my eyeballs. It was a terrifying sensation, as if the very air around me was conspiring to suffocate me.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I landed with a splash in a saltwater pond. As soon as I emerged from the water, gasping for air, I couldn't help but notice the way the water sparkled in the sunlight, much like the objects related to my memories.

I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. The walls of the well had dissipated and I was finally outside again. The water was salty, and the sky was a mix of pink and purple, creating a beautiful sight that I couldn't help but admire

After all this time, calm washed over me as I took in the breathtaking view, as if I had finally found my way home. It was a feeling of belonging that I couldn't quite explain, like I had been searching for this place my whole life.

Still unsure how I had done it, I had managed to find my way directly into my own dreams.

It was inexplicable, how I could feel I belonged so much to a place that wasn't even real, but it was the closest thing to home I had in that moment. And I loved it. A sense of familiarity, of deja-vu, surrounded me. And with it, everything else.

I in the center of a small, tranquil lake, surrounded by a vibrant display of red flowers blooming on the banks.

The water was dense and still, and I could walk in it without any issue, so I did. I made my way to the border of the lake and sat on the soft grass. As I breathed deeply, I found myself trying to make sense of everything that had been going on lately. It was then that I noticed the flowers scattered around me, each one a different shade of red, each petal a unique shape.

I reached out and plucked one from its stem, examining it closely and taking in its sweet fragrance.

The small flower made a whimpering sound when I plucked it, and almost immediately a calmer version of the thought rush I had felt before in the forest came to me. A short memory of my first day at work.

Curious, I grabbed another one and the same thing happened. So at least I knew what to do.

One by one I started plucking my memories and reliving them, again and again, almost as if my life was flashing in front of my eyes. Good, bad ones, some things I wished I didn't remember.

But one of them was different from the rest, and it brought an insane realization to my mind.

I was able remember it vividly, that day when I boarded the bus. I was feeling exhausted and drained, my mind consumed by the events of the day. As I made my way down the aisle in search of a seat, a guy caught my attention.

His hair was a beautiful shade of black, with grey streaks that had clearly been carefully crafted, perhaps in a high-end salon. The boy's eyebrows were thick and perfectly shaped, framing his striking features. What I remember most about him, however, was his scent. He smelled like old books, the kind you find tucked away in a dusty library corner, waiting to be rediscovered.

He recognized me, but I didn't.

And at that moment I realized something had been missing that whole time.

The incipient beard Jasper had at that moment was reminiscing of him right before he left on the subway car, something in his eyes told me that we had met before.

I let myself fall into the grass for a second when it came to me: we were fucking out of sync.

He was probably experiencing that exact moment right then. That's why I was so confused. That's why he felt so certain. I didn't recognize him, because for some reason, we hadn't met just yet. It was an absurd time paradox that felt like it should have taken place in an animated drama.

But as much as I wanted the memories to stop flooding my brain, they didn't. And the sudden realization of the truth hit me so hard my eyes teared up. I wished that information about him had been the most surprising of them all, the last puzzle piece. But it seemed that my fear of not being able to wake up was more than just some stupid thought.

I was in danger.

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