It was not long after I had fallen asleep when a scene appeared before me. The sky was dark, but it was bright all around as if it wasn't night at all. Nothing laid beyond, not even the stars nor the moon. Fairy lights illuminated the area, hanging from tree to tree in whimsical dips and sways, and a cloth canopy draped below the sky. I stood in a small backyard, I realized, where artificial turf covered the ground and the faded wood fence rose high above my head.

I stood alone with only the emptiness before me and a somber chill seeping into my core. All was quiet, and I couldn't even hear the wind that brushed against my face. But it was at that moment where everything changed as heat touched my cheek.

"You're here!" called a voice to my right.

I turned to see who it was, curious and glad to know I wasn't alone. There was a boy amongst a pile of pillows and blankets. He smiled, a gentle grin pulling at his cheeks as his honey brown eyes blazed with mirth, and the silent breeze tousled his dark hair. In an instant, I knew I was looking at an old friend.

"Hello," I said as a smile crept onto my face.

"Well, don't just stand there," he laughed. "We have a lot to catch up on."

So I approached him, slipping off my shoes and stepping carefully onto the comfy arrangement. He held out his hand for me to take, and as I grasped it, I felt the chill from before running out of my body, slowly being replaced by the radiant warmth of belonging.

I will never know how long I stayed there. Time warped into something unreal, both fast and slow and never-ending. We talked for hours and laughed at what fools we both were. I told him about my life, and he listened as if he never wished to miss a single detail. He held me when I cried.

It was when the dawn began to chase away the moonless sky did I realize our time would soon end.

He also knew what the day would bring as he took my hand once again with a melancholy smile. "We both know you will forget me once you awaken."

I did, and it broke my heart bit by bit. All those times in every dream, whether I looked through his eyes or he saw through mine, we were one and the same. I was him, and he was I. He stood by my side at every step, even during my waking hours. But I never recognized him, not until now.

I knew the next time I saw him, he would be a stranger to me.

I struggled to speak around the lump in my throat. "I know."

"I wish it weren't so, but that was never our decision." His grip tightened as he slowly faded away. The chill returned. "But I'm happy. I'm happy to still be here with you, and it's a promise that I will continue to be there, whether just a face on the street or your closest friend in any of your dreams. I will always be there for you. So...perhaps you will remember me again?"

I couldn't answer. All I could do was wait until the world returned to darkness as it was. His hand let go of mine, and my eyes opened to look up at my ceiling. There were still a few hours before dawn truly arrived. A tear ran down my cheek.

No, I knew I would not remember him. That was not how we were made to be.

I was never meant to remember the boy in my mind.