Dr. Mira Feld sat at her desk, sifting through a stack of patient notes. Her latest session with Julian had been strange—stranger than usual. Julian was a prolific dreamer, prone to intricate stories of soaring mountains, glittering oceans, and cities made of crystal. He claimed these dreams weren’t mere fantasies but places he visited. She’d written it off as an elaborate metaphor for his loneliness.

Until last night.

Mira’s sleep was always shallow, tinged with the echoes of her patients’ troubled minds. But last night, her dreams weren’t hers. She had been in a lush meadow, the air thick with the scent of jasmine and the hum of life. Julian had been there, waiting. His voice wasn’t disjointed like a dream’s. It was clear, calm, real.

“You’re finally here,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for years.”

Mira awoke gasping, her heart racing. The dream was unlike any she had ever experienced. It wasn’t until Julian’s next session that her suspicions turned to certainty.

“I’m a dreamwalker,” he confessed, watching her carefully. “It’s why I came to you. I’ve been building that place for us. I thought you’d notice eventually.”

“For us?” she asked.

Julian smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a warmth that unsettled her. “You’ve been a part of it all along. Your subconscious fills the gaps, breathes life into it. That meadow? The flowers? That’s you.”

Mira’s rational mind rebelled. Dreamwalking was impossible. Shared dreaming, ridiculous. And yet, she felt it—the pull of that world, the unmistakable familiarity. Julian wasn’t lying. Her training screamed at her to end the session, to refer him elsewhere. But her heart remembered.

“What happens now?” she asked.

Julian leaned forward, his voice laced with urgency. “I’ve found a way to cross over. Permanently. But I need your help.”

“Cross over? You’re talking about … leaving your body?”

Julian nodded. “It’s the only way we can be together. But there’s risk. If I succeed, I might not wake up in the real world. But if I fail …” He trailed off, leaving the unspoken implication hanging between them.

Mira’s mind raced. The ethical implications, the danger, the undeniable allure of that meadow where she had felt truly alive for the first time in years. But could she really help Julian abandon his corporeal life for a dream?

“Why me?” she asked at last.

“Because you’re the only one who believes. Deep down, you’ve always known.”

That night, Mira drifted to sleep with trepidation. The meadow welcomed her, vibrant and alive. Julian stood waiting by the crystal-clear lake, holding out his hand. This time, she didn’t hesitate.

The boundary between dream and reality blurred as she took his hand. Julian smiled, but it was tinged with sorrow. “If this works, I’ll see you soon. If it doesn’t … promise me you’ll keep dreaming.”

When Mira woke, she knew something was different. The air felt heavier, her limbs sluggish. Julian didn’t show up for his next session—or the one after that. She checked the news, her stomach twisting when she saw the headline: Local Man in Coma After Unexplained Incident.

Days turned into weeks. Mira returned to her life, but the dreams never stopped. The meadow grew wilder, more vibrant, and always, Julian waited.

Until one night, he wasn’t waiting anymore. He was there, standing in her living room.

“You did it,” Mira whispered.

Julian smiled, his presence as solid as the ground beneath her feet. “I told you. All you had to do was believe.”

Mira reached for him, her fingers brushing against his warm skin. But even as joy surged through her, she couldn’t shake the feeling that their connection had come at a cost—a cost she had yet to fully understand.

And in the shadows of her dreams, something began to stir.

The End