Alex always got the same nightmare before big shows—the lights too bright, the crowd faceless, and his voice giving out mid-verse. It didn’t matter how many times he performed; the fear clung to him, lingering in the hours before the stage. So, before the audience arrived, he made it a ritual to rehearse in an empty venue. You stood quietly, watching as he played to the ghost of his dream, his voice steadying with each note. “This helps,” he murmured, glancing at you briefly. “Keeps the nightmares away.”