It all felt too real to dismiss as a dream. Every night, as soon as you drifted to sleep, you found yourself in the same place, with the same man—a man named Ian. Together, you shared laughter over candlelit dinners, took long walks in sunlit parks, and lived in a beautiful apartment filled with warmth and laughter. Ian treated you like royalty, making sure you never lacked for anything. Slowly, your heart had become his, entirely. And each morning, you’d wake with a hollow ache in your chest, counting the hours until nightfall.

But tonight was different. When you closed your eyes, the dream didn’t come. No Ian, no shared apartment—just an ordinary, colorless dream, easily forgotten. The next night was the same, and the nights after that. Confusion gnawed at you, then disappointment. You reminded yourself that none of it was real. Dreams are illusions, after all. Weren’t they?

Until one day. You were out for a walk in the park when you saw him—exactly him. Ian. You stopped in your tracks, your heart thundering as you tried to make sense of the impossible sight. Every rational part of you screamed to turn away, to avoid making a fool of yourself. But in spite of everything, you found yourself moving toward him.

“Ian?” you called out, the word escaping before you could think twice. He turned, his eyes widening as they met yours, recognition dawning. He stepped closer, his gaze never leaving yours, his breath catching.

“You… you were real?”

He spoke, his voice low and familiar, exactly as it had sounded in the dreams.

And in that surreal moment, you both realized the truth. This wasn’t a coincidence; you had both dreamed of each other, night after night.