I didn't go back to sleep after that dream.
The sky outside my apartment was still dark, and the faint sound of rain tapping against the window made the silence feel heavier than usual. I sat on the edge of my bed for a long time, trying to calm my breathing.
It was strange.
This wasn't the first time I had seen her.
For the past three months, the same girl had appeared in my dreams again and again. Sometimes we were walking together through crowded streets. Sometimes we sat near a lake, talking for hours as if we had known each other forever.
And every single time, I woke up before I could learn her name.
At first, I ignored it.
People dream about strangers all the time. That's normal.
But what scared me wasn't the dream itself.
It was the feeling I carried after waking up.
The loneliness.
The emptiness.
As if someone important had just left my life all over again.
I rubbed my tired eyes and stood up from the bed. The digital clock beside me showed 5:17 AM. There was no point trying to sleep now.
I walked toward the kitchen and switched on the light. The apartment looked exactly the same as always—small dining table, unwashed coffee mug near the sink, books scattered across the couch.
A normal apartment.
A normal life.
Yet recently, nothing about my life felt normal anymore.
While making coffee, I accidentally looked at my reflection in the microwave door.
For a second, I froze.
The exhaustion on my face was obvious. Dark circles under my eyes. Messy hair. Sleeplessness had slowly become a habit after my mother passed away last year.
People often say time heals grief.
I don't think it does.
Time just teaches you how to carry it quietly.
My phone suddenly vibrated on the counter.
Kabir.
I answered immediately.
"You're awake already?" he asked. "Or did you never sleep?"
I smiled weakly. "You know me too well."
"That means you didn't sleep."
"Not really."
Kabir sighed dramatically. "One day, your insomnia is going to kill you."
"Good morning to you too."
That finally made him laugh.
Kabir had been my closest friend since college. He was the kind of person who could talk to anyone without effort, while I preferred silence most of the time.
We were complete opposites somehow still friends.
"You're coming today, right?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're skipping work again."
"I'm coming."
"Good. And please try to behave like a human being today. Last time you ignored customers for ten minutes because you were staring at rain outside the window."
"I was thinking."
"You were dissociating."
"That sounds worse."
"It is worse."
I laughed softly for the first time that morning.
After ending the call, I got ready and left for work.
The city looked washed clean after the rain.
People hurried along the sidewalks with umbrellas in their hands while street vendors reopened their small stalls one by one. The smell of wet soil mixed with fresh coffee drifting out of cafés.
Normally, I liked mornings like this.
But today, my mind kept returning to her.
The girl from the dream.
I could still remember her smile clearly.
That bothered me the most.
Dreams are supposed to fade after waking up.
Why wasn't she fading?
By the time I reached the bookstore, Kabir was already there, sitting near the counter with a sandwich in his hand.
"You look terrible," he said immediately.
"Thank you."
"You seriously need therapy."
"I seriously need coffee."
Kabir pushed a paper cup toward me. "Already bought one."
I looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you being nice?"
"Because you look one bad day away from becoming the villain in a psychological drama."
I shook my head, smiling slightly.
The bookstore slowly became busy as the morning passed. Most customers were students from the nearby university. Some came for novels, others only for the quiet atmosphere.
Around noon, a girl entered the shop.
At first, I didn't pay attention.
Then she walked past my shelf.
And my entire body went still.
White sweater.
Long dark hair.
The same eyes.
My heartbeat suddenly became uneven.
It was her.
The girl from my dreams.
She stood near the fiction section, quietly reading the back cover of a book as if nothing was unusual.
Meanwhile, my mind had completely stopped working.
This wasn't possible.
Dreams don't become real.
Kabir noticed my expression immediately. "What happened to you?"
I couldn't answer.
My eyes stayed fixed on her.
"Arjun?"
"She's here," I whispered.
"Who?"
"The girl."
Kabir frowned. "What girl?"
But before I could explain, the girl looked up.
For the first time, our eyes met in real life.
And strangely—
She looked just as shocked as I was.
The book slipped slightly from her hand.
For a few seconds, neither of us moved.
It felt less like meeting a stranger and more like remembering someone I had lost a long time ago.
Then she slowly walked toward the counter.
Toward me.
I could hear my own heartbeat.
"You…" I finally managed to say.
But she spoke first.
"Do I know you?"
Her voice was exactly the same.
Soft.
Calm.
Familiar enough to hurt.
"I…" My throat suddenly felt dry. "I think I've seen you before."
A faint crease appeared between her brows. "Where?"
"In my dreams."
The moment those words left my mouth, I regretted them.
Kabir looked horrified beside me.
The girl blinked once in surprise.
Then, unexpectedly—
She laughed.
Not loudly.
Not mockingly.
Just softly.
And the moment she smiled, I felt the exact same peace I had felt in every dream.
"I think," she said gently, "that's the strangest introduction I've ever received."
I should've felt embarrassed.
Instead, I couldn't stop staring at her.
Because somewhere deep inside me, a painful feeling kept growing stronger.
I knew her.
Not from dreams.
Not from imagination.
But from somewhere real.
Somewhere my mind had forgotten…
but my heart still remembered.
Before leaving, she bought a novel and paused near the door.
Then she turned back toward me.
"By the way," she said with a small smile, "my name is Meera."
Meera.
The moment I heard her name, another memory flashed inside my mind.
Rain falling heavily.
Someone holding my hand tightly.
A voice crying while saying—
"Please don't forget me again…"
A sharp pain shot through my head.
I grabbed the counter for support.
"Arjun?" Kabir said worriedly.
But I barely heard him.
Because when I looked up again—
Meera was still standing near the door.
Watching me with the same sadness I had seen in my dreams.