The Dream

Chase suddenly woke up by the sound of somebody crying. He slowly forced his eyes open, only to see, that it was still dark outside. He sat half-way up and let his hand search along the bed, till he encountered what he was looking for. He felt his girlfriends body twitch as his hand touched her naked back and slid up to her shoulder. He carefully pulled her close and kissed her neck, to let her know, that he was awake. “Baby, are you okay?” he whispered almost as if he was afraid of waking anybody, even though they were all alone in the house. She just nod. “I'm fine, I'm sorry if I woke you up. Just go back to sleep.” He could hear that she was lying. He pulled her closer and held her tight. “What's wrong? Why are you crying?” He could almost feel how she was fighting to hold back her tears, as she attempted to utter the words that would answer his questions. “I had Hunter's dream,” she said before bursting back into tears. He caressed her shoulder and arm to help her calm down and to let her know, that he was there. “Hunter? Your brother?” He could feel her nod again while she wiped away her tears. “One day, a few years ago, Hunter came into my room to tell me about an odd dream that he had had that night.” She took a deep breath before she could continue. “He had been dreaming that he had been walking through the forest, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, this old man had appeared. The man had approached him and gave him a riddle: 'The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?' After thinking for a few minutes Hunter had told the old man that he didn't know it. The old man had just smiled and answered that of course he didn't know it, but he would need it in two days. Then, right before Hunter woke up, the man had touched Hunter's forehead with the tip of his finger and Hunter had fallen onto the ground and died right there.” Chase could feel her shaking and he pulled the cover further over her even though he was pretty sure that it wasn't because she was cold. “Two days later, Hunter was hit by a car and killed.” It was almost impossible for her to utter the last couple of words, as tears began falling from her eyes again. “And now I just had the exact same dream. And I even knew the answer, but I didn't know it in the dream!” She was getting hysterical. Chase wrapped his arms around her and shushed her. “Honey, you know that that was just a coincidence. That's not going to happen to you.” She sniffled. “Then how did the man know that Hunter would die after two days? Huh?” He sigh. “I admit, it's very odd, but nevertheless a coincidence. It is not going to happen to you baby. You probably just had the dream because Hunter's birthday is coming up and you've been thinking of him a lot and probably the dream too. I promise you, you are not going to die.” He kissed her cheek. “You and I are going to grow old together, okay? You're stuck with me for the rest of your life. From now on, every morning that you are going to wake up for at least the next sixty or seventy years, my face will be the first you see. And trust me, I'm not that easy to get rid of. And when I get old, you'll hear me complain about everything all the time, especially the young people who has no respect for the elderly!” She laughed. He smiled and kissed her cheek again. “Don't worry angel, you'll be perfectly fine.” He lied back down, still with his arms wrapped around her and told her to try and get some sleep. After about 10 minutes her breathing became relaxed and calm, and after about 5 more minutes, she had fallen asleep. He finally allowed himself to close his eyes and fall asleep.

5 days later, he went to her funeral.