Chapter 38: The First Meeting
674 Words
The day passed slower than Isabelle expected.
Every hour felt stretched with anticipation.
She tried to focus on her usual routine—answering emails, organizing her workspace, making coffee—but her thoughts kept drifting back to one thing.
Tonight.
Tonight she would finally meet Daniel.
Not in a dream.
Not in the glowing city by the river.
But in the real world.
She looked at the clock again and sighed.
“Still three hours,” she murmured.
Across the city, Daniel wasn’t having an easier time either.
He paced around his apartment, checking his phone every few minutes even though there were no new messages.
He had imagined this moment many times.
But somehow the real thing felt far more nerve-racking.
Meeting someone in a dream was easy.
Meeting them face to face was different.
Daniel stopped pacing and looked at the faint mark on his hand again.
It shimmered briefly before fading.
“The Dream Core really meant it,” he said quietly.
By evening, the sky over Paris turned golden as the sun slowly set.
Isabelle stood in front of her mirror, adjusting her jacket.
She didn’t want to look like she had spent too much time preparing—but she definitely had.
Her heart was racing.
“Okay,” she told herself softly. “You’ve explored an entire dream world with him. You can handle meeting him.”
She grabbed her bag and stepped outside.
The air was cool and filled with the soft sounds of evening traffic and distant laughter.
As Isabelle walked through the glowing streets of the city, the lights of the famous landmark ahead began to appear.
The towering silhouette of the Eiffel Tower rose against the night sky.
Her footsteps slowed as she approached the plaza.
People moved around her—tourists taking photos, couples walking hand in hand, street musicians playing soft melodies.
But Isabelle only looked for one person.
Daniel.
Her phone buzzed.
Daniel:
I’m here.
Isabelle looked up quickly.
Her heart pounded louder.
She scanned the crowd.
Then she saw him.
Standing near one of the railings, looking just slightly nervous but smiling as he spotted her.
For a moment, time seemed to pause.
Because he looked exactly like the man from her dreams.
Same warm eyes.
Same calm smile.
Daniel took a few steps closer.
“So… you’re real.”
Isabelle laughed softly, relief and excitement mixing together.
“I was just about to say the same thing.”
They stood there for a second, both unsure what to say next.
Then Daniel rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“This is a lot less dramatic than meeting in a glowing dream city.”
Isabelle grinned.
“True. But this version feels a lot more important.”
The lights of the Eiffel Tower shimmered above them, illuminating the plaza with golden light.
Daniel looked at her thoughtfully.
“You know… when the dream started, I thought it was just something strange my brain invented.”
Isabelle nodded.
“Me too.”
“But now…”
Daniel glanced down at the faint mark on his hand.
“Now I think it was leading us here all along.”
Isabelle followed his gaze and looked at her own hand.
For a brief second, the glowing mark appeared again.
Daniel noticed it too.
“So it’s still connected.”
Isabelle smiled.
“The dream world isn’t finished with us yet.”
Daniel laughed quietly.
“I had a feeling you’d say that.”
They began walking slowly beneath the tower lights, the city glowing around them.
For the first time, they weren’t just two people sharing a dream.
They were two people sharing the same moment in reality.
And somehow…
It felt even more magical than the dream world they had built together.
But deep inside both of them, the faint glowing mark still pulsed softly.
A quiet reminder that their story wasn’t over yet.
Because the dream had followed them into the real world.
And no one knew what would happen next.
- Writer
