The intense eyes snared her attention. Evelyn had only ever seen them in the night. The man in the gray silk suit walked the hectic urban street, deftly navigating the throngs like a cutter to the sea. As he approached, it seemed for an instant, he knew her, but no. Not here. The stranger was the man of her dreams, not of this waking world.

Following him across the bridge, she slowed as he stopped to gaze into the harbor as if seeking a ship about to set sail. He spoke without turning his head, “Have we met?”

Many times. “No,” not here.

Evelyn joined him leaning against the parapet. “What are you searching for?”

“A purpose, I suppose. I’ve built a life, a business, but this morning I woke adrift. Like I’d been cut loose from my moorings.”

Evelyn didn’t speak. She’d said all that needed saying last night when she’d finally found him manning a lighthouse, directing dreams safely past terrors hidden beneath the surface. She’d told him, “If you exist in the waking world, find me. There exist more perilous waters and more jagged shores than these.”

In the dream, he’d been startled and confused by her appearance, but he’d agreed.

And here he was.

He turned to her. “I’ve unknowingly slipped through my days without direction.”

“And now?”

“I want more, to explore, to navigate great oceans, not petty boardrooms.”

“Then come with me,” Evelyn linked her arm with his. “It’s about time you woke up.”

Photo by Johannes Plenio