The Lost Students
Chapter 5: "The Dream Boy"
Night fell over the school, and silence settled across the halls. Everyone was fast asleep—except Fatima, who was stirred by a faint, unclear sound. She opened her eyes slowly, got out of bed, and tiptoed out, following the mysterious noise.
Her curiosity led her to the school courtyard. She stood in the middle of the eerie darkness, glancing left and right—but found no one. Just as she was about to head back, the sound echoed again, louder and clearer this time. She turned swiftly—and saw a boy standing at a distance, staring at her.
She walked toward him cautiously, but he suddenly turned around and ran. Fatima followed him, unable to resist the urge to find out who he was. She chased him until she reached a large hall with its doors tightly shut.
Suddenly, the boy appeared behind her and whispered with a shaky, broken voice:
"Don't go into that hall."
Fatima stepped back slightly, surprised.
"Why? What's in there?" she asked.
He didn't answer. He just repeated his warning, his voice raspy:
"Don't… go in…"
Then—Fatima jolted awake, her heart pounding wildly. It was just a dream… or so she told herself. Yet, she couldn't shake the image from her mind. She stepped outside, breathing in the crisp morning air, the dream still looping in her head.
As if drawn by an unseen force, her feet led her to the same place the boy had pointed to in her dream. She found herself standing before the sealed hall.
With quiet determination, she whispered:
"No one must know about this place."
[Fatima's Flashback]
Fatima had always been haunted by strange dreams. For years, the same boy would visit her in her sleep—always warning her not to go somewhere, or not to do something. And whenever she ignored him, something bad would happen.
Once, a classmate invited her to a birthday party. Fatima was thrilled—it was the first time she had ever been invited to something like that. But the night before the party, the boy appeared again in her dream:
"Don't go… don't celebrate…"
She woke up confused, torn between listening to the dream or finally enjoying a night she had always longed for. In the end, her excitement won.
That evening, Fatima went to the party. Everything seemed perfect—laughter, music, happiness. Then came the giant birthday cake. As everyone gathered around, eager to taste it, disaster struck: the heel of Fatima's shoe suddenly snapped, throwing her off balance. She crashed straight into the cake, destroying it.
A stunned silence filled the room… then the birthday girl erupted in fury, kicking Fatima out in front of everyone.
From that day on, Fatima was branded "the party wrecker". She walked home humiliated, her heart heavy with shame.
That night, she realized something chilling:
Her dreams were not just dreams.
They were warnings.
On another occasion, Fatima had earned a perfect score on a math test, and her teacher promised to honor her in front of the class. Fatima was proud. But the night before the event, the dream boy returned, warning her not to go.
The next morning, Fatima hesitated. Her mother, however, insisted she go, dismissing her fears as nonsense.
At school, she nervously approached her math teacher.
"Miss, please… can you do it quickly? I want to go home."
The teacher raised an eyebrow.
"Is something wrong?"
Fatima shook her head, clearly uneasy.
"Are you feeling sick?"
"No," she replied quietly.
"Then why are you in such a hurry?"
Fatima suddenly snapped:
"I'm leaving! I don't need your praise!"
As she stormed toward the door, thick smoke burst into the classroom. Fatima gasped and shut the door quickly. No one believed her. They thought she was imagining things.
But then, the smoke spread through the entire room—
and Fatima blacked out.
When she awoke…
she was in a high school floating in the middle of an endless ocean.
Back to the Present
Fatima stood alone in the courtyard, staring at the sealed hall. She was determined to keep it a secret from the others.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Narjis's voice calling out from afar:
"Hey! Aren't you going to help us find a way out of here?"
Fatima answered coldly, without even turning around:
"No."
She walked away indifferently, leaving Narjis behind. Khadija stepped up beside Narjis, smirking:
"Don't waste your energy. She's just a weirdo."
Narjis snapped:
"And who said you could talk to me?"
Then she stormed off angrily, while Khadija whispered mockingly:
"Stupid girl…"
...To be continued.