After that dream passed, Sera could no longer fall asleep. Shadows of the moments in her dream filled her with fear, fear that if she closed her eyes again, that painful scene would replay.
Morning finally arrived, yet the shadow of the dream did not fade. It was as if the real world and another realm had intertwined, leaving traces that refused to disappear.
When Sera saw Liam that day, standing at the usual spot with his familiar warm smile, time seemed to stop. In an instant, his real-world face and the faint visage from her dream overlapped. Her chest tightened. An inexplicable feeling surged a déjà vu too sharp to ignore.
Noticing Sera's strange gaze, Liam approached and asked with concern he even notice her tired eyes, "Are you okay?"
Sera nodded, forcing a small smile. "Yes… just got a strange dream last night."
"A dream?" Sera nodded again, meeting Liam's gaze. His eyes seemed to hide something, yet he wouldn't speak it aloud.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I had a strange dream too last night. Not very clear, just… I got carried away by the mood. Sad, lonely, and… I can't explain it. What about your dream?"
"Just an ordinary strange dream, nothing clear either."
Yet inside, she knew it was more than just a dream. It was something deeper than memory, beyond logic. It was as if their love had existed since a life she could not remember, now finding its way back again simply, slowly, reconnecting their hearts.
A day after yet another meeting, they met again at a café. Sera sat by the window, her gaze drifting into the distance, while a lily she had tucked inside her notebook lay on the table.
When Liam arrived, his eyes lingered on her slightly longer than usual. Something about her presence stirred his heart, though he could not pinpoint why.
After ordering his favorite coffee, Liam approached and sat across from Sera with a warm smile. Their conversation flowed lightly, punctuated with small laughs over trivial things. But when Sera raised her cup, the afternoon light illuminated her face, and Liam fell silent.
The sight felt familiar. Not here, not in this life, but somewhere else. He had seen that gaze before, shimmering with tears. He had seen those lips quiver, whispering something he could not recall. A faint, long, and heavy echo played in his mind, like a fading machine sound. Then it all vanished, leaving a subtle tightness in his chest.
His hand trembled as he set down his cup too quickly.
"Are you alright?" Sera asked softly, noticing his pale expression.
He tried to smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I… just felt something strange. Like…" He paused, searching for the right words. "Like I've seen this before. You. Sitting here. But not here."
Sera's heart raced. Her breath caught. For a moment, she almost spoke of her dream, but fear held back her words. She only nodded gently. "Déjà vu?"
"Maybe," Liam replied quietly, his voice deep and thoughtful. "But it feels… more than that. Almost like a memory."
They fell silent. There was a feeling difficult to describe, confusing yet comforting. They did not know its meaning, but their souls seemed to understand: like two pieces of a story trying to remember a lost ending.
That night, when Liam walked Sera home, their hands brushed. This time, he didn't pull away; he held her hand, interlacing their fingers, and Sera returned the gesture softly.
Even in the calm of the night, her heart whispered quietly, holding a truth that words could not convey: I've held this hand before… but when and where?
Days passed, their meetings becoming routine. Liam would wait outside the bakery or watch from the florist's window, sending a message to Sera, then step out when he saw her leaving the bakery, always smiling when he saw her.
One night, walking beneath dim streetlights with the lingering scent of rain, their conversation drifted from books, music, dreams, to small fragments of daily life, all flowing effortlessly.
At one moment, Sera laughed softly and unconsciously said, "For some reason, being with you… I feel safe. Whatever happens, as long as you're here, I know everything will be okay."
The words flowed naturally, yet Sera froze afterward. Her chest tightened as if echoing from another time, another place.
Liam stopped. He looked at her with an expression hard to define, as if something stirred within him. "You've said that before."
Sera blinked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
He lowered his head slightly, furrowing his brows, as if searching a faint memory. "I don't know. It just… feels like I've heard those words before. From you."
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the quiet night. Hearts pounded as if the universe held its breath.
Sera whispered inside herself, "Perhaps I have… just not here."
Liam looked at her, truly looked, and though neither understood, their souls trembled, recognizing each other in a language words could not speak.
In that fragile moment, the past seemed to touch the present gently, briefly, yet undeniably.
Everything happened suddenly.
They walked side by side again, almost brushing shoulders. The empty street glowed with warm lights reflecting on the pavement, casting golden hues. Sera turned to say something funny about the day, but when she looked at him, the world shifted.
In an instant, she was no longer on that street. She was elsewhere. A room. White walls. The steady beep-beep-beep of a machine like in her recent dream. A man lay weakly, staring at her. She could not clearly see his face, but she knew who he was. His hand gripped hers, cold but firm, his lips moving with words she could not hear clearly.
Her breath caught, and the vision shattered, returning her to the present world. She stumbled, pressing her hand to her chest.
Liam immediately steadied her. "Hey, are you okay?"
Sera stared at him, her breath slowly returning to normal.
"Didn't you see it?" she asked.
"See what?" Liam looked at her, confused. He wanted to know what she had seen to be so affected.
"It's nothing. I think I just hallucinated. Maybe I worked too hard today."
"Come here," Liam crouched before her, gently patting her shoulder. "Let me carry you."
Sera froze. Her heart raced, not from exhaustion, but from the warmth of his simple gesture. "I… I can walk myself," she said hesitantly, her voice softer than usual.
Liam smiled faintly, the smile that always broke down her defenses. "I know but Maybe... But… may I support you this time? Think of it as me learning how to care for someone."
His words were simple, yet enough to leave her speechless. Slowly, she placed her hand on his shoulder, feeling her own heartbeat racing uncontrollably.
As Liam stood, carrying her easily, the world seemed to shrink. Only the rhythm of his steps remained, and the closeness allowed her to hear his breathing.
"Are you tired? You can put me down...," Liam shake his head and adjusting her in his arms.
"I'm good, i'm glad to carry you like this"
"Strange," she murmured, almost to herself. "Why do I feel so… calm?"
Liam didn't turn, but a small smile curved his lips. "Maybe because we're no longer walking alone."
The silence became a moment that didn't need explanation. No confessions, no promises, just a faint feeling beginning to bloom, wrapped in warmth neither wanted to end too quickly, for they were truly destined.