It happened again.
In the city of Vareth, every night Tani went to bed, in her narrow room, just above her bakery downstairs and woke up in another world entirely.
A world of wealth and luxury. A world entirely different from her waking reality.
Here, she wasn't the tired, broke woman who rose before dawn, just to knead dough that barely paid her rent.
She was someone else here, she was successful, confident and adored.
Most importantly, she was loved by a man who looked at her, like she was his entire world, a stark contrast to her loveless reality.
Tonight, as she drifted off , she felt it coming, the shift, the scent that always found her first.
Rain on dry ground, petrichor. This was her signal that the dream had begun.
But as she approached this time, something felt off.
There was music. Soft strings, a piano, then laughter that echoed through the air.
The Veil, her name for this world, had never greeted her with music before, she wondered.
The whole set up and ambience told her she was in a wedding. But why was she wearing a white gown?
Everyone kept glancing her way, staring a bit too long, which made it obvious she was the bride.
She moved down a trail scattered with flower bits, her gaze locked on him only. Her husband-to-be who waited patiently with a smile on his face at the end of Isle.
Tani's heart tightened, full of love and warmth for this stranger with whom she'd spent almost a lifetime, in the veil.
"Hi," she whispered, when she reached him.
"Hello Love" he said back. His voice was deep, warm and familiar. "You look breathtaking. Ready for the beginning of our lives together?"
Before she could nod, someone nearby passed them glasses of champagne and toasted.
"To the bride and groom!"
He smiled and lifted his own glass to her.
"She smiled at him, in satisfaction, as she relished the taste of the Champagne on her palate. He whispered to her, "Can't wait to call you my wife." She grinned and before she knew it, her smile quickly turned into a concerned frown, as her throat tightened.
The burning sensation she felt in her throat wasted no time cutting off her air supply, now she was gasping for air.
As her situation escalated, the piano quickened dramatically, wild and sharp.
The guests who had barely settled, after the toast all froze as they watched her grab her neck, struggling to breathe right after the toast.
Her eyes suddenly grew wide when she finally grasped the gravity of what was coming .
"What's up?" he said, puzzled but kinda scared.
She choked, struggling to draw in breaths that wouldn't come through.
She then opened her mouth, aiming to say just one thing - poison - but his ears caught nothing, as his mind raced trying to help her.
She started floating off, like something pulling her somewhere else.
"Wake up!" he shouted. "Please, wake up! His voice was breaking as he persuaded her. "Please, stay."
"I'll find you. I swear it. We shall be together again." He kept on repeating as the light finally went out from her eyes.
Then she woke up.
She was gasping, till she learned to breathe again. The color then slowly returned, but her heart still pounded erratically, as she quickly checked the clock.
As predicted in her mind,it was Five a.m. Again.
The taste of the tainted champagne still lingered on her mouth, a painful reminder of her nightmares. Without thinking, she checked every corner of her space, hunting for clues that things were off and then breathed easy once everything seemed normal.
Still, the dream she'd barely crawled out of moments ago, stuck with her.
Until now, the dreams had been pleasant, an escape from her reality, a world better than her waking world. But tonight, she'd died.
She lay back on her bed, the thought weighing heavily on her and was at loss of what to make of it.
What was this? She wondered. Was this a premonition? A warning?
The longer she dwelled on it, the less clear things got.
Before long, a light rain began pattering outdoors, pulling her mind off gloomy ideas for a bit.
That's when she picked up the sound - low, mellow, the same familiar voice.
"I'll find you."
Her breath caught as she began to wonder, if she was imagining things.
Right on time, she turned towards the window and she saw the words appear in quick, slanted strokes on the frosted window.
Almost time.
Instinctively, she blinked for a second and the words were gone in an instant and in its place was her perplexed and tired reflection staring bleakly at her.
She nearly second guessed her gut but deep down, she was sure. There was no denying it, some big shift stood right at the edge of unfolding.
Somewhere, behind the Veil, a promise had been made and a plan had been set in motion. Her lover was coming for her.
For the first time, Tani didn't know whether to hope or to run.