Chapter 3 Half dream, half reality

The sunlight seeped through the window, casting a dreamy haze in Emily's room. The alarm clock rang on time, startling her awake. She lay there, dazed, staring at the ceiling. Her headache, lost in a vague daze. What was happening? A series of events from before played like a dream in Emily's mind, a dream that felt oddly real.

She lay there, lost in thought, seemingly unmoving, staring at the ceiling. If not for her breathing, one might have mistaken her for something else. Her head throbbed, lost in a foggy state. What was going on? Images from earlier danced in Emily's mind, resembling a dream... yet feeling so real. She gazed at the ceiling, the scenes replaying in her mind, until a particular intense one made her blush and sit up abruptly, slapping her face and reminding herself, "Wake up! What are you thinking?"

She covered her face, looking around-it was her room. Yes, just a dream. She reached for the newspaper by her bedside, flipping through the pages to distract herself, trying to find something to focus on and not let her mind wander. Coincidentally, she landed on an article praising a successful young individual, a renowned company director named Alex. It caught her attention, making her mumble to herself, "Wealthy, handsome, and exceptionally talented. Boys like him probably exist only in dreams or on the screen. That's right, just like that."

The familiar ringtone interrupted her thoughts, Marry, her editor's call. Emily rubbed her head a few times to ease the pain before picking up the phone, her voice husky with a hint of sleep, "Hello, this is Emily. What's up, Marry?"

Marry steadied the phone against her shoulder, holding a stack of Emily's comic sketches, flipping through them continuously, feeling both anxious and worried. "Emily, can you check if you have the draft for a specific comic page? I just reviewed the series, and it seems a few pages are missing. The deadline is tomorrow. Losing even one would be a disaster."

"Didn't I send all of them to you yesterday? I double-checked before handing them to you. Let me look for it," Emily responded in urgency, scanning her small room.

She hurriedly got up, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, her body ached and fatigue overwhelmed her, especially in her lower back, causing her to fall back on the bed. She couldn't control it, letting out a quiet exclamation, "Shhh... ow."

"Emily? What's going on?" Marry, hearing the unusual sound on the other end of the line, asked with concern.

"It's nothing, just a muscle cramp. Give me a moment to look for it," Emily responded, ignoring her bodily discomfort. She pushed through the pain quickly, searching for the pages. The room was small, so it didn't take long. In about ten minutes, she found a few pages, sighing in relief before calling Marry again, "I have pages 7, 15, and 47. Just these three, please check how many are missing."

Oh, those were the page numbers that had Marry sweating with anxiety. Marry sighed with relief and chuckled, "Those are the ones, really had me sweating. I'll come to pick them up. Shall I swing by your place or do you plan to drop by? I don't want to lose them again."

Emily glanced at the clock; it was just past 8 AM. She gently massaged her sore lower back, contemplating. She had finished drawing for the month, and it was a Saturday. Brooding alone at home about the incidents earlier was not a good idea, especially with the headache.

Emily had always been a person who didn't interact much with the outside world, as she preferred tranquility. Part of it was her nature and partly because of her profession as a comic artist. Every time she went out, she was cautious every step of the way. This time, it was more of a forced decision, and in the end, she decided, "The work for this month is done. I'll drop by the old café. If you're free, you can join me. Then I'll bring it to you."

"Unfortunately, I'm quite busy today, so I won't be able to join you for coffee. But you can stay at the café; I'll come to pick it up. Just leave it there, and I'll grab it to save you the trouble of coming over. Don't forget it or lose it again," Marry replied.

"All right, that works. Remember to bring the book I left at your place the other day. Sitting alone can get boring," Emily said.

She hung up, and Emily lay back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. The sighs she had been holding back finally escaped. She shook her head vigorously, trying to snap out of it and rushed into the bathroom, standing under the cold water to wash away the haziness, pushing away the thoughts from earlier.

At a familiar coffee shop in a quiet corner.

Emily ordered a cappuccino and a plate of her favorite pastry. She scolded herself a bit for not making use of this rare free time to relax, contemplating about the earlier vague incidents. She sipped her cappuccino, lost in thought when her phone rang again-Chang, a close friend from university. Emily's mood brightened, and she eagerly picked up, her voice full of enthusiasm, "Chang? It's been so long since I called you. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Chang heard the familiar voice on the other end and feigned a scolding tone, pretending to be annoyed, "What are you saying? If I hadn't called you today, would you have bothered to call me? What kind of busy life is keeping you away for months?"

"Come on, don't be like that. You know how demanding this job is. When deadlines approach, I can hardly keep up. How about this? I'm currently at Owl Coffee. If you're free, come join me. It's my treat today, consider it an apology. Deal?" Emily said, chuckling.

"Respecting your intention, I'll reluctantly accept your apology. Okay, text me the address. I'll sort things out and come over," Chang replied.

Ending the call with Chang coincided with Marry's arrival to pick up the manuscript. After a brief conversation with Marry, Emily and Marry chatted for a while, and then Marry went about her work. While waiting for Chang, Emily picked up the book Marry had brought and started reading to pass the time, flipping to the bookmarked page from her last read.

Emily was once again drawn into the gripping plot of the book, just like before. Her face showed intense focus as she read every word, not missing a single one. Lost in the narrative, she lost track of time. Unbeknownst to her, Chang had arrived and was sitting silently. Suddenly, Emily's focused expression changed to one of discomfort, contorted as she reached a particularly intense scene in the story. This made Chang curious, and she finally spoke up, "Hey, Emily. What are you reading that's making you grimace like that?"

Emily was startled by Chang's voice but also relieved, thanking Chang silently for helping her snap out of the hazy thoughts again. She scrambled to close the book, looking at Chang and attempting to explain, "Chang... When did you arrive? I was just reading a story, and there was a... a scene that was a bit intense, so my face must have grimaced due to the tension."

Chang squinted suspiciously at Emily while sipping her coffee, "Hey, Emily. What were you reading that made your face contort like that?"

Emily feigned composure, hastily folding the book and glancing at Chang, smiling awkwardly, "Chang... When did you arrive? I was reading a story, and there was a... a scene that was a bit intense, so my face might have shown tension."

"You were so engrossed that you didn't notice me at all. I've been here for a while, just watching to see if you'd notice me or not. I wasn't sure if you still considered me a friend. Hmm, but... really, an intense scene in a book, huh? You looked like you stumbled upon something horrifying," Chang remarked, sipping her coffee and narrowing her eyes playfully at Emily, who was struggling to find an excuse.

Emily pouted and waved her hand dismissively, trying to appear nonchalant. She pursed her lips, putting on a calm facade, and shook her head, affirming, "Honestly! Because you arrived, I was caught off guard, and that's why I looked shocked. I don't have anything horrifying hidden in that book. I've never kept anything from you before."

Chang chuckled, observing Emily's demeanor. Emily and Chang continued to spend their day, forgetting about the morning events, roaming from one familiar café to another.