Beyond The Dream: Priggish God Damn!

Living Two Lives

It had been a few days since I had a strange dream, which was a dream about the Trial of Heroes and an amazing fantasy world. I just realized one very important thing, the dream I had was affecting my physical body.

The wound I received when I first received the surprise attack from the demon ape I just realized was on the back, the back which was my physical body and not the body in a dream. From the start, I did feel that there was something odd about the dream. But from the bottom of my heart, I always try to deny my thoughts.

And most importantly, I felt a change in my body. The sensation when the body in the dream world had a drastic increase in dexterity, apparently happened to my physical body as well.

It's hard to believe that I can move so fast, fast far beyond the world's recognized athletes.

I realized it too late, because the first sensation I had was when I first experienced an increase in body agility. So when I woke up at that time, I didn't feel anything strange. Of course apart from the aches I feel and the drowsiness that is hard to bear.

The past few days I passed as if I hadn't even slept. No matter how drowsiness strikes me until I sometimes fall asleep for a brief moment at work, I still don't sleep completely.

This mental exhaustion left me depressed in such a fit body.

"Hey, I don't think you get overtime work..." says someone who is an employee who works at the same company as me, this one coworker of mine named Akio.

"Of course. But, lately I've been having nightmares..." I say with a sigh while keeping my head on the pile of documents, wanting to go home and plop down on the bed to rest.

"Wow. Isn't that a bad omen?" says someone else, he is also my co-worker named Daisuke.

Akio nudges Daisuke's ribs a little hard, then whisperes “Hey! Don't say anything bad. You bastard, instead of encouraging your own co-workers…”

"I'm just reminding him. Who know it will happen, right?” Daisuke doesn't bother, he just walks away.

Myself feel 'absolutely stupid' about bad omens from dreams or something. This tiredness is hard for me to think calmly. What's more important now is that my work is piling up, if I keep being lazy like this.

Lazily, I work on one document at a time. Hopefully, today's work is completed quickly and does not get overtime work.

...

Along the way, I walk languidly. This body feels like it would collapse at any moment. My stomach rumbles, but I can't walk any faster.

Looking at the time on the watch in my hand, the clock showed 5:30 pm. Remembering that the train schedule to my house in the prefecture... is missed, I take a deep breath.

“Perhaps, Daisuke is right. I'm going to face bad luck…” I mumble, then I massage my forehead because I feel dizzy.

I’m just muttering, from the corner someone is speeding out of control a young man playing a skateboard. What happened next is the young man bumping into me heavily causing me to fall onto the road.

“Ugh…” I weakly get up to quickly get out of the way and back onto the safe pavement, then I saw the young man who just hit me bow before he apologized.

Feeling lazy just to say “I forgive you” makes me wave my hand once in a limp motion. Then, I immediately walk across the crosswalk while the traffic light is still red.

"Is that uncle drunk?" muttered the young man who bumped into me frowning, before he shakes his head to continue skateboarding.

Slowly but surely, the sun has finally set in the Western Hemisphere. Even though the sky had darkened with the dim starlight, the streets have been lit up by the lights since before the sun really set.

Exactly according to Daisuke's words, I am again faced with bad luck. The bus that has been my only hope of returning home has left when I has just arrived at the bus stop.

Weak because it has been a long walk, I set down in a chair.

I took a deep breath before finally tilting my head up while leaning my back on the chair to make my body at least feel more relaxed.

"I'm really unlucky today huh..." I mumble with a forearm covering my forehead.

Reluctantly, I have to wait for the next bus schedule. There is still some time, while my stomach is still left empty. "So, I'd better find a place to eat first..." I said while stretching a little before leaving.

...

Back with a full stomach, I wince when I see a woman sitting alone at the bus stop.

I walk hesitantly toward her, because I am afraid that the woman turns out to be a waiting ghost.

"Excuse me..." I say hesitantly.

The woman turns to me.

I am stunned at the face that looks so perfect in my eyes, I never thought that I would meet a woman who has such a proportional face shape. But for a moment I thought, could there be a woman as beautiful as her?

"Yes? What is it?" asks the woman in surprise when she sees my strange look in her eyes.

I snapped out of my thoughts before turning my attention back to the woman who is sitting. “A-ah… No. I just…” I scratch my right sideburn, unsure what to say and nervous for some reason.

"Just what?" asks the woman again who continues to stare at me curiously.

"...I just want to sit here, is that okay?" I point to the same chair the woman is sitting in because it is a long chair.

Smiling a little while being covered by one hand seeing my behavior which she thought is ridiculous, the woman says “Why ask like that? After all, this chair is commonly used by anyone…”

I smile awkwardly, having only thought of it as an excuse to get out of the previous situation. Sitting next to that woman makes my heart beat so fast, this is the first time I feel tense. This situation is more stressful than when I had a job interview or presentation in front of all my colleagues and superiors for the first time.

Being in such a bad state, then now I have to face a stressful situation that makes me sweat profusely without doing anything. Sitting next to that woman was really tiring, so tired made me feel no longer weak like today.

"Are you waiting for the bus?"

The question that came out of me is ridiculous of course, it is clear that the purpose of the woman sitting in the seat at the bus stop is none other than waiting for the bus to come. This extraordinary nervousness makes me forget that now I and the woman are both at the bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive.

The woman chuckled again before nodding, then replies curtly “Yes…”

"O-oh... That's right..."

I laugh awkwardly with embarrassment, because I realize I have asked such a ridiculous question. Averting my gaze in hopes of easing this tension, I give a small smile.

'Loving a woman at first sight is sweet, isn't it...'

Although I have no experience in love matters, I know that my heart has been stolen by this woman I have just met.

I muster up the courage to ask her name. But before that happened, a bus comes. Not the bus I am waiting for, but the bus the woman who’s with me was after.

I want to stop her in her tracks, but I realize now isn't the right time for that. Furthermore, what right do I have to stop her? After all, I just met her. So, I just open my mouth without being able to say a word and let the woman go.

"I'll take back my guess. It wasn't bad luck that I experienced, but fate that led me to meet the woman of my heart..." I say after I sighed seeing the departure of the bus carrying the woman who has captured my heart away.

A hope arose about a future fills with love after living in solitude for so long.