It was a very hot summer afternoon. The teacher was explaining something when suddenly the bell rang, indicating the period was over. The teacher ended the lecture and started picking up her stuff from the table, and with her first step outside the room, every student sprang into motion. Some stood to stretch their stiffened bodies, some turned around to talk to their friends. In a jiffy, the whole class was filled with different kinds of noises: walking, talking, eating, pens clicking, desks tapping. Everyone was doing their own thing, like a band of horses released from their shelter to graze.
In all that noise and crowd, one boy was sitting quietly on the second last bench of the last row, his seat beside the window. The boy didn't particularly have a muscular build, nor was he skinny. He had the body of someone who wasn't much into physical activity. His hair was black, not too long, just slightly above average. His eyes had dark circles beneath them, like someone who hadn't slept for nights. He was covering his ears and lying on his desk with his head down, as if trying to avoid all the annoying sounds surrounding him.
"Can't they just calm down for a bit? I just want to sleep. I didn't have any for the last two nights. That web novel just kept me hooked. If only the ending was great, then it could have been a good bargain for those sleepless nights."
"It started with an action-packed storyline, great character development... but why the hell did the MC have to die for his lover? They could have picked another reason, but no, they went with that rip-off setting. After all the hard work and sacrifices for his goal, he dies for a woman? And he knew he wouldn't even meet her after death. Reading stuff like that really makes me mad. If only someone had warned me, I could've saved those two nights and spent them on something better."
The boy was lost in his own thoughts, unaware that a slap was on its way. Before he knew it, the hit landed.
"Ouch! What the heck?!"
"Hey, it wasn't that hard. Don't be a crybaby."
"Just shut up."
He is Sam. He has been my best and only friend for the last three years. Want to know why? Because there aren't many guys with the same interests as me. Sam has the same hobbies as me: reading novels and manga, watching anime, playing video games. Except, unlike me, he's good at studies, plays sports, and even has a girlfriend. Well, that's the last thing I would ever be jealous of anyone for having.
The only thing I love is stories, be it through games, books, or any other medium, and any theme... except romance. That's trash. And I'm mad at Sam because he made me read one. Yep, he's the one who forced me to read that novel, even after knowing the ending.
I was about to scold him for recommending that novel, but he started talking.
Just for context, I'm not good at cutting someone off mid-sentence, and misusing that weakness, he continued rambling.
"Hey Dev, did you know what happened today? You won't believe it. Amy and I broke up. I didn't even do anything. She started fighting with me just because I gave a highlighter to Neha. I know she told me not to, but how could I lie when—"
That's the last thing I heard in that conversation. The next period was a substitution, and the teacher didn't show up. A normal occurrence in a student's life, but it gave Sam another excuse to babble about his love life. And just so you know, this isn't serious. They've broken up more than ten times this month. I stopped counting after ten.
And now, you want to know why I hate romance? I have the biggest example next to me of why not to get into a relationship. Your life just becomes so controlled: don't do this, don't go there, don't talk to her. All those restrictions... and I'm a person who values his freedom above all. That's why I don't want to get into this stuff.
The same thing happens every day. And at the end of the day, he's still walking home with her. His rambling is also a part of my daily life. It's like they find a new reason to break up every day.
At the end of all his complaining, he always asks what he should do, like it's a custom, and my answer is always the same:
"Don't drag me into this. I'm a guy with zero experience in this stuff, throughout the 19 years of my life."
"Dev, you don't understand."
"No, Sam. More like I don't want to understand. I'm just happy the way I am."
"Just watch your step, buddy. One day, you'll fall in love and understand what kind of feeling it is."
"Like hell I'll ever get entangled in such a waste of time. I don't even have time to catch up on the latest chapters and episodes of the series I'm following."
"You'll know, Dev. And when you do, and need help, come to me. I'll help you even if no one else does."
"Yeah sure. Like hell I'll ever need that kind of help."
(But who in the world would've thought how quickly a clueless boy like me would swallow those ignorant words?)
My lectures ended around 2 PM. It takes about 30 minutes to reach my apartment from college through all those metro and bus rides. I always fall asleep the moment I reach my room.
I live in a small apartment—one room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The walls are old, and the paint is worn, but I got a pretty sweet deal on it.
Sleeping is something I love with all my heart. After the exhausting travel and mental load, sleep disconnects me from the world and sends me into dreams—the open canvas of my imagination. In dreams, I can experience everything that's impossible in the real world. Reality just sucks for people like me who want to get lost in their imagination. Dreams are the best stage a creator could have provided.
Usually, my dreams involve me fighting or having deep conversations with my favorite characters or reliving stories I love as the main character. But today was different.
There was nobody. Just a beautiful lake, with a giant tree at the other end. I've heard dreams are just a compilation of experiences and old memories, but the scene in front of me was like nothing I had ever seen. It was so beautiful that I kept watching it, completely mesmerized.
Then, a voice pulled me out of my daze. A sweet voice—a girl's. It sounded like a nightingale from heaven was singing. I didn't understand the lyrics; maybe it was a different language. But it sounded like she was happy, like a bird on her first flight or a baby taking its first step.
After listening for a while, I couldn't help myself. I started walking toward it, like my legs had a will of their own. I kept walking and walking until I reached the other side of the lake.
Under the giant tree, there was a silhouette of a girl sitting on a rock. She was singing like she was the only one in the world—like there was nobody to interrupt her, and nobody to listen.
Suddenly, a strange noise interrupted everything. She stopped singing. I felt an urgency—a need to talk to her. I was just about to say something when—
I woke up.