Were the dreams that caused the exhaustion or was the exhaustion that caused the dreams? Joseph couldn’t tell. The alarm clock had gone off, and only with a superhuman effort he could leave bed. He dragged himself around his apartment going through his morning ritual to get ready for work. “Late again!” he thought while getting on the bus. His exhaustion for quite some time was interfering with his ability to concentrate, precisely when he needed all energy for his new project.

The dreams had a peculiar characteristic - they were extremely realistic while at the same time ephemeral. They were realistic while Joseph was dreaming; as soon as he woke up, the details vanished almost immediately. The dreams were a bit repetitive; Joseph recalled being in a place with many rooms, several people going round and about, conversations, faces whose details had simply disappeared. It was always the same dream, never changing.

The day dragged on slowly, almost through a mist, with Joseph dozing off several times and always dreaming the same dream. He went back home late, upset for not being able to finish what he was supposed to. Up until not long ago, he would have brought home some work, but he stopped doing this since it was useless to carry his things back and forth only to end up sleeping over them.

That night the dream was longer, more intense, and more persistent. When Joseph woke up the next day - a Saturday - he managed to remember much detail - a large room with a fireplace, another room with tables, people eating, a few in silence, a few carrying conversations, a long hallway with several doors, through one of which Joseph entered before waking up. Despite being a Saturday, Joseph went to the office to try to make up for some of his delays and lack of productivity, but with nothing to show except for several naps during the time he spent there, always dreaming the same dream. On one of the occasions, Joseph was sitting at one of the tables, eating, along with other people who seemed familiar. In the dream he was also tired, unable to follow the conversation or notice what was going on around him.

Joseph went back home and went straight to bed without eating anything.

What could have happened?

Joseph found himself talking to a woman, in a very nice room, warmed by a lively fire in the fireplace, while baroque music played in the distance. The conversation was rather interesting, and the woman had a beautiful and mysterious face. However, after some time, sleepiness started to take over Joseph, and he excused himself and went to a bedroom - “his” bedroom - a hotel room. He laid in bed and started to doze off and dream - a dream of his apartment bedroom, his bed, and the fact that it was Sunday and it was fairly late, but it didn’t really matter as he would finally be able to get some rest. He woke up, a bit disoriented, dressed up, ate some breakfast and went for a walk on that cold, crisp and sunny autumn day.

Joseph tried to understand what had just happened, that transition from what seemed to be a dream within a dream and turned out to be a transition to consciousness; his exhaustion and sleepiness, however, prevented him from thinking clearly. People passed by as if they were involved in a mist, their features hard to distinguish as if they were part of a dream; he decided to go back to his apartment and sleep some more before lunch. His bed was definitely inviting, and Joseph slowly slipped into a dream, a strange dream, as if he was in a hotel room, small but cozy, a refreshing feeling, a gradual awakening… Joseph got up and got dressed, and joined Anna in the restaurant for a light breakfast and a lively conversation.

Joseph certainly enjoyed living in a hotel; his decision to move there after having inherited a small fortune was sound. It was good to live a life without having to care for the little mundane things, particularly when living in a large city where there was always something different and interesting to do. The only thing that worried Joseph was a dream - a recurring dream where he was always sleepy and tired, trying to focus on his work. Every time Joseph had that dream (and it was becoming more frequent), he woke up tired, unable to focus, and unwilling to do anything other than sleep - it was almost like the weariness of the dream was contagious and affected his otherwise almost perfect and happy life…