Riya woke up with a sudden startle as she furiously wiped those stained tears on her wet cheeks, even the freezing air conditioner was not helping with the sticky cold sweat making her run to the balcony and after such a nightmare she desperately needed some fresh air.

The golden shimmering moon was hanging alone in the dark night reminding her of her loneliness, unfortunately, she was like the moon tonight, alone and bright.

Once again she has dreamt of the same man whom she was seeing for almost a month now, she had first dreamt of him after her sixteenth birthday. Every dream in which he happened to be a part of would-be hazy and unclear as if some cloud was placed in front of her eyes preventing her from seeing him. All she remembers is his broad shoulders, neck-length hair, and his tall frame. Whenever he appears in her dreams, she tries to force her eyes to focus, to at least get a close view of his face but every single try turns futile.

They were like slight reminiscences of something she knows but confusingly she doesn't.

By far, this was the most lucid dream she ever had. In this dream, she was running away with that man, hand in hand trying to escape from someone but before they could, that man who is with her was shot with an arrow in his heart making her cry in fear and lose balance, resulting in her falling off a cliff.

Though it was a dream, a nightmare, her heart ached for that man as if she personally knows him, her heart was still crying over his death as if it certainly happened in front of her.

It is a nightmare, she consoled herself. She will definitely get to see him again, in another dream.

But only, that never happened.

***