Where Did You Go?

Morning came too quickly.

She hadn’t slept again after waking from the dream.

She remained sitting against her headboard, staring at the corner of her bedroom as sunlight slowly pushed through the curtains.

Nothing was there.

Of course nothing was there.

It was just a corner.

A lamp.

A pile of clothes she’d promised herself she’d put away.

A bookshelf she’d been meaning to organize.

Normal things.

Real things.

Yet she couldn’t stop staring.

Because last night, something had stood there.

Something had watched her.

Something had touched her.

And somehow, she missed it.

She rubbed her face.

“What is wrong with me?”

She climbed out of bed and walked toward the corner.

Her bare feet touched the cold floor.

She crouched down and examined the area.

Nothing.

No footprints.

No strange marks.

No evidence that anyone had been there.

She stood again.

Maybe it really had been a hallucination.

Maybe her mind had created the entire thing.

The figure.

The embrace.

The cave.

The strange creature with golden eyes.

She shook her head.

It was ridiculous.

Dreams weren’t real.

Sleep paralysis wasn’t real in the way she had experienced it.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

But then she remembered his voice.

“Don’t be afraid.”

She closed her eyes.

The memory felt too vivid.

She could still remember the warmth of his arms around her.

The strange feeling of being held by something she should have feared.

She opened her eyes.

“I need to see him again.”

The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

She immediately laughed at herself.

“Okay. I’m officially losing it.”

But the thought wouldn’t leave.

She wanted another dream.

She wanted the cave.

She wanted answers.

Most of all…

She wanted him.

⸻

That night, she prepared for sleep differently.

She turned off every light.

Closed the curtains.

Put her phone on the nightstand.

Then she climbed beneath the blankets and stared into the darkness.

“Come back.”

She felt ridiculous saying it aloud.

Still, she whispered it again.

“Come back.”

Nothing happened.

She closed her eyes.

She tried to remember the field.

The green grass.

The purple sky.

The cave.

The creature.

But every time she reached for the memory, it slipped farther away.

She rolled onto her side.

Just sleep.

Her breathing slowed.

The room became quiet.

Minutes passed.

Then hours.

Nothing.

No dream.

No paralysis.

No shadow.

When she woke the next morning, sunlight was already filling the room.

She sat up.

Disappointed.

“Seriously?”

She tried again the following night.

Nothing.

The night after that.

Nothing.

Then another.

Still nothing.

She began keeping track.

Night four.

Nothing.

Night five.

Nothing.

Night six.

Nothing.

She started becoming frustrated.

She tried falling asleep at different times.

She stayed awake longer.

She drank less caffeine.

She listened to calming music.

She even searched online for ways to induce lucid dreams.

Nothing worked.

It was as though the dream world had simply closed its doors.

And she couldn’t understand why.

⸻

On the seventh night, she stood in front of her bedroom mirror.

Her eyes were tired.

She looked exhausted.

She had spent an entire week trying to return to a place she wasn’t even sure had existed.

She touched the glass.

“Why can’t I find you?”

She didn’t even realize she was talking about him.

Her forehead rested against the mirror.

“I just want to know who you are.”

Silence answered.

She sighed.

Maybe she should stop.

Maybe she should accept that it had been a strange dream and move on.

She climbed into bed.

For the first time in a week, she didn’t try to dream.

She didn’t think about the shadow.

She didn’t think about the cave.

She didn’t think about the golden-eyed creature.

She simply closed her eyes.

And let herself sleep.

⸻

She didn’t know how long she had been asleep.

There was no transition.

No feeling of falling.

No strange sensation.

One moment she was lying in bed.

The next…

She was standing barefoot on cold stone.

She looked around.

Her heart immediately began racing.

She knew this place.

A ruined cathedral stretched around her.

Broken pillars disappeared into darkness.

Massive stained-glass windows had been shattered, leaving fragments scattered across the floor.

Gray ash drifted through the air like snow.

She slowly turned around.

“Hello?”

Her voice echoed.

No response.

She took a step forward.

A sound came from behind her.

Flap.

She stopped.

Another sound.

Flap.

She turned.

A man stood several feet away.

He was tall.

Very tall.

Black clothing hung loosely from his body, and enormous dark wings extended from his back.

But the wings were damaged.

Feathers were missing.

Some were stained with what looked like ash.

He stared at her with an expression she couldn’t understand.

Not anger.

Not fear.

Recognition.

She swallowed.

“Who are you?”

The man didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looked toward the darkness behind her.

Then back at her.

“You found the door.”

She frowned.

“What door?”

“The one you weren’t supposed to open.”

A chill moved through her.

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.”

He stepped forward.

She didn’t move.

“Are you an angel?”

His eyes lowered.

“Once.”

Her gaze traveled to his broken wings.

“What happened?”

“I fell.”

“From Heaven?”

He looked at her.

“From grace.”

The answer sent another chill through her.

She glanced around the cathedral.

“Where am I?”

“Somewhere between Heaven and Hell.”

She stared at him.

“Why am I here?”

The fallen angel’s expression became serious.

“Because you’re searching for him.”

Her heart stopped.

“The shadow?”

He nodded.

“You’ve seen him.”

“Yes.”

“And you want to see him again.”

She hesitated.

Then nodded.

“Yes.”

The fallen angel studied her.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I don’t care.”

“You should.”

“I just want to see him.”

His face hardened.

“You barely know what he is.”

“I know he held me.”

Silence.

“And he didn’t hurt me.”

The angel looked away.

“You think that means he’s safe.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“No.”

Her expression fell.

“Then what is he?”

The angel turned back toward her.

His eyes seemed almost sorrowful.

“He’s someone who belongs to a place you have never seen.”

He stepped closer.

“And if you truly intend to find him…”

His wings slowly spread behind him.

“…you’ll have to go through Hell.”

She stared at him.

For some reason, she wasn’t afraid.

Not anymore.

“If that’s what it takes…”

She took a step forward.

“…I’ll go.”

The angel’s expression changed.

“You don’t even know what Hell will take from you.”

She met his eyes.

“I don’t care.”

He was silent.

She took another step.

“I think I’d go through Hell if it means seeing him again.”

The cathedral suddenly fell silent.

The angel stared at her for a long moment.

Then he whispered:

“That’s exactly what I was afraid you’d say.”

The ground beneath her feet cracked.

She looked down.

A thin line of glowing red appeared across the stone.

Then another.

And another.

The cracks spread rapidly.

The angel stepped backward.

“Wake up.”

She looked at him.

“What?”

“Wake up!”

The floor shattered beneath her.

She screamed as darkness swallowed her whole.

And somewhere beneath the world of dreams…

something opened its eyes.

Something that had heard her promise.

Something that had been waiting for her to say those exact words.

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