THE end of my life in a dream

I was sitting on my bed, trying to fall asleep.

As soon as my eyes closed, I found myself standing inside a strange dream.

There, I saw my great-grandmother—the one who was no longer in this world. She looked at me as if she wanted to tell me something important.

"Elena," she said softly, "you are the future queen. You must protect this home."

In the dream, our home wasn't an ordinary house. It looked like a kingdom.

Then I noticed a shadow standing nearby.

It looked like a prince.

I almost laughed.

How could any of this be real?

A queen?

A kingdom?

A prince?

It sounded completely ridiculous.

The dream ended, and I suddenly woke up.

My throat felt dry, so I got out of bed and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water.

The house was silent.

Too silent.

As I drank the water, I felt a strange chill run down my spine.

For a moment, I thought I saw something move in the corner of my eye.

Fear tightened in my chest.

Part of me wanted to go and check what it was.

My mind kept telling me to look.

But my heart told me not to.

I decided to listen to my heart.

Without checking, I went back to my room and lay down on my bed.

I eventually fell asleep, but something had changed.

From that night on, I started feeling afraid.

And for the first time, I began taking my symptoms seriously.

After that night, everything started feeling different.

My emotions were all over the place. My parents kept scolding me for small things, and the one person who used to show me the most love—my grandmother—was gone.

I missed her every day.

The next morning, I went to school feeling exhausted.

I tried to act normal, but it wasn't easy.

My so-called best friend, Anya Moore, wasn't exactly the kind of friend I could trust anymore. And then there was Jack Moore—my crush—the same boy who somehow managed to argue with me almost every day.

During lunch break, Anya invited me to her party.

"Are you coming tonight?" she asked.

For a moment, I hesitated.

Then I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

The entire day, my grandmother's words from the dream kept replaying in my head.

You are the future queen.

I didn't know why I couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was only a dream.

At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

That evening, I arrived at the party.

The music was loud, colorful lights flashed across the room, and people were laughing everywhere.

As soon as I walked inside, I noticed several people turning to look at me.

I blinked in surprise.

Was everyone really staring at me?

I looked down at my outfit and smiled nervously.

Maybe I actually looked good tonight.

Then I saw Jack.

He was standing near the dance floor.

Our eyes met.

For a second, neither of us looked away.

Then he walked over to me.

"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked.

My heart nearly stopped.

Of course I wanted to dance with him.

He was my crush.

Trying not to look too excited, I nodded.

"Sure."

He offered me his hand.

I took it.

As the music played, we stepped onto the dance floor together.

Jack kept looking at me, and every time our eyes met, I felt my cheeks grow warmer.

I couldn't stop smiling.

For once, everything felt strange in the best possible way.

And without realizing it, I began laughing and dancing freely, forgetting all my worries for just a little while.

Jack handed me a drink.

The taste was strange.

For a moment, I considered putting it down, but I trusted my friends, so I took a few more sips.

A few minutes later, something felt wrong.

The room started spinning.

The music became distant.

My vision blurred, and it became harder to stay on my feet.

I tried to steady myself, but my legs felt weak.

Just as I was about to fall, Jack caught me.

"Easy," he said.

Everything around me felt foggy.

I wanted to go home.

I wanted someone to help me.

Jack led me toward a room away from the crowd.

My heart began racing.

Something didn't feel right.

I tried to speak, but my voice came out weak.

Then, suddenly, the door opened.

A stranger stepped inside.

For a second, everyone froze.

The stranger immediately realized that something was wrong.

An argument broke out between him and Jack.

I couldn't understand what they were saying.

My head hurt too much.

The stranger quickly called for help and stayed by my side.

The next thing I remember was being carried out of the house.

Everything was blurry.

The flashing lights outside hurt my eyes.

I felt a warm trickle beneath my nose and realized it was bleeding.

My body felt heavy.

Exhausted.

Broken.

Before I could understand what was happening, darkness swallowed everything.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

The stranger was sitting nearby, waiting quietly.

I didn't know who he was.

But one thing was certain.

If he hadn't arrived when he did, that night could have ended very differently.

When I finally woke up, the doctor explained what had happened.

"You were in serious condition when you arrived," he said. "You lost consciousness, and if help hadn't reached you in time, the situation could have become much worse."

His words sent a chill through me.

I had been that close to danger.

A few days later, I returned home, but my mind couldn't stop thinking about one thing.

The stranger.

Who was he?

Why had he helped me?

And where had he gone?

I didn't even know his name.

Meanwhile, Jack was being investigated for what had happened at the party.

When I finally spoke to him, I demanded answers.

"Who was the person who stopped everything?" I asked.

Jack looked away before answering.

"I don't know," he muttered. "All I saw was a shadow. He was dressed in black. Then everything happened so fast."

I stared at him in disbelief.

After everything that had happened, I wanted nothing more to do with him.

"Stay away from me," I said coldly.

Then I walked away.

From that day on, I searched everywhere for the stranger.

I asked questions at school.

I looked through old photographs.

I even asked people who had been at the party.

Nobody seemed to know who he was.

It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly.

The mystery consumed my thoughts.

Every day, I wondered about him.

Every night, I thought about the shadow from my dream.

Eventually, I started daydreaming about the possibility that they were connected.

It sounded ridiculous.

Yet I couldn't ignore it.

One night, I dreamed of my grandmother again.

The dream felt so real that I couldn't tell whether I was asleep or awake.

"Do you know the shadow?" I asked her.

"Who was the person who saved me?"

My grandmother smiled softly.

"The shadow is your friend," she replied. "And he protected you when you needed him most."

I woke up immediately.

My heart was pounding.

The words echoed in my mind.

Then I remembered something.

In my blurred vision that night, I had seen the stranger for only a moment.

But the silhouette I remembered looked exactly like the shadow from my dreams.

Exactly the same.

I laughed nervously at the thought.

There was no way that could be possible.

...Right?

Yet despite everything, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

My life felt like it was falling apart.

My parents and I argued constantly. I felt isolated and overwhelmed, and every day seemed harder than the last.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Except one question.

Who was the shadow that saved me?