Listen to your dreams

I walk through the big wooden doors and am met with the quiet of the library. All that can be heard is the sound of pages being turned and the shuffling of feet along the marble floor. I head over to a library worker in hopes they can help me find what I’m looking for. “Excuse me,” I whisper, feeling very conscious of the volume of my voice. The man turns to me, with a vacant look on his face. “Can I help you?” He asks, seemingly bored of his work. “Where might I find a book about dream interpretations?” I question, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. He half heartedly points me in the right direction and I nod a thank you before striding off, ready to decipher my reoccurring dream.

In the dream I wake up in the middle of the library and it’s completely empty. I call out “Hello,” hoping someone will answer me. I spin in every direction, searching for signs of life but to no avail. Suddenly I hear a bell ringing and I follow the noise, feeling confused and off kilter. I walk down the aisles and as I get close to the bell I’m stopped in my tracks by a book falling off the shelf in front of me. I reach down to pick the book up and once I turn it over I see where the front cover should be is a mirror. I see my face smiling back at me. Although the book me is smiling, I am not as I feel an overwhelming sense of panic. Book me starts shushing me, the noise echoes in my ears and I freeze. Then it says in a soft, calming voice “Don’t be scared, what happens next will bring you so much joy.” Just like that a feeling of calm washes over me and I find myself smiling. I sit bolt upright and the dream is over. I have had the same dream for over a week now. I need to know what it means.

I finally find the dreams section and start searching for the perfect book that will help me solve my confusion. After a minute or two later I’m startled by a book falling off the shelf in front of me. I regain my composure and retrieve the book from the floor. Turning the book over I see the front cover glistening under the library lights. Its metallic silver front looks very familiar as I can see my reflection faintly looking back at me. My dream replays in my head, I remember book me saying “Don’t be scared, what happens next will bring you so much joy.” Suddenly I am aware that someone has walked up beside me. “Sorry for knocking the book off the shelf. I hope it didn’t hit you,” says the stranger next to me. I get to my feet and look into familiar eyes as a smile spreads across my face. “Max?!” I say excitedly to an old friend of my cousins. “Sophie!” he says matching my excitement. “Wow, it’s good to see you. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.” He says, whilst pulling me in for a hug. “It’s good to see you too, it’s been way too long. How’ve you been?” I squeeze him tightly and we break away from our embrace a little sooner than I wanted. He beams at me, “I’m great, I’ve just got ba...” Max is suddenly cut off by a very angry “shhh,” directed at us by the elderly, slightly creepy librarian. We whisper our apologies as the librarian shuffled away. “What are you doing now? You free for a coffee?” Max whispers, looking hopeful. “A coffee sounds great!” I whisper back as butterflies form in the pit of my stomach.

We make our way out of the library, adjusting our volume when we finally walk through the big wooden doors out into the rain. Luckily there’s a little, cozy coffee shop next door so we’re out of the rain in no time. Sitting down at a 2 table by the big front windows I look over at Max. ’I don’t remember Max being this attractive,’ I think to myself. The waitress comes over to take our order and I can’t stop myself from watching Max. He’s very tall and he seems very at ease with himself. He makes the waitress laugh and I giggle along with her, even though I didn’t hear anything that was said. Max’s face is so mesmerizing that I barely notice when the waitress turns to me to take my order. I order a hot chocolate as it feels like the perfect weather for it. When we’re alone again Max tells me all about the last 8 years which he spent in Ireland. I love how his greeny-blue eyes sparkle as he talks fondly of his Mum and his younger sister. He tells me of the chickens his family kept and sadly how they were eaten by foxes. I tell him about my courses, my goal to work in the film industry and my reoccurring dream. He believes that my dream is the reason we met up again. He says he woke up feeling the need to go to the library, without a sensible reason why. I’m glad he followed that urge, because I am very happy to see him. I make sure to tell him that before we finish our drinks. Before going our separate ways we exchange numbers and agree to meet up again soon. That night I slept without dreaming of the library. I dreamt of Max, his soft brown hair, his perfectly trimmed stubble and his plump lips.

Little did I know that the chance meeting in the library would be the start of our epic romance. And a year and a half later we’d be welcoming our second set of twins into the world. It was all thanks to my dream and the falling library book.