**This is something new for everyone. A client sent me an email about how she met her soulmate in her dreams. I asked if I changed their names, if I could turn it into a short story and post it on the OBE site. She agreed.**

The cobalt canvas of the night stretched out infinitely, dotted with a myriad of twinkling stars. Ellie walked towards their light, her bare feet brushing the soft, dew-kissed grass. The familiar silhouette of the man awaited her, bathed in the silvery luminescence of the moon. Each dream brought her closer to him. Closer to the enigma that he was.

He was always there, the man with the soft, chocolate-colored eyes and a playful yet mysterious smile playing on his lips. The dreams felt so vivid, so tangible that Ellie could almost smell the crisp air around them, feel the texture of his soft woolen sweater when she dared to touch him.

Even though words never passed between them, their silent exchanges spoke volumes. Their hands, inches apart, would reach for each other, fingers trembling with anticipation. But just as they were about to touch, Ellie would jerk awake, the haunting melody of their silent symphony still lingering in her ears.

Morning light would stream through her curtains, reminding Ellie of the stark contrast between her dream world and the reality she inhabited. The dream’s euphoria would be replaced with an aching sense of loss, leaving her yearning for the night’s embrace again. She’d often sit up, hugging her knees, trying to recollect every fragment, every emotion she felt in the dream.

Her friends noticed the far-off look in her eyes during their coffee dates. “Dreaming again?” Lucy, her best friend, would tease. But for Ellie, it was more than just dreaming. It was an experience, an alternate reality she felt tied to. She sketched his face in her notebook during idle moments, trying to capture warm, inviting eyes that promised untold stories.

The line between the dream and reality blurred as days turned into weeks. Ellie would find solace in nature, sitting under the vast expanse of the sky, trying to connect with her dream lover. She wondered who he was, his voice, and if he, too, dreamt of her.

Night after night, Ellie would slip into her bed, her heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of the night, hoping to see him, finally hearing his voice and breaking the barriers that kept them apart. She wanted more than the whispers of the night; she longed for the day they would meet.

As the first rays of dawn painted the horizon, Ellie’s heart held on to the hope that one day, the man with the chocolate-colored eyes would step out from the shadows of her dreams and into the daylight of her reality.

Next Wednesday – Chapter Two: An Unexpected Encounter