Dreamline - The Falling Light

The wind fell from somewhere above—

soundless, formless, and aimless.

It drifted through the night like a living thing.

Lyn stood in the endless dark.

Fragments of light floated beneath his feet,

as if the city’s reflection had shattered and scattered across the sky.

And then he saw her.

The girl hung weightless in midair.

Her silver-gray hair fanned out around her,

and in her hands, a fragile lantern flickered—

a breath struggling not to fade.

“Lyn—”

Her voice was thin, almost devoured by the wind.

The lantern slipped from her grasp,

falling with a single strand of light trailing after it.

He reached for it—

but his fingers touched nothing.

Then came the fall.

The world caved inward from the center of that light.

Color tore apart.

Every sound was swallowed whole.

The lantern shattered before his eyes,

scattering into dust and sparks.

He woke.

Sweat ran down his forehead.

His chest heaved;

only the sound of his own breathing filled the room.

The night outside hadn’t ended.

City lights still glimmered faintly behind the fog.

On his desk, the monitor blinked red.

DREAM INTERFERENCE: ABNORMAL.

Lyn stared at the words.

The reflection on the screen flickered in his eyes,

like the lamp from the dream.

He walked to the window.

Streetlights shimmered through the glass,

forming the same fragile shape.

The glow trembled,

and the fog outside began to clear.

He leaned his forehead against the cold pane,

watching the streets far below.

The neon still pulsed like the heartbeat of an insomniac city.

He covered his eyes with one hand.

Even behind his eyelids, the afterimage of that light trembled—

a burn left on his vision.

He unlocked the terminal.

The hum of the system brought the world back into motion.

The pulse graph climbed steadily upward.

RAPID EYE MOVEMENT: ABNORMAL.

It wasn’t the first time.

He exhaled slowly and stood.

The bottle on the nightstand had one pill left.

He picked it up,

but didn’t swallow it.

“If dreams can really swallow people,” he whispered,

“then maybe I’ve been gone for a long time.”

A faint current buzzed outside the window,

like wind brushing against steel towers.

He looked up.

The streetlight flickered twice.

Darkness blinked—

and then returned to normal.

But for a heartbeat,

he saw another self reflected in the glass—

the version of him from the dream,

eyes glowing faintly with light.

The terminal beeped.

“Lyn Ashen, Dream Record anomaly detected. Report to the Center immediately.”

He didn’t answer.

The words shimmered and distorted on the screen,

as if the dream itself had reached into the signal.

Then came the call.

“Lyn? You’re awake?”

Kai’s voice broke through the static.

“I guessed right, didn’t I? You saw her again.”

Silence.

“The interference’s coming from your side.”

“I know.”

“Don’t touch the monitor. The doctor said the data feedback could mess with your mind-state.”

He didn’t reply.

The pill in his hand began to dissolve,

leaving a bitter taste between his fingers.

“I don’t think she’s gone yet,” he said quietly.

“Who?”

“The lantern… from the dream.”

The line went still.

Then—

the signal died.

Wind stirred again.

Fog crawled back across the skyline,

as if something unseen was breathing in the dark.

Lyn looked up.

The streetlight still burned—

but this time,

a faint figure stood beneath it.

Long hair moved with the wind,

a silhouette drawn out of mist.

Someone was falling again—

from the depth of a dream.

His breath caught.

The shadow slowly raised its head,

and in her mismatched eyes,

he saw the same flicker of light.

Then the lamp went out.

The room sank into total darkness.

The monitor flashed one last time,

leaving behind a single line of record:

“Dreamline interference confirmed.

Dreamwalker ID: LY-021.

Status — Unawakened.”

He sat in the dark,

waiting for his eyes to adjust.

The city’s sounds trickled back—

wind brushing the windows,

a train rumbling far below.

He reached for the power switch;

his fingers touched only cold metal.

The indicator light was gone—

as if the dream had taken it.

He leaned back,

closed his eyes,

and the image returned—

those eyes,

one gold, one blue.

He breathed deeply, trying to steady himself.

Maybe it was a trick of the light.

Maybe the medication.

But his heartbeat refused to agree.

The night faded slowly.

He didn’t sleep again.

By the time the fog dissolved and the streetlights went out,

the city was awake.

He changed clothes,

slid the terminal into his bag,

and stepped out.

The air still smelled of rain.

In a puddle near the curb,

a piece of paper floated—

two words written in smudged ink:

Dreamline.

He watched it dissolve,

as if swallowed by the water.

The Dream Research Center waited in the western district—

a concrete monolith where no sunlight reached.

The scanner’s voice greeted him coldly:

“LY-021. Continuous entry threshold exceeded. Submit report within three hours.”

The corridors glowed with dull white light.

Dream projections shimmered on the walls—

fractured shapes, twisting, collapsing.

Kai met him at the lab door,

eyes shadowed from lack of sleep.

“You look terrible.”

“Didn’t sleep.”

“She showed up again?”

He nodded. “But it’s different.”

“How different?”

“She was looking at me.”

“Was she?” Kai frowned. “Or did you think she was?”

“Does it matter?”

“It matters to the data.”

Lyn didn’t answer.

He handed Kai the terminal.

The screen flared to life—

the last record spiking three times above safe limits.

Kai stared. “That’s impossible… unless—”

“You skipped the meds, didn’t you?”

Silence.

Then the monitor flickered.

A glow filled the screen—

the lantern.

Kai froze. “That footage—”

“It’s not footage,” Lyn said.

“It’s live.”

The light swayed.

The frame widened.

A blurred figure stepped into view,

the lamp burning in her hand.

The room fell silent.

Kai reached to shut it off,

but Lyn caught his wrist.

“Don’t move,” he whispered. “She can see us.”

The air itself seemed to freeze.

At the end of the hall,

a door slid open.

Dr. Su entered,

expression unreadable.

“You’ve pushed the experiment too far,” he said, voice flat.

“This isn’t an experiment,” Kai answered.

“Then what is it?”

“She’s looking for me,” Lyn said.

The doctor studied him for a long time.

“Dreams aren’t vessels for emotion, Lyn. She’s just a residual echo.”

“Then why does she know my name?”

No one replied.

The data spiked again, red light washing the walls.

Lyn stared at the numbers,

heart pounding.

The lamp flickered once more.

Then—silence.

Everything stopped.

He looked down.

The screen was dead,

except for a single ember of light,

faint but breathing.

He reached toward it.

The glow rippled outward like water.

Words surfaced within the light:

“Dreams belong to no one.”

A hand reached through the screen—

cold, real—

and brushed against his fingers.

Then it was gone.

The reboot chime echoed.

Kai turned,

but Lyn had vanished.

Only the lamp remained on the table,

its light trembling softly.

Dr. Su stared at it, whispering to himself,

“Another one… taken by the dream.”

Outside, morning bled into the city.

For a heartbeat,

the glass reflected a silver-haired girl

with mismatched eyes.

And she whispered,

softly—

“You’re finally back.”

ns216.73.216.204da2

Reading Theme:

Font Size:

Line Spacing:

Paragraph Spacing:

Load the next issue automatically