【novel】

dozing

I slowly opened my eyes.

It seemed the alarm clock had just rung.

Perhaps I was still drifting in that half-sleeping haze—

my mind not yet fully awake.

Gradually, sounds began to reach me

from beyond the window—

the gentle chirping of birds,

the low murmur of cars burning gasoline in the distance.

As I moved my hand slightly,

a dazzling light touched me.

That was when I realized—

morning had arrived.

…So it was a dream.

I had seen that dream again.

Thinking that, I sat up

and rubbed my eyes.

My hand felt wet.

Ah…

I had been crying

inside that hazy dream.

In that place

warm and soft,

like a sunlit patch of gentle light.

Back then—

when the world seemed far more colorful than it does now.

Still faintly lingering

are that voice,

so unbearably kind,

and the warmth I felt when we touched.

I looked down at my own hand

and slowly clenched it tight.