The Girl of His Dreams (Fiction)

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Nathan saw her again. She was a beautiful girl with curly red hair and a symmetrical face. She was wearing a red dress with little yellow flowers on it. He followed her into a narrow alley.

They reached a dead end. The girl went through the wall, and Nathan followed her. They landed on a vast field, near which there was a river. The girl went slowly into the water. Because Nathan was afraid of water, he never went close to the river. He stopped and watched the woman go inside the water. Some energy pulled her inside. She extended her hand towards Nathan, inviting him to come with her into the water. But Nathan was just standing there watching.

Nathan woke up again. Every Valentine’s Day, Nathan would dream of this girl. But the dream ended with her going into the water. Nathan did not know how to make sense of this dream. He just thought the universe wanted to communicate a message to him. He should find that girl. Maybe he was supposed to be with her.

Nathan decided on his 26th birthday. He will find that girl in the narrow alley. He just had to follow the signs. So, he set off to travel with his bicycle around the world. He visited many places and looked for that girl in those places. He would look up narrow alleys on Google Maps and go to them looking for that girl.

Just before he gave up searching, something wonderful happened to him. He was in one of the cities of Italy named Turin and was sitting at a restaurant about to order food when he saw the girl of his dreams going into a dark, narrow alley. He quickly got up and followed her. But when he reached the alley, the girl was nowhere to be found. Disappointed, Nathan got back to the restaurant and was walking when he saw a street painter. An idea came to his mind.

“Can you draw a picture of the girl I describe?” Nathan asked the painter, excited.

“Yes, sir! I can paint anything you want!” The painter said it with a smile.

Nathan described the girl of his dreams to the painter, and he tried to capture her. The ending result was fabulous. Nathan used the drawing and showed people he met on his way to that neighborhood in hopes of finding that girl.

Several days passed, but he didn’t find her. He felt defeated.

“I will never look for her again! All this time, I’ve been wasting my time!” Nathan thought angrily.

Nathan sold his bicycle, got on an airplane, and got back to his home country.

After a few years, Nathan met Malva. They announced their engagement after being in a relationship for two years. Nathan thought he could forget about her by marrying Malva. They got married and had two children. Years passed, but Nathan couldn’t forget about that girl with the red dress. Nathan never showed Malva the drawing, and he tried to keep her a secret. He put the drawing in a box in the attic.

One day, as Malva was cleaning, she found the box and saw the drawing.

“What is this? Who is she? Are you cheating on me after all these years??"Malva said, shaking with anxiety.

Nathan was sipping his coffee when this happened. He didn’t know what to say, so he said, “No, I swear, I never cheated on you! This is just a drawing! I had it drawn for me in Italy when I was traveling."

“Then, why did you keep it all these years? Are you in love with her?" Malva said, looking into Nathan’s eyes to figure out if he was lying or telling the truth.

“I didn’t cheat on you. I’m telling the truth. There is nothing between me and that girl!” Nathan said, convinced that he couldn’t make Malva believe him.

“After raising your children and cooking and cleaning, I find out you never loved me!” Malva said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t look at your face right now! Can’t you just leave?”

“Get out… Get out of the house!” Malva shouted angrily.

Nathan looked at Malva’s angry face, which was wet with tears. He packed his bags and exited the house. He didn’t know where to go. So, he thought, “Why not try my luck for one more time? This is a sign for me to go back and look for her once again."

Nathan bought a ticket to Italy and went straight to the location of the restaurant. He was glad that the restaurant didn’t change after all these years. He sat down and stared at the nearby alley.

Suddenly, he saw a girl in a red dress going into the narrow alley. Nathan remembered his excitement years ago when he saw her for the first time. The girl noticed him following her. She stopped and said in Italian, “Are you following me? You look familiar! Do we know each other?”

“Do you speak English? What is your name? Do you live here? I am Nathan, by the way." Nathan asked, smiling, mesmerized by the girl’s exotic beauty.

“Yes, a little! My name is Sofia!” Sofia said, unsure about Nathan’s intentions towards her. “Yes, I live here, in that house,” and pointed to an old house with a yellow door.

Nathan showed the drawing to Sofia and said, “Do you know this woman?”

“Yes… Yes… She was my Aunt Aurora!” Sofia said, “What do you want from her?”

“Was?! What do you mean? Can you introduce us? I want to meet her!” Nathan said, tired of chit-chatting.

“You can’t meet her,” Sofia said.

“Why not?” Nathan asked, nervously.

“Because she is dead. She died years ago drowning in the Mediterranean Sea!” Sofia said it with a low voice.

Nathan was shocked. He realized that those dreams he had about her were premonitions about her death.

“No one was around to help her. People say I look like her. I wish! Because she was very beautiful!” Sofia said, remembering the long-gone past.

Nathan was silent for a moment. “If I had continued with my search, she would have been alive, and we would have been together.”

“How do you know her?” Sofia asked.

“I know her from my dreams!” Nathan said, “Thank you for the time you gave me.” Nathan was about to leave because he didn’t want Sofia to see his tears.

“Wait! I should show you something! Come with me!” Sofia said this and moved her head, suggesting Nathan follow her to the house with a yellow door.

They entered. Nathan was surprised to see a picture of his young self on the wall.

“We used to live together. She knew you too! She saw you in her dreams too!” Sofia said, pointing to the drawing on the wall. “She used to talk about you. Dreams are strange!”

“I couldn’t save her! I should have searched more. I was so close!” Nathan said, blaming himself for giving up when he was so close to getting the girl of his dreams.

“Don’t blame yourself. Maybe you meet in another life,” Sofia said, and she hugged Nathan. Nathan hugged her back and sobbed in her arms.