Chapter 1 : Dream

"Aghhh!!!" Helen awoke from her dream. "Ha... hah... hah...." Her breath was shaky, as if she had just run for her life.

She looked around in panic. Finding that she was still in her room, Helen began to calm down. She regained her breath after panting hard.

'Water.'

That was what was on her mind. She needed water. Helen got up from the bed and exited her bedroom, headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water.

In the kitchen, Helen picked up her glass and poured the water. She drank it all in one gulp. Helen paused and then glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen. It showed two-thirty in the morning.

"Huuhh...." Helen sighed once again before leaving the kitchen for the bathroom. Although it was only around 2 AM, she knew she would not be able to go back to sleep. So, she decided to wash her face. After all, the dream would keep waking her up if she tried to sleep.

After washing her face, Helen stood silently and lost in thought, staring blankly at the reflection of herself in the mirror above the sink. She began to recall the dream she had just experienced. It was becoming more and more vivid. Helen even wondered if she was going crazy! How could she possibly assume those dreams were real?! It was impossible! Although she kept trying to deny it, her heart said otherwise.

It was unknown what triggered this. However, Helen knew for sure that all of this had started on her 13th birthday. On the night of her birthday, she began dreaming. A very strange dream!

At first, she did not remember the details of that dream clearly. All she could recall was a man hugging a young girl beneath a large cherry blossom tree. The scene resembled a painting. In fact, it was almost like an illusion. So beautiful to behold but also so heart-wrenching to look at. You know. The beautiful "illusion" actually represents a wound. A tragedy... Capable of shattering one's soul and body upon witnessing. That was all she could remember.

Since then, the dream seemed to fade. Halen started to forget it slowly. It was not until she turned sixteen years old, that dream came back!

At that moment, she heard the man's voice calling out a name. He repeated it several times. However, Helen could not truly hear the name. She only knew that the man must be calling out to the girl in his arms, and then, the dream came to an end.

She felt as if she knew the girl's name that the man mentioned in her dream, but she could not remember it. Plus, the faces of the two people in her dream were still hazy, and she couldn't see them clearly because of that at that time.

That repeated itself on her seventeenth birthday. She dreamed of the same scenario once more! This time, she began to discern the figures of the man and the girl! She could remember the name of the young girl. Yuki, that was the girl's name.

Then, on her 18th birthday, she had a premonition that she would be dreaming of the man and the girl, Yuki, that night. And true, the dream returned.

However, this time, the dream did not occur just once, but repeatedly until now! That dream occurred every day for the past two years.

It was becoming increasingly realistic, akin to watching a live movie or drama where the main characters were a couple in her dream. She saw the dream as a third person until a few days ago. Right after that, it all changed! Precisely, it happened on her 20th birthday, June 11. Since then, she no longer experienced the dream as an observer. Instead, she lived it as the dying young girl in her dream—Yuki!

Two days ago, she felt her body was so weak. Even moving her limbs felt impossible. She struggled to open her eyes. Finally, when she managed to open her eyes, the only sight that greeted her was the hazy face of the man in her dream! She was shocked, panicked, and confused, but no matter how hard she struggled, her body could not be moved. Felt powerless, she surrendered... Just stayed silent. Although she wanted to say something, no sound came out of her mouth.

She could not clearly remember his face, but she knew and could feel what he was feeling.

Anxiety, panic, despair, sadness, and profound pain—those were his feelings.

Two things remained consistent despite the changes. First, for some inexplicable reason—each time Helen glimpsed the man, she felt like she recognized him. It was as if they had met before. Every time she saw him, her heart ached—crushed and torn apart. Her soul yearned to embrace him as if he were the man she deeply loved.

Secondly, didn't know where this crazy idea came from or what poison she had drunk, but she felt that the girl named Yuki was herself?! Moreover, whenever the man called Yuki's name, she thought that he was calling out to her!

Ridiculous! That was the wildest idea she'd ever considered! How could she and Yuki be the same person? How could she envision herself as a dying girl in her lover's arms rather than a lady who lived happily with her dream prince charming?!

"Maybe it was because the dream kept haunting me, and I was bored just being a spectator, so that's why I started dreaming as Yuki? Heh, that might be it...," she thought jokingly.

Yuki and she were the same person? How could that be? Yuki was her other self? Impossible!

Reincarnation? Could Yuki be a version of herself from the past? Hah? Absurd. That was the craziest thing she ever heard! How could there be such a thing as reincarnation in this world? That was just a myth! A bedtime fairy tale! Besides, her past life was so tragic? So sorrowful....

Helen continued to seek a thousand reasons to deny the feelings and speculations she possessed about Yuki and the dream.

She started pacing around the bathroom. She kept trying to brush off her silly thoughts and ideas. But.... The more she denied it, the more tenacious her wild god-tier imagination became.

"Aghhhh... whatever! Maybe I should go to a psychologist or even a psychiatrist! I feel like I'm going crazy!" Helen shouted as she continued to throw a million complaints.

"Wait…. If I seek help, won't they conclude that I'm insane? They might think I had severe hallucinations, mental disorders, or other psychiatric problems. They could even send me to a mental hospital! Aghhh... OMG... Helen.… Oh, Helen…. What a genius you are, Helen. You're so brilliant that you're digging your own grave!"

Helen continued to mock herself and berate her actions. She had spent nearly two hours in the bathroom, engaged in a fruitless self-talk, and now, the clock had been showing 04.25 AM!

If there had been anyone else in the house witnessing her talking to herself while pacing around, they would surely have thought Helen was losing her mind! What's more, she talked about some stuff that did not make sense. They would think Helen had read too many manga and novels and watched too many movies or dramas.

"Gggggrruuukkk…."

'Ugh…. Sh*t!' She cursed in her heart. How can this stomach growling right now?!

Helen then realized she had spent far too long in the bathroom without any results! If only this hungry stomach did not make any sound, she might have stayed there all day.

'Hmm, never mind. I'll think about the dream later. The most important thing now is, what breakfast should I make this morning?' She thought to herself.

Helen then dragged her sluggish feet back to the kitchen and began to focus on preparing breakfast and the necessities for today's activities.

Today, yet again, would be one of the new pages of her life.

"Fighting, Helen!!!" Cheered Helen while encouraging herself.