For the first time since the dreams had begun, Mira wanted to sleep.
Not because she was tired.
But because she was waiting.
Waiting for the rooftop.
Waiting for the quiet conversations.
Waiting for him.
The realization itself felt strange.
A few weeks ago, she had laughed at people who became emotionally attached to celebrities they had never met.
Now she was lying in bed hoping to see someone who technically didn't even exist in her real life.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered softly.
Still… she closed her eyes.
Sleep came slowly that night.
Her mind kept wandering.
Fragments of the previous dreams replayed themselves again and again.
The rehearsal studio.
The rooftop with the city lights.
The calm way he spoke.
The way he seemed to understand things she never said out loud.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
Her thoughts faded.
Darkness took over.
But nothing happened.
No rooftop.
No studio.
No voice calling her out for talking to herself.
Just silence.
When Mira woke up the next morning, sunlight was already filling her room.
She blinked slowly, still half asleep.
For a moment, she expected to remember another conversation.
Another dream.
But there was nothing.
Just an empty memory.
She stared at the ceiling.
"That's… it?" she whispered.
Her chest felt strangely hollow.
As if something familiar had suddenly disappeared.
The day felt different.
Not bad.
Just… quieter.
At work, Mira finished her tasks without distraction.
She answered emails.
Completed reports.
Even attended a meeting without letting her mind wander.
Everything looked normal from the outside.
But inside, a strange thought kept repeating itself.
Why didn't the dream happen?
During lunch break, she opened her phone and played one of the songs again.
The familiar beat filled her ears.
Usually the music made her feel relaxed.
Today it made her thoughtful.
She stared at the lyrics on the screen.
"You know," she murmured quietly,
"I kind of expected to see you again."
A coworker passing by glanced at her strangely.
Mira quickly cleared her throat and pretended to focus on her phone.
"Okay," she whispered to herself.
"Maybe I need to stop talking to imaginary people."
That evening she returned home feeling unusually restless.
After dinner she went to the gym, hoping the workout would clear her mind.
She pushed herself harder than usual.
Running longer.
Lifting heavier.
But even after the workout, the strange emptiness remained.
When she finally returned to her room, she collapsed onto the bed.
Her phone lay beside her.
Without thinking, she opened one of the interview videos she had watched before.
The rapper sat calmly in a studio chair, answering questions thoughtfully.
Mira watched quietly.
The way he spoke.
The calm confidence.
The thoughtful pauses before answering.
Something about it felt strangely familiar now.
Almost like she had spoken to him before.
She sighed and closed the video.
"This is getting unhealthy," she said.
But even as she said it, she knew something had changed.
Later that night, Mira lay in bed again.
The room was quiet.
Her phone screen slowly dimmed beside her.
For a moment she hesitated.
Then she whispered softly into the darkness.
"Are you coming tonight?"
The words sounded ridiculous the moment she said them.
She laughed at herself and turned to the other side of the bed.
"Great," she murmured.
"Now I'm waiting for a dream character."
Sleep slowly began to pull her in again.
But before her thoughts faded completely, one realization appeared clearly in her mind.
The dreams had started as something strange.
Then they became interesting.
Now…
they had become something she missed.
And that was the part that scared her the most.
Because Mira had always believed in reality.
But somewhere along the way…
a small part of her heart had started waiting for the dream world instead.