“Reincarnation?” Johan asked.

“I'm just guessing,” Wendy responded. “I mean, there could be many reasons, but this one sounds more exciting.”

“Stop joking around. I'm being serious.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. You don't have to repeat yourself. I mean, what else could it be?”

"But reincarnation? That sounds a bit too far-fetched, even for you."

"Think about it. You are having a dream about this guy in the past, and he is in love with a girl that happens to look like the one you just met. They both ended up dying and promised to meet in the afterlife. Maybe the afterlife turned out to be our modern world, making you his reincarnation, and this girl her reincarnation. Easy."

"Easy? It sounds ridiculous. Way too contrived to be the case."

"That's all I can come up with. I mean, you're the psychologist here and even you can't figure it out."

“I'm a student. I barely started learning about how the human mind works.”

“Then what do you think is happening then, Dr. Johan?”

Johan rolled his eyes. "It must be a coincidence. Dreams aren't meant to be interpreted as literal. Dreams are just visions in your head that your mind creates because it is sorting out information. It doesn't mean anything tangible."

"Then why are you so concerned? I mean, you saw that girl's face, came in here looking so frightened, tell me this story about your long lost lover from the past, and now denying what you saw with your own eyes."

"I'm not denying the coincidence. I'm not denying the validity of the dream. There's a rational explanation for everything. But I don't buy reincarnation as being one of those reasons."

"I don't see what else it could be. I'm sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear."

“Yeah. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. I probably should've kept my mouth shut.”

He walked away from the kitchen and over to the windows. Wendy followed and rested their hand on his shoulder. “I'm sure you wanted to tell someone for a long time. I'm glad you got that off of your chest.”

“I still wish I didn't.”

“In any case, you did. And now that it's out in the world, you can probably interpret it differently. After all that you said, tell me, what do you believe is the actual reason this is happening now that you see it before you.”

Johan gave it a brief thought before he replied. "Maybe I saw her earlier without realizing it. I mean, perhaps I saw her walking down the street but didn't really notice her, and her image was unconsciously stored in my head. Maybe I noticed her today among the crowd but didn't specifically point her out. No, that couldn't be. Her face is so uncannily familiar, but not from a distance. That's probably it. I saw her earlier but didn't really recognize her. That's why I was so shocked when I saw her then and there... except that doesn't explain my dream. She's been in my mind for so long... Probably because I saw her years ago? No. That's not possible either. She must be at least..." With a silent gasp, he turned to Wendy who listened intently to every one of his words. “Forget about it,” he concluded before walking away from the window.

As Johan paced once again, Wendy sat down on the couch and told him, “In my opinion, it doesn't matter. Whatever the reason that you have met her, it doesn't matter.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Don't get me wrong. This is all very important, but you are concentrating on the wrong thing.“

“What are you suggesting?”

“The answer is obvious.”

“It is?”

“Yes, Johan. Of course.”

Looking perplexed at what Wendy was saying, Johan stopped and stroked his chin.

“Are you really thinking about this?” Wendy asked irritated.

“I don't understand what you just told me.”

“Johan, you fool. Ask her out on a date.”

“What?”

“You said so yourself. She was beautiful, and she reminds you of this girl you are dreaming of. She is literally the girl of your dreams. So ask her out on a date.”

“I can't do that, are you crazy?”

“There's nothing crazy about this. I mean, I'm going to be honest, I didn't even think you were interested in girls. In all the time I've gotten to know you, you never showed any interest in any girl. This is actually quite a revelation that you actually have romantic impulses.”

“I'm not going to ask her out. I don't even know where she is, and even if I had the chance, I shouldn't.”

“She doesn't come to this school?”

“No. She's probably in middle-” He forcefully stopped himself before he could utter another word. After exhaling, “I can't do anything about this. In fact, it's better that I forget this whole situation.”

He exited the living room and headed toward his bedroom. “I think I'll just sleep it off. I must be stressed. I think I'll just work on my novella tonight and save studying for tomorrow.”

“That's a shame. Here I thought you were finally going to talk to a girl. Well, I mean a 'real' girl.” Wendy snickers.

“You must stop making those jokes. You're going to offend someone.”

“Let them be offended. I don't care. But let's forget about me, Johan, if you like this girl, ask her out.“

“Wendy, do me a favor and just forget what you heard. I regret my decision to talk about this.”

“But this could be your soul mate.”

“I'm not going to accept reincarnation as a valid explanation. I'm just going to lay in my bed and clear my head. I'm not going to eat tonight so just make something for yourself.”

“Oh, that's right. I forgot to make breakfast for you.”

“That's okay, I don't care anymore. Just... leave me alone for a moment.“ With all that said, he retreated to his bedroom.

After locking the door, he rested on his bed. With the exception of Wendy's feet shuffling, all was quiet. He closed his eyes but the vision of the girl quickly opened them. “Who are you? Why do you show up in my dreams all the time?” He took a deep breath before closing his eyes once more.

He found himself in a strange place where everything was suspended in the air. Even the very ground under his feet was a great slab of dirt that was breaking apart.

He heard her cries as a piece of debris hit her, causing her to collapse.

He ran as fast as he could, stomping on the void of nothingness that kept him aloft. Every ounce of his energy was allocated toward his legs propelling him with all his strength to reach her.

He watched as the winds picked her up and flung her like a feather in a draft. It did not matter how much he struggled, the void was toying with them as she spun around wildly into the darkness.

He awoke from his temporary slumber and rubbed his temples. “It's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything. I'm just stressed about mid-terms, that's all.” He released his face and stared at the ceiling. “But I can't deny that she's been a constant throughout my entire life. No matter what dream I have, she is always there. Always smiling, always cheerful, always encouraging. Always there for me. Always welcomed. Always.”

His heart raced as his breathing got heavier. “Reincarnation? I don't buy it. I just don't. There's no scientific evidence that it's real. That's more like a religious thing. It has nothing to do with the modern world. Besides, if it was real, there would be some documented case of it, right? I mean, whoever the person in the past was, I'm sure they left some record somewhere. And it would be just like in my dream, right?" He chuckled. "Wouldn't that be weird if I stumbled on an ancient document and it followed the same events in my dream? But the odds of that happening make it impossible to actually be the case.” He paused briefly to exhale. “But... you know... I'm not knowledgeable about this. I haven't studied this concept at all. I still don't believe it, but I shouldn't be so hasty in assuming things. It may even be a sensitive topic. You know, religious folks believe this stuff, so I probably shouldn't assume things. I'm a respectful person, I don't discriminate.”

He looked out the window to witness the sun setting, barely visible in the small gap between buildings. Shifting his body, he felt something hard poke his side. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

The faint sound of a door closing was heard. Not a single sound from Wendy existed. The silence that followed let him know that he was now in solidarity. His only companion in this lonely world was the reflection on the phone's screen. “I guess there's no harm in exploring the topic right now.”