Dream Lovers

Written By Valerie Castaneda

Today was a day like any other, uninspiring to say the least, until it wasn’t. She was sitting in her favorite spot at her favorite Cafe, sipping her latte, when she felt the urge to look up and her eyes met with the kindest hazel eyes she has ever witnessed.

He spoke, “Do you believe in fate because I have been dreaming of you and I believe we just may be soulmates?”

She replied with a simple, “Not really.”

He spoke again, “I’m in a hurry but I would like to see you again.” He carefully laid his card on the table and said, “I hope to hear from you.”

With that he turned and walked away, he looked at her once more before walking out of the coffee shop.

It was her day off and she was not in the mood for men even if their stare gave her feelings she had not felt since dating in her teens. At thirty eight, she knew better, those feelings were nothing more than a one way trip to being her biggest distraction from her goals. She was almost there, her last book had sold millions world wide but she still had one more book to finish the series. The book about true intimacy, the easy parts had already been written, the initial beginning phase and the pleasurable moments were easy. True intimacy was something foreign to her, it was something she had yet to experience. She thought to herself, “I’ll just watch some romantic movies and fake the rest.

That night she watched every romantic movie she could stream and she still had no clue how to write the last book. Every movie made her more cynical than the next. They were all so ridiculously obvious and not even remotely relatable that she fell asleep of pure and utter disappointment. She had to give her editor something soon before he blew a gasket. She was getting annoyed by his forty calls a week asking for a first draft.

The next day she went back to the Cafe, purchased her usual vanilla latte and sat down at her favorite table. She opened her laptop to search online for some books for inspiration when she felt that familiar feeling from a couple days before. She closed her laptop and again she met the same kind, hazel eyes from a couple days before.

He said, “You did not call.” His sweet smile slowly slipped into a disappointed frown.

She replied, “You seem like a pretty sweet guy but I simply do not have much time for relationships right now.”

“I know I seem like a weirdo or something but I assure you that this has never happened to me before and I know that we belong together, give me a chance to prove it.” He said still looking at her like she was the love of his life.

“As I have said, I don’t have time for relationships but I guess dinner will be alright,” She replied, getting a little more intrigued by the moment. All of a sudden a warm delicate feeling washed over her. “I lost your card, what is your name? I am Isabella.”

“My name is Jasper.” He wrote down an address with a phone number on a napkin and said, “Meet me here tonight at eight.” He walked to the door smiling this time like he won the biggest prize of his life.

She thought, “This guy is strange but maybe he is just what I need to get my story ending.” She had no idea how true that would be.

Isabella showed up to the dinner and was pleasantly surprised by how much they had in common. Jasper was a gentleman and other than the dreams he mentioned from time to time there were no red flags that she could see. By the time dinner arrived she was smitten by how handsome and truly a kind person he was. He was an environmentalist and donated his time to many causes. He was like the characters in some of the movies she was watching for inspiration. He was definitely the kind of guy who she could base the ending from but what about her female role? She figured she could focus on the man’s feelings and have the woman character follow his lead. She was a writer after all and they say write what you know or see and she could see this guy was perfect for the role.

After dinner he asked her out on another date and she accepted. When she entered her apartment she felt a wave of Deja Vu all of a sudden. Not a simple ten second wave but a full on two to three minutes of feeling like she had done this before which was impossible because she went shopping this afternoon for decor and that lamp was never there before today. She shook it off and went to bed.

The next morning Jasper invited her to the park for a walk and a boat ride. It sounded cliche but she went anyway hoping to learn more about Jasper and his propensity for intimacy. They walked around the park all day just simply enjoying each others company. Isabella’s wall of cynical disbelief in true love in real life started to crumble as Jasper talked incessantly about his hopes and dreams. He was the kindest man she had ever met and he seemed very genuine.

While on the boat ride Jasper looked over and said, “You think I am crazy right, about my dreams?”

Isabella replied, “At first I was concerned, but I am open to learning about them.” Jasper went on to tell her about his latest one when it happened again. She had Deja Vu this time for longer and without thinking she leaned over and kissed him. This was not like her to do something so bold and Jasper returned with more passion than neither one of them has ever felt. On the walk home Jasper admitted that he had dreamed about that kiss and Isabella told him about her Deja Vu experiences.

Months passed and the dreams and Deja Vu started to align until Isabella and Jasper were so desperately in love that they could not hold back any longer. They fell into so much passion that Isabella was one of those characters she used to scoff at and Jasper was the man of her dreams that she now started having. Some nights they would wake up in each others arms and they would look into each others eyes and realize that they had the same dream. Isabella could not believe that this was happening to her and she finally had the passion to write about intimacy.

Her book made more than the last and topped the charts for the first time. She was an international success and had enough money to invest in Jasper’s dreams of helping the world to be a better place. She thought about how she blew Jasper off that first day and was glad that he was so persistent and that she followed the signs. She wondered if life could get any better than this. The Deja Vu slowed down but the dreams played on. One morning she had Deja Vu again for the first time in a year. They were now married a few months and Isabella was feeling off. She went to the Doctor and could not believe what she saw…

That night when Jasper came home, Isabella came over to him in the kitchen and told him she had Deja Vu today.

He said, “I wonder what this will bring?”

Isabella put a picture down on the table and said, “Do you believe in fate because I had Deja Vu today?” Jasper looked down and saw a sonogram picture of their baby.

Valerie Castaneda

@valeriejcastaneda

Campbell, CA

Valerie Castaneda has not written a story.