CHAPTER ONE ~ THE COSMIC COFFEE HOUSE
The scent of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air, warm and rich, enveloping her like a comforting embrace. The barista smiled warmly as Paige approached the counter, sliding a steaming cup of coffee toward her.
She blinked in surprise, wrapping her fingers around the warm cup. Strange, she thought. She didn’t remember ordering anything.
Nothing here felt quite real. The place had a soft, dreamlike quality, as if it was a memory hovering just out of reach. The place felt both familiar and unfamiliar, as though she’d been here a thousand times, yet this was the first time she’d walked through the door.
She caught her reflection in the glass of the window—it was blurry, like trying to see her face in a pool of rippling water.
She scanned the room, her gaze sweeping over the softly glowing space. Tables and chairs were organized neatly across the coffee house, some occupied by figures in quiet conversation, their voices blending into a gentle hum that hovered just beyond comprehension. The sound wasn’t words so much as a melody—an almost-memory she couldn’t quite place.
A woman with silver-gray hair sat by the window, a golden glow surrounding her. The light was softly shimmering, like sunlight breaking through morning mist. The woman looked over and smiled radiantly, nodding in greeting.
Paige felt a loving warmth wrap itself around her as she returned the smile, though she didn’t know why. There was something familiar about her, something that whispered of peacefulness. She felt the pull of a memory just out of reach, an echo she couldn’t quite place.
She felt a sense of anticipation, as if she was waiting for someone—someone important—but couldn’t remember who. The details were hazy, just beyond her grasp. A tug at her heart told her she was here for a reason, though she couldn’t recall what it was.
The bell above the door chimed again, its sound as light as a breeze stirring wind chimes. Paige turned instinctively.
The door opened—and time seemed to stop.
A man entered, blueprints tucked under his arm, his presence like a ripple through the dreamlike atmosphere. His eyes met hers, and something deep inside her clicked into place.
Recognition. Not the kind that happens when a stranger looks vaguely familiar. No, this was deeper, like she’d known him forever.
His eyes were kind, filled with warmth and an unspoken understanding, as if they held stories only she could know. She felt there was something special shared between them—something timeless.
Her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding in her ears as his eyes held hers. She knew him. In that moment, the rest of the coffee house seemed to melt away, the background blurring until there was only him. Only them.
She felt a pull, a magnetic force, drawing her closer. She wanted to speak, to say something, but words failed her. The light around him seemed to shimmer, like sunlight on water, and just like that, he was gone.
Paige felt a deep ache blooming in her chest. Wait, she wanted to call out. Please wait. But the moment was gone, slipping through her fingers like water.
“I’ll find you,” she whispered, the words a quiet promise she didn’t fully understand, yet knew she had to keep.
In the background, a dog barked, pulling her attention away for just a second. She turned, searching for the source, but there was no dog in sight, only the fading echo of the sound.
The scene began to blur, like a watercolor painting left out in the rain, the colors running together and fading, the edges softening until it was hard to tell where the coffee shop ended and the dream began.
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