The Line Between Dreams and The Waking

A Short Story

Written By: Jezley Drogtop

Edited By: Suereya Abdella, Laila Kadry

The sun hung like an unreal, golden orb in a sky that was too bright blue to be real. Aurelia blinked, the sharp light burning in her eyes. Confused, she looked around. Her unfinished painting, lying for ages at the foot of her bed like a elephant in the room, was no longer anywhere to be found.

Slowly, it dawned on her: this was not her room. She stood in an expansive, empty field. The air around her was suffocatingly still, without a breeze, without a sound. Just her. She swallowed hard as a wave of panic surged through her. What if she would never return home? Thoughts of her family and friends raced through her mind. The way her father meticulously brewed his morning coffee, humming off-key to an old tune; the smell of fresh bread waiting from the bakery on the corner; the weekly card game at her uncle's house, where heated debates and bad jokes made her feel most alive. Even the mundane things—like the creaky floorboard in the hallway she always avoided when sneaking in late—suddenly seemed irreplaceable. She hadn’t realized how much she cared, not truly. She’d always told herself she could take or leave these things, that life had so much more to offer beyond her little world. But now, faced with the tangible fear in her gut, the thought of those tiny, irreplaceable pieces of her life slipping away forever was almost unbearable.  The loneliness pressed down on her chest like a heavy stone, pushing her into the grass. “This can’t be real,” she whispered, but the words felt hollow in the still air. She wanted to move, but as she lifted her foot, she felt an invisible force pulling her back. In her next breath, she began to float, the ground beneath her seemed to vanish. Panic overtook her, and she screamed, “No!” The echo of her voice was swallowed by the silence, as if the world itself refused to hear her.

But just as suddenly as it had started, the sensation ceased. She felt herself fall—not a sharp drop, but a strange, weightless descent that left her disoriented. The grass felt damp beneath her feet, the juicy blades giving off an odd scent of earth and blossom. The air around her was sweet yet suffocating, like an opaque veil enveloping her. The sun beat down on her skin, but the heat seemed to come from another realm; it pressed down on her, draining her energy. “This can’t be real,” she muttered, but the realization that this was no ordinary dream slowly sank in. The sky was too perfect, the grass too green, and everything felt as if it had been pulled from a surreal painting. As she repeated those words, she hoped to awaken in the comfort of her own bed. But, nothing happened. The colors around her were absurdly vivid; the sky radiated an unprecedented clarity, and the grass sparkled like jewels in the sunlight. This was no world that followed the laws of nature but a bizarre creation of her mind. “This is a dream,” she whispered.

Something shifted in the corner of her eye, catching her attention. She blinked, her heart pounding in her chest. No, she hadn’t been mistaken; there was indeed someone there. A shadow, slowly but surely approaching, like a dark cloud blotting out the sun. Panic gripped her tightly. She had to run, now or never. This dream felt different, like a sinister twist of reality. What if this shadow wasn’t just a figment of her imagination? What if they could truly hurt her here? The very thought weakened her legs, but an instinctive urge to escape prevailed.

In panic, her eyes locked onto the approaching figure. It was getting closer with each heartbeat. There was no way out—she had to fight

“Who are you?” she shouted, her voice trembling but fierce. The only answer was a dark, twisted smile:, cold and full of malice. The monster said nothing, its form shifting and swirling like an endless shadow, vast and consuming.

Her mind raced in a desperate spiral. Chaos had always been her greatest fear, the relentless force behind her nightmares. But this… this was different. This was her dream. And here, she realized, she could use the chaos to fight the monster.

Slowly, a plan took place in her mind. Chaos had always been her enemy, but what if she could forge it into her ally? The monster might not vanish if she ran. She couldn’t escape it. But here, in this dream world, she was in control. If the chaos in her nightmares was part of her, then maybe—just maybe—she could bend it to her will.

She closed her eyes, her breath unsteady but deliberate. The panic surged through her veins, but she forced it down, grounding herself in the surreal rhythm of the dream. The sky overhead was too blue, the grass too vibrant—everything here was exaggerated, surreal. And that was her key. This world didn’t have to obey any rules.

Aurelia felt the shift. The air thickened, swirling with new energy, and the ground beneath her softened, as if it had become liquid, undulating like a sea of grass. She stretched out her hands, sensing the raw energy of the dream coiling within her, ready to be unleashed. She didn’t need to control the chaos anymore; she could embrace it. She could wield it.The air burst alive with color, wild shapes spinning and warping into existence—a tempest of pure imagination. The monster hesitated, its smile flickering, unsure. This time, the tide had shifted.

The chaos she once feared had become her weapon. And in this world, she was unstoppable.

Aurelia’s eyes fluttered open, her heart still racing from the dream. For a moment, she lay still, staring at the ceiling, feeling the softness of her bed beneath her. The familiar sounds of the waking world returned—the distant hum of traffic, the faint chirping of birds outside her window.

But something was different. The world around her seemed brighter, more vivid, as if the colors of her dream had bled into reality. She sat up, still confused and shaken by her dream. Her mind lingered on the strange world, the monster, the vibrant colors.

She stood and padded over to the window. Sunlight streamed in, casting playful patterns across the floor. As she looked closer, she noticed how the light bent and refracted, creating a shifting mosaic of colors. It was beautiful in its randomness—something she might have overlooked before.

Aurelia took a deep breath. Her dream had shown her that creativity didn’t come from controlling every detail, but from allowing things to flow, from taking risks, from seeing the world with fresh eyes. She realized she didn’t have to fear uncertainty anymore. She could embrace it—both in her art and in her life. Maybe she could finish those paintings she feared ruining oh-so strongly. That would be nice.