“Liam Rainier and Marlyn Drisner, you will be partners for your next Dream Retreat assignment, helping Patient Noah Abbot”. My boss, Mr. Robert says. Liam nods a greeting in my direction, and I give him a quick smile before returning my gaze to the ground, hoping I didn’t blush too hard. “Noah is stuck in a dream which he thinks is reality, and your job is to enter his dream, taking the form of Noah’s mother and father, to make him realize he is living in a fantasy. This is the only way Noah can escape his dream and wake up.”                                            

A little boy, who I assumed is Noah, lies unconscious on a bed in front of the two chairs Liam and I are sitting in. Mr. Robert stands off to the side, and there is not much else in the small hospital room. “These tablets will immediately teleport you both into Noah’s dream. Good luck to both of you.” Mr. Roberts finishes his instructions and leaves the room.

I glance at Liam who calmly eats the small round tablet Mr. Roberts has given each of us, and my stomach fills with butterflies at the sight of him. Maybe today Liam will finally notice me, I think. I swallow my own tablet, and my vision goes black. 

A moment later my eyes clear up, and Liam and I are in a small kitchen. My heart speeds with the excitement of how close I am standing to him. A round table is in the center of the room, and a cake with 9 candles sits on it next to a wrapped present. A boy, whom I recognize as Noah, sits at the table with a party hat on his head.       

“I wish for the best 9th birthday ever!” Noah says, and he blows out the candles. Then he smiles gratefully up at Liam and I. “Thanks again for everything! Love you mom,” he gets up and gives me a quick hug, “love you dad.” He gives Liam a hug too, picks up the present from the table, and runs into the adjacent living room.  

As a trained professional, I know what must be done to get Noah out of this dream, but it won't be easy. The look on Liam's face tells me he’s dreading it just as much as I am.   

“This is gonna be a rough one,” Liam says, looking at me with his perfectly bright blue eyes, “I can do-”

“No,” I stop him mid sentence, “I will do it, I can handle it.” I have to show Liam that I’m not weak, I think, I can’t mess this up. I grab the sharpest kitchen knife from the rack next to the sink and hide it in my sweater pocket. I take a deep breath and step inside the living room.

Noah is so innocently sitting on the couch unwrapping his present, I feel a rush of guilt wash over me. But I know I’ll feel even more guilty if Noah never woke up.  

“Noah, honey, come over here for a second.” I call out gently. Noah obediently trots over to me. Within a split second, I push Noah against the wall with my left hand and hold the knife at his throat with my right. “YOU’RE THE WORST SON EVER.” I shout. Noah lets out a muffled scream and struggles under my grip. He was so small and frail, it was easy to keep him from escaping, "I WON'T LET YOU OUT OF MY GRASP ALIVE!”

“No, my mom would never hurt me!" Noah cries, "this isn’t real.” Noah abruptly stops moving, and a look of understanding dawns over his face. 

Suddenly I’m back in my chair in the hospital room. Noah sits up with a gasp, breathing hard and frantically looking around. A nurse comes in and pushes Noah’s bed out of the room, leaving Liam and I by ourselves in the quiet room.      

“Hey, that was really brave of you,” Liam says to me, clearly impressed, “I was wrong to think you didn’t have it in you.”

“Thanks,” I say, definitely blushing this time, “honestly, I didn’t think I had it in me either.” Liam’s wholehearted smile almost kills me. He pushes his soft blond hair away from his bright blue eyes and takes a step towards me. He gently places his hand on my arm, and a warm thrill races through my entire body.                                      

He’s finally noticed me, I think. After all these years, Luke finally likes me back. 

Luke leans closer to me and I close my eyes. 

This is too good, I think, this can’t be real.

That’s when I wake up.