[Side Ethan]
Very early in the morning, before the rooster crowed, "Ugh," Ethan woke up. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the very familiar ceiling.
"Haha, it really was just a dream. (His hand went up to his mouth.) But I can still taste the wine on my lips. That's really strange," he said, smiling.
"Shhh," he got up and sat on the sofa. "Hwaaaah," both his arms went up to stretch as he yawned. His eyes glanced at the desk. He saw the book he got yesterday lying silently on the table. His hand immediately reached for the book. He opened the second page, and his eyes widened, his mouth dropping open.
"Wh... what is this?" he asked in his heart.
On the second page was a photo of him and Elena, drawn with a brown pencil. It clearly showed Ethan's face smiling and Elena's face sitting across from him in a beautiful dress. He also saw himself wearing the elegant tuxedo.
Below the picture, there was a record of his conversation with Elena. In addition, it also described what he was doing, like cutting the meat or drinking wine.
"Is... is this like a novel?" Ethan asked in his heart.
He read all the writing and remembered that what was written were indeed the words that came out of his mouth when he talked to Elena. His eyes returned to the photo above, especially Elena's face, which looked beautiful and was laughing freely as if she didn't have a worry in the world. Ethan smiled. Without realizing it, his finger went up and stroked Elena's picture printed in the book.
"It's a shame it was only a dream, but at least I feel relieved today. (He thought for a moment.) Diana can't see this book. I have to take this book to the office," Ethan said in his heart.
He closed the book and walked toward the door. He picked up his bag from the floor, then put the book inside. After that, he went out of his room to the next room.
"Click."
Ethan peeked into the room. He saw his wife sleeping while sitting up with the laptop on her lap. He went into the room and closed his wife's laptop. Slowly, he laid his wife down on the bed and covered her with the blanket. Then he sat on the side of the bed and looked at his wife's sleeping face. He stroked her hair, smiling, then he stood up and quietly left the room so he wouldn't wake his wife.
"Clap."
As soon as he closed the door, he leaned against it and thought, recalling his conversation with Elena in his dream. Ethan started to smile to himself as he remembered it.
"Haaah.... my ideal woman only exists in a dream. (Smack He slapped both his cheeks.) Come on, Ethan, snap out of it. I'll just make breakfast for myself and Diana," Ethan said.
He hurried downstairs and walked to the kitchen. "Clang." He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of mayonnaise, eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and lettuce. He looked at a bag of whole wheat bread on the shelf.
"Sizzle... shhh."
He turned on the stove. "Crack." He cracked two eggs onto a non-stick pan and started to fry them. He also put in some bacon to fry along with the eggs. When it was ready, he took four slices of bread and started to layer the lettuce and tomato on top. After that, he put in the eggs and bacon, then added mayonnaise for the final touch.
"Slice."
A knife cut the sandwiches in half on both plates so they would be easy to eat. After that, he put them on the dining table and started to prepare coffee to complete his breakfast. After bringing two cups of coffee to the table, he sat down and waited for his wife to wake up so they could eat together. He opened his smartphone and started reading the news sites.
"Thump... thump."
Ethan's eyes went toward the stairs, but he was surprised when he saw his wife already dressed neatly, as if she was about to leave for work. After coming downstairs, Diana walked up to Ethan at the dining table and kissed his cheek.
"Where are you going so early?" Ethan asked.
"I have to be at the office early. There are still some articles that aren't finished and need to be discussed at the morning meeting. I'm leaving now, honey," Diana replied.
"Don't you want to eat first? I made sandwiches," Ethan said.
"Oh, I'll take one. Sorry, honey, I'm in a hurry, I can't be late. (She kissed Ethan's cheek again.) Bye," Diana said, rushing off and biting into the sandwich in her mouth.
Ethan could only watch his wife walk out the front door and close it behind her. "Haaaah."
Ethan took a deep breath and let it out. He put down his smartphone and started to eat his own sandwich without Diana across from him. But even though it was the same as usual, this time Ethan felt a great relief in his heart and wasn't tormented like before.
"Thank you, Ms. Elena, the one in my dream," Ethan said in his heart, smiling.
***
[Side Elena]
Meanwhile, in another city, in a high-rise apartment, inside a unit on the 25th floor. Very early in the morning,
"Dring."
"Ugh."
Elena woke up because of the alarm she had set. She immediately sat up in bed. Her hair was still messy, and her eyes were half-closed.
"Scratch."
Her hand brushed against something on her lap. She opened her eyes and saw a leather-bound book she was holding. She opened it and was shocked to see a picture of herself toasting and sitting in a restaurant with a man.
"Huh... this is the dream from last night," Elena said in her heart.
She turned to see her husband still sleeping with his back to her. She looked back at the table. She saw the digital clock on the table still showing 4:30 a.m. She looked back at her picture, which was colored brown like a very detailed pencil drawing. She saw herself smiling freely and looking happy. She smiled unconsciously.
"Ugh."
Elena immediately turned her head. She saw her husband groan and turn to face her. Without any delay, she closed her book. She looked at her husband's face.
"He... he's not awake, is he? That startled me."
Elena quickly got out of bed and walked out slowly so she wouldn't wake her husband. "Clap." She slowly closed the door again and leaned against it. Her eyes went back to the book she was holding. "Shhh." Her hand once again opened the leather-bound book. She was really looking at the picture that was printed like a painting.
"I... I can smile like that?" she asked in her heart.
Her eyes went to Ethan, who looked handsome and was smiling freely, as if he had no burdens. Her hand went up and stroked Ethan's face in the book, smiling. Her gaze softened. Her fingers started stroking Ethan's hair, face, and body that were visible in the photo. "Thump." Elena was startled. The book almost fell from her hand because she had jumped a little. She looked at the door.
"Phew... seriously, I shouldn't be like this. You have a husband, Elena, don't get any ideas. Besides, he's only in a dream.... even if he's exactly what you imagined, he's not real," she said in her heart.
Her eyes went below the picture. She started reading the writing in the book. Her face immediately turned red when she read her own conversation with Ethan.
"O... oh my gosh, I really told him everything... waaaaaaa... that's embarrassing. Good thing it was just a dream. (She realized something.) James can't see this book. He might get the wrong idea. Come on, Elena, think," Elena said in her heart.
Her eyes started scanning her apartment unit, which wasn't very big. Finally, she found her target, the cabinet above the kitchen sink. She immediately rushed there and grabbed some wrapping paper. She wrapped the book tightly and put it under the plates in the cabinet.
"Safe. James won't go near the kitchen. Forget cooking, he even asks me to get him a cup of coffee," Elena said in her heart.
After that, she put on her apron to start making breakfast and warming up the leftover food from last night in the fridge for her husband's breakfast before he went to the office. But not long after, "Crash," Elena turned to see her husband, James, standing in front of the bedroom door.
"Oh, you're already awake?" Elena asked.
"Why didn't you wake me up, honey?" James asked.
"It's still early. I thought since you were tired last night, I planned to wake you up in another hour," Elena replied.
"Oh... yeah, that's right. Sorry, honey, I'm a bit out of it, haha," James said.
"It's okay. I'll get breakfast ready in a minute," Elena said.
James walked closer to Elena and hugged her from behind, then kissed Elena's cheek.
"What's wrong?" Elena asked.
"I'm sorry, honey. I really forgot last night. It was our wedding anniversary, right?" James said.
"Yeah... it's okay. If you hug me like this, how am I going to cook," Elena said.
"Don't worry about it, honey. I have to go to the office early to sort out yesterday's problem, and then I have a meeting with a client. If the project goes through, I think we'll have to move again, but this time to the capital city," James said.
"Oh... is that so?" Elena replied, sounding a little deflated.
"Yeah. (He kissed Elena's cheek again.) I'm going to take a shower now. Don't worry about breakfast. You just rest," James said, walking toward the bathroom.
Elena didn't answer. She only looked at James, who was closing the bathroom door, while holding a frying pan with sunny-side-up eggs. But Elena smiled and shook her head. The burden in her heart no longer felt heavy.
"Good thing I met Mr. Ethan last night. Thank you, sir," Elena said in her heart.