THE STRANGER IN MY DREAMS

PART THREE

“Welcome back.”

I froze.

The voice had come from inside the red door.

My voice.

But it sounded younger.

Like a child.

I stared into the darkness beyond the doorway.

For a moment, I couldn't move.

Then I heard footsteps.

Slow.

Quiet.

Coming closer.

“Nurr.”

I turned around.

He was standing behind me.

The stranger.

The boy from my dreams.

Except this time, I could finally see his face.

I stared at him.

Something about him felt familiar.

Not familiar like someone I had seen at school.

Familiar like a memory I had forgotten.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

He looked at me sadly.

“You really don't remember?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

He glanced toward the red door.

“You weren't supposed to come back.”

“Then why did you bring me here?”

“I didn't.”

My heart began beating faster.

“Then who did?”

He didn't answer.

I stepped closer.

“Why do you keep appearing in my dreams?”

His eyes met mine.

“Because you promised.”

“Promised what?”

Before he could answer, the red door slammed shut.

I jumped.

The boy immediately grabbed my arm.

“Nurr, run!”

“What?”

“Just run!”

We rushed down the street.

The mist surrounded us as footsteps echoed behind us.

I didn't look back.

I didn't want to know what was following us.

Then suddenly, the boy stopped.

I turned around.

He was gone.

“Sami?”

The name escaped my mouth before I even knew why I had said it.

I stood there, confused.

“How did I know your name?”

A voice answered behind me.

“Nurr!”

I turned.

Aisha was running toward me.

She stopped when she reached me, breathing heavily.

“What are you doing here?”

I stared at her.

“How did you find me?”

“You lied to me.”

“I—”

“You said you were going somewhere else.”

I looked away.

“I didn't want you to come.”

“Exactly.”

She crossed her arms.

“So naturally, I followed you.”

I almost laughed, but the fear in my chest wouldn't let me.

“Aisha, you need to leave.”

“No.”

“Aisha—”

“No, Nurr. Something has been happening to you for days, and I'm not leaving you alone.”

I looked toward the red door.

“You don't understand.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Before I could answer, Aisha noticed something on the ground.

“Nurr.”

She bent down and picked up an old photograph.

I walked closer.

The moment I saw it, my entire body went cold.

There were two children in the photograph.

A little girl.

And a little boy.

They were standing in front of the red door.

The boy was him.

The stranger.

Sami.

But the girl...

was me.

I stared at the photograph.

“No.”

Aisha looked at me.

“Nurr?”

“That isn't me.”

But deep down, I knew it was.

I turned the photograph over.

Written on the back were the words:

OCTOBER 14, 1998.

Underneath:

WE PROMISED TO RETURN.

My fingers began shaking.

“I wasn't even born in 1998.”

Aisha looked at the photograph again.

“Then how are you in it?”

I had no answer.

Then I noticed something in the little girl's hand.

A small silver key.

I reached into my pocket.

The key was still there.

Aisha stared at it.

“Nurr…”

“I found this beside my pillow.”

“When?”

“After the first dream.”

She looked from the key to the photograph.

“This can't be a coincidence.”

“No.”

I looked at the red door.

“It isn't.”

We walked back toward it.

The door was closed.

I placed the key inside the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

Aisha grabbed my hand.

Together, we stepped inside.

The room was dark and dusty.

There were old chairs along the walls and shelves filled with forgotten books.

In the middle of the room stood a small wooden table.

On it was a box.

My name was written across the top.

NURR.

I slowly opened it.

Inside was a folded piece of paper.

My hands trembled as I opened it.

The handwriting was messy.

Childish.

But I recognized it.

It was mine.

I began reading.

Dear me,

If you ever forget, come back here.

The boy beside me is Sami.

He is my best friend.

We found this place together.

We promised that if we ever got separated, we would come back.

I stopped.

Aisha looked at me.

“Keep reading.”

I swallowed.

Then continued.

Sami says he will wait for me.

I told him I won't forget him.

But if I do, I hope my dreams will remind me.

My eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind.

Two children running through the old building.

A boy laughing.

A little girl holding a silver key.

Rain falling outside.

Sami standing beside me.

Then darkness.

I closed my eyes.

Another memory appeared.

I was standing outside the red door.

Sami was beside me.

“We shouldn't be here,” he said.

“You're scared.”

“I'm not.”

“You are.”

He smiled.

“You always say that.”

I laughed.

Then we opened the door.

There was a loud sound.

The lights went out.

I heard someone shouting.

Then everything disappeared.

I opened my eyes.

Aisha was holding my shoulders.

“Nurr!”

I looked at her.

“I remember him.”

“Who?”

“Sami.”

A voice came from behind us.

“I knew you would.”

We turned.

Sami stood in the doorway.

This time, he didn't look like the mysterious stranger from my dreams.

He looked like the boy in the photograph.

Young.

Quiet.

Familiar.

“You came back,” he said.

I nodded.

“You waited.”

“I promised.”

I looked at him.

“What happened to you?”

His expression became sad.

“I don't remember everything.”

“But you disappeared.”

“Yes.”

“Where did you go?”

He looked toward the red door.

“Some doors don't lead to places.”

I frowned.

“Then what do they lead to?”

“Memories.”

The room became completely silent.

I looked down at the photograph.

“Why did I forget you?”

“You were a child.”

“But you remembered.”

“I tried.”

“How?”

He looked at me.

“Through your dreams.”

My heart sank.

“So it was you?”

“Yes.”

“You sent the messages?”

He shook his head.

“No.”

I stared at him.

“Then who did?”

Sami's expression changed.

“I don't know.”

Aisha stepped closer.

“But the messages brought us here.”

Sami looked at her.

“Someone wanted Nurr to remember.”

“Who?”

He looked toward the darkness behind the red door.

“I don't know.”

A cold breeze moved through the room.

The lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then went out.

Aisha grabbed my hand.

“Nurr…”

I looked toward the red door.

Something was written across it now.

Three words.

YOU REMEMBER NOW.

My heart pounded.

Sami stepped backward.

“You have to leave.”

“What?”

“Now.”

“Why?”

“Because the door doesn't stay open forever.”

The room began shaking.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Aisha pulled me toward the entrance.

“Nurr, come on!”

I looked at Sami.

“What about you?”

He smiled.

“Don't worry.”

“But—”

“You already kept your promise.”

The red door slammed shut.

Everything went black.

I opened my eyes.

I was standing in the familiar street.

The mist surrounded me.

The broken streetlight flickered above me.

But something was different.

There were two doors at the end of the street.

One was red.

One was white.

Sami stood between them.

“Sami?”

He looked at me.

“This is the last dream.”

“What does that mean?”

“You have to remember everything.”

I stared at the two doors.

“What happens if I open the wrong one?”

“There isn't a wrong one.”

“Then why do I have to choose?”

“Because some memories are waiting for you.”

I looked at the red door.

It whispered my name.

“Nurr…”

Then I looked at the white door.

It was completely silent.

I walked toward the red one.

Sami didn't stop me.

I placed my hand on the handle.

And suddenly—

I remembered.

The old building.

The rainy afternoon.

The silver key.

Sami.

The red door.

The promise.

And what happened that day.

The building had been old and unsafe.

Part of it had collapsed while we were inside.

Sami had pushed me toward the exit.

Adults came running.

I was taken away.

Sami was taken somewhere else.

Our families moved.

Years passed.

And somehow, I forgot.

But Sami didn't.

He had kept waiting.

Not because he wanted to frighten me.

Not because he wanted me trapped in my dreams.

He only wanted me to remember the promise we had made as children.

I turned toward him.

Tears filled my eyes.

“I remember.”

He smiled.

“I know.”

“I thought you were a stranger.”

“You forgot me.”

“I didn't mean to.”

“I know.”

The mist began disappearing.

The street became brighter.

Sami slowly stepped backward.

“Wait.”

He smiled.

“You came back.”

“I don't want you to disappear.”

“You don't need to be afraid anymore.”

“Will I see you again?”

He looked at me.

“Maybe in a dream.”

I smiled through my tears.

“Then I'll remember.”

He nodded.

“That's all I wanted.”

The light became brighter.

Sami began fading into it.

“Sami!”

He smiled one last time.

“Goodbye, Nurr.”

Then he disappeared.

I woke up in my bedroom.

Morning sunlight was coming through the curtains.

For the first time in weeks, I wasn't afraid of sleeping.

I looked beside my pillow.

The silver key was there.

I picked it up.

Something was engraved on the back.

PROMISE KEPT.

I smiled.

A knock came from my door.

“Nurr?”

It was Aisha.

I opened the door.

She looked at me carefully.

“You look different.”

I laughed softly.

“I remembered.”

“Remembered what?”

I looked down at the key.

“A friend.”

Aisha smiled.

“Was he real?”

I looked toward the window.

Outside, the morning was bright.

“Yes.”

“And the dreams?”

I nodded.

“They were real too.”

She didn't ask any more questions.

Neither did I.

That night, I went to sleep peacefully.

There was no mist.

No red door.

No mysterious messages.

No footsteps.

Just silence.

Then, somewhere far away in my dream, I saw the old streetlight.

Sami stood beneath it.

He smiled.

I smiled back.

He turned around and walked away.

This time, I didn't follow him.

I didn't need to.

Because I finally understood something.

Some people enter our lives for only a short time.

Some leave before we're ready.

And sometimes, memories disappear even when the promises remain.

But forgetting someone doesn't mean they were never important.

And sometimes...

a stranger in your dreams...

is simply someone your heart never truly forgot.

THE END