Fantasy
Beneath the Surface of Dreams
The world felt different when Elena woke up that morning. She couldn’t explain it, but something was wrong. Not in a way that was immediately terrifying—just… off. Like the edges of the world had softened overnight, as if the lines between reality and something else had blurred. But the strangest part? She couldn't remember the dream she'd had the night before. And that was rare. Elena had always been someone who could recall every vivid detail of her dreams, whether it was the people in them, the places, or even the emotions she’d felt. But last night? Blank. The dream was a void, a chasm in her mind that she couldn’t cross. Sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of tea, Elena gazed out the window. The sky was an unusual shade of blue, almost too bright, and there were no birds in the trees. The silence was unnerving. The only sound was the faint hum of the refrigerator in the corner of the room. Shaking the uneasy feeling from her mind, she focused on the task ahead. She had a full day of work and meetings to attend to, but it was hard to concentrate. Her thoughts kept slipping back to the dream. Was it even a dream? She wondered. Could it have been something else? Something more? As the day wore on, Elena's sense of unease grew. She found herself distracted, staring at her computer screen but not really seeing the words. The quiet hum of office chatter around her seemed distant, muffled—as if she was underwater, looking out at the world but unable to reach it. A sense of isolation gripped her, and for the first time in years, she felt a longing for something she couldn’t name. By the time the sun set, Elena was drained, both physically and mentally. She wanted to shake off the feeling, but it clung to her like fog. She couldn’t sleep—it was as if the darkness outside was calling her to go deeper, to dive beneath the surface of something that, at that moment, she couldn’t fully grasp. That night, she fell into a fitful sleep. --- The Dream Elena found herself standing on a beach, the air thick with the scent of salt and something else, something… unfamiliar. The sand beneath her feet felt cool, soft, almost like it was shifting beneath her with every step. The sky above was dim, a mix of orange and purple, as if the sun was setting—or perhaps rising. She couldn’t tell. Time felt suspended, like the world was holding its breath. Then she saw them. Figures. Dark and shadowed, moving just out of the corner of her vision. They were almost human, yet not quite. Their shapes were fluid, ethereal, constantly shifting like smoke in the wind. Elena tried to focus, but they eluded her every time she turned her head. She wanted to call out, but the words caught in her throat. Her body felt heavy, like the very air was pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. One of the figures finally stopped. It was taller than the others, its face obscured by a veil of shadow. It reached out a hand, and Elena found herself moving toward it, though she didn’t know why. She felt drawn to it, as if it held the answers to all the questions she’d been asking, all the things she couldn’t explain. As her fingers brushed against the figure’s, she was plunged into darkness. --- The Awakening When Elena woke up, it wasn’t the same as the other mornings. This time, the silence in her apartment was suffocating. She sat up in bed, gasping for air as if she had been submerged in deep water and had just resurfaced. Her heart pounded in her chest. The dream had been more than just a dream. It was… a call. A message. There was something beneath the surface of it all—something hidden in the space between sleep and wakefulness, between reality and something else. Elena knew she needed to go back, to find whatever had been just out of reach. But how? The next few nights, she searched for the place from her dream. She walked the beach, trying to find the shifting shadows, but the more she tried, the more elusive they became. It was as if the dream was pulling her in deeper, into a place where the boundaries of time and space didn’t exist. One night, Elena woke to find something different in her room—a small, silver key lying on her pillow. It glinted in the dim light, impossibly smooth and beautiful. She reached for it instinctively, feeling a strange sense of recognition. Without thinking, Elena stood and walked to the door of her apartment. The key fit perfectly into the lock. As the door creaked open, she stepped into darkness, and for the first time, she wasn’t afraid. She knew where she was going. She descended into the unknown. --- Beneath the Surface The key unlocked more than just her apartment door—it unlocked a portal, a doorway to a place beneath the surface of her dreams. Elena found herself in a world unlike any she had ever seen, one that existed between worlds. There were no rules here, no time, no sense of direction. Everything around her was fluid, shifting in ways that defied logic. The shadows moved closer, and this time, they didn’t elude her. They gathered, their forms slowly becoming more defined. The tall figure from her dream approached, its face now visible—a face like hers, yet not. It smiled, a knowing, cryptic smile, and said, “You’ve finally come.” Elena didn’t understand, but she felt as though she had always known this moment would come. The answer to everything was here, beneath the surface of her dreams, and she had crossed the threshold. There was no going back. --- The dream had become her reality. And now, Elena was part of something far older, far deeper than she had ever imagined. Beneath the surface of her dreams lay a truth that no one could ever wake from. And once you find it, there’s no waking up.
By Ubaid Khanabout a year ago in Fiction
Greek Mythology
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My Neighbor Cursed Me: Every Time I Fall in Love, I’ll Die!. AI-Generated.
10:00 AM. I just woke up. Hair a mess, eyes half-closed, still wearing my dinosaur pajamas. I wasn’t ready for any drama today. Then I heard her voice — the neighbor’s wife, screaming across the thin wall: > “You’ll never fall in love! You’ll just keep watching us live happily ever after!” 🤭 Excuse me? I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet. The way she said it — you'd think I was caught making a Tinder profile in the middle of national prayer. 😔 But no, I didn’t take offense. Because I know… I’m not losing in a reality show. I’m losing in real reality. 💀 My mirror flinches when I come close. Facebook auto-blurs my face when I try to upload a picture. Even ChatGPT avoids flirting with me. 😭 This face? Even ghosts would swipe left. And girls? They treat me like Wi-Fi without signal — always present, but completely useless. 📶 So yes, when she cursed me that day, I didn’t cry. I just looked at the wall and whispered, **“Allah, why do you give beauty to the ones who use it to torture others?”** I wanted to shout back, but I didn’t. Because deep inside… I knew she was right. 😞 Every time I’ve tried to talk to a girl, it’s ended in disaster. One time I said “Hi” to a girl and she blocked me so fast, even Facebook got confused. Another time I asked a girl for her favorite color. She replied, “BLOCK.” Apparently, that’s a color now. Now I just sit and wonder: **How long will I have to see her face every day?** She said I’ll keep watching them forever. And the way my life’s going — she might be right. But… I haven’t given up. Somewhere in this cruel world, there’s a girl who might accept me. She might be short-sighted, half-blind, or just really, really kind. But she exists. I believe it. InshaAllah. 😌💔 And maybe, just maybe… That girl is none other than my neighbor’s younger sister. 😏 Yes. That’s my master plan. I’ll be so patient, so loyal, so pathetic — that one day, she’ll look at me and think: > “Wow, he’s been alone for so long… maybe I should give him a chance before his beard turns white.” 😬 Until then, I’ll keep counting days… …keep avoiding mirrors… …and keep writing sad, sarcastic stories on Vocal to earn $2 per 1000 views. 🥲 Wish me luck. I’ll need it. ✍️ Written by: A Love-Deprived Donkey 🫏 🕊️ Inspired by real pain and bad Wi-Fi
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By Echoes by Shafi--about a year ago in Fiction
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By Engr. Mansoor Ahmadabout a year ago in Fiction
