Lily stood in her shower letting the warm water run over her head, down her body. She was in a bit of a daze. Thinking about the world. Alinora. It was becoming more real to her than the real world. She almost felt like she lived there instead of here. But it was just a dream.

She ran a soapy washcloth up her left arm. “Ow!” she said, startled. The soap had stung her shoulder. She glanced down. There was a scratch on her shoulder. Right where the tree branch had scratched her in the dream.

This was getting too weird now. First the sliver, now the scratch. Was the other place the real world? Was she dreaming right now? Maybe this world wasn’t real. It worried her that she could have a thought like that. It worried her she found herself falling in love with an imaginary man.

This had to be the stress of work getting to her, right? It might be time for some sort of leave of absence. A sabbatical. A short vacation even. This was becoming bizarre.

* * *

She went to work that day in a fog. She felt like she sleepwalked through it. All she could do was think of him and wait to see him again. It was a little too all-consuming. Mostly she wondered how it could be possible. Was he real? In any way?

She went home late as usual, dropped her keys, coat, and purse on the table and went straight up to bed. She was almost too excited to sleep. She felt awake for the first time that day. She put on her pajamas and curled up under the covers, closed her eyes, and waited for him.

When she opened her eyes, it was dark. Had she not dreamed?

Then she realized she was standing. She heard wind whisper through the trees. It was the kind of whisper that could only happen in that world. Alinora. It was comforting and almost full of words. Sounds that desperately wanted to be words. Gentle sounds that soothed her.

Still she was alone, and it was very dark. She heard rustling in the trees. Someone or something was moving through them. Were there wild animals in this world? The kind that attack people? She had no way of knowing. She quietly felt her way and moved away from the sound. It seemed to follow her. It stopped when she stopped. Then it suddenly moved toward her too fast for her to escape, though she tried to step away from it.

A hand grabbed her arm. “Lily,” Caleb said.

“Oh, thank God,” Lily whispered.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” she said quietly.

She felt him move closer to her and wrap his arms around her. She hugged him back. He felt warm against the slight chill of night.

“I thought it was never night here,” she said quietly with her head on his chest.

“It is sometimes,” he said with his soothing voice. “Time moves slightly differently here.” He looked down at her.

She looked up and realized she could see him now. The moon, though not entirely full, had moved out of the clouds and illuminated him.

“They have a moon here,” she said, surprised.

He laughed. Then he bent down and kissed her.

She suddenly remembered where they’d left off in the last dream. She kissed him passionately.

He kissed her back with just as much passion. Then he stopped to sweep her up off her feet. She laughed. He smiled.

He kissed her as he walked over to a large oak tree. It had leaves and moss under it. He laid her down on top of the soft bed of moss, then lay down next to her. He kissed her some more as he undid the laces on her dress. His lips traveled to her neck and her ear. She buried her fingers in his hair.

He threw the laces down and she struggled out of her bodice. Then she pulled the gauzy blouse off over her head. She sat up, looking down at him. She bent down to kiss him. He pulled her down on top of him. They kissed and caressed their way out of their clothes, until they were bare under the soft blue moonlight.

She was so full of passion she couldn’t think straight. She thought she heard a wolf howl in the distance, but she was too focused on Caleb to care. The warmth of him, his hands all over her body. He made love to her there under the moonlight. She’d never felt ecstasy as profound as she did with him that night. Whether it was the world or him, she didn’t care. She never wanted to leave either.

She held onto him as the last shivers of pleasure tingled through her body. She wrapped herself up in his limbs, held him so tight she was surprised either of them could still breathe. And she fell asleep. In the woods, in his arms, never wanting to let him go.

Lily’s alarm startled her so much she sat bolt upright in bed. She quickly turned it off. She was out of breath. She noticed her pajamas were damp, she was covered in sweat. Her eyes felt warm. She reached up and realized she’d been crying. She wiped her tears away, feeling a bit sick.

She suddenly wondered if death would put her permanently in that world. And it was then that she knew she was in trouble. Her obsession had gone too far.

* * *