🌌 Chapter 2 – The Barista Who Knew My Dreams
Aurora didn't remember leaving the café.
One moment she was staring into that golden cup of coffee, the next she was standing outside beneath a clear night sky that hadn't been there minutes ago. The air was crisp, the streets strangely quiet. Behind her, Starlight & Espresso stood just as before—warm, glowing, and… oddly still.
She blinked. "Did I—dream that?"
She checked her phone. The time hadn't moved. 6:42 PM. Exactly when she'd entered.
Her heart thudded. Impossible.
When she looked up again, the café sign flickered once—and vanished. The doorway was gone. In its place stood a brick wall, old and weathered.
Aurora's fingers went cold.
"Okay… definitely losing it."
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The next morning, her alarm screamed her awake.
She sat up, hair a mess, sketchbook still clutched against her chest. The drawings inside looked different—darker, almost alive.
Last night's doodle of the café now had people in it. Blurred figures with faint golden glows, faces turned toward her.
And there—at the counter—was him. Elias.
Except… in this version, his eyes weren't gentle. They glowed faintly like burning stars.
Her breath caught. "What are you?" she whispered to the sketchbook.
---
At school, nothing made sense.
Her friends teased her about her "mystery night," but their laughter felt distant. Everywhere she looked, she swore she saw glimpses of gold—reflections in windows, glimmers in puddles, even a spark in her coffee cup.
When she reached for the cup, she froze.
Etched faintly into the foam was a pattern—stars forming the same shape as the café's logo.
And then her phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
> Unknown: "Dreams and daylight don't mix. Stop sketching the café."
Her stomach twisted. What?!
Before she could reply, the message deleted itself.
---
That evening, Aurora couldn't resist.
She returned to Crescent Street.
The rain had started again, soft and steady. She stood where the café had been—just bricks and shadows now. But when lightning flashed, she saw it: a reflection in the puddle.
The café. Glowing. Waiting.
Her pulse quickened. She took a step forward—
—and the world blinked.
The door appeared.
The bell chimed.
And Elias stood there, as calm as ever, polishing a cup.
"You came back," he said, voice like velvet and twilight.
Aurora's hands trembled. "You disappeared."
He smiled faintly. "We never disappear. You just stopped looking."
She stared. "Who sent that message?"
He froze for a heartbeat. "You weren't supposed to get that."
The lights dimmed slightly. The jazz faded. And for the first time, Aurora noticed the faint shimmer around his wrists—like invisible chains made of starlight.
"What are you?" she asked again, voice breaking.
Elias looked up slowly, eyes full of secrets and sorrow.
"I'm the reason your dreams remember this place," he said softly. "And the reason you'll soon have to choose—between the world that wakes you… and the one that remembers you."
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✨ To be continued…