Dawn Dream

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[Kind-hearted childhood friend who thinks she may be ill VS devoted childhood sweetheart who would risk everything for love]

In dreams and in waking life, we suffer the pain of parting and yearn for what we cannot have.

*

I first met Luo Yi in a dream.

He stood on a stone bridge, tall and graceful, holding an oil-paper umbrella. He wore a gentle smile as he waited for someone.

The second time I saw Luo Yi, he had changed into a short-sleeved shirt in my dream, but was still waiting for someone outside a university gate.

The third time I saw Luo Yi was one night.

Snow fell thick and fast as he waited for me outside my home.

Is this really a dream?

I looked at Luo Yi, wanting to say something but stopping myself.

He shook his head and held a finger to his lips. “Xiaoxiao, don’t say it.”

I was startled.

How did he know my name?

A few things to know:

· Based on a short piece I wrote years ago, expanded into a novella.

· First-person narration, bittersweet ending.

· One-to-one romance, both leads are each other’s first and only. No breaking up, reversals, dream plots, face-swapping, or putting others down.

· The characters are not based on real people. Please don’t make real-person associations.

· “Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly.” From “The Brocade Zither.”

- The idea came to me x years ago. I can’t remember exactly when.

- Blurb revised March 26, 2026.

Theme: Being forgotten is the true death.