100 Theme Challenge #84

84. Imaginary

They said you dreamt of your other lives. Most didn't believe it, but I did. Some nights I dreamt of being a warrior fighting in glorious fights, other nights I was a prodigy writing best-sellers, but hiding my real identity. It was a bit surreal, to dream of being in another's head, but I got used to it, and it was insightful. Considering what I did and was in previous lives helped me live my present one, and with each dream came new knowledge.

I couldn't tell anyone, though. People wouldn't believe me. When I was young, I told my parents, but they thought they were children's dreams due to my imagination, that they'd go away on their own. They weren't, but I stopped trying to find a confident. I instead began to write them down in a journal, because like any dream, they'd fade away. The abilities stayed, but not the memories. That was the reason I was able to wield a sword at sixteen, to ride a horse without ever taking classes, I knew of forgotten history of my previous, long dead Kings. The list was long, and my knowledge multiple and diverse. I once defeated a classmate with Kung Fu moves without knowing anything about that martial art, and I knew some classical books without having the need to read them.

It was odd, to know that much at such a young age, but at the same time, it was a privilege not to have to search to know. There were also some bad sides, many of my lives hadn't been only happiness and wisdom, there was slavery, exploitation, misery. I could remember dying of hunger, my skin tight on my bones, my lips so dry they were bleeding. I could only bless my current life, even with the bullies at school and the teenager's usual drama. It was all part of this century's dilemmas. I was born in North America where the main problem they had was about themselves and their main weapon in case they were needed for war was a slingshot.

That night I dreamt of Ancient Egypt. I was a priest of the temple of Amun, attending to these who were coming to me. I knew I liked men, and that was the reason I stayed behind closed doors, playing my sins. I kept my desires to myself out of shame and fear of rejection, until I saw one man that changed everything. He came to ask me to aid his brother, who had been bit by a scorpion. Even though I was taking care of his brother, I kept glancing at him, hoping he wouldn't and hoping he would. He did, and stared back. Guilt overcame me. How could I still glow in a man's attention, after all the vows I'd taken? After that first encounter, I tried to keep my distance, in vain. He had a way to find me when I was alone, or doing the market for the temple's community. We talked, talked a lot, and I soon began to await impatiently our next encounter. We shared a kiss one night and promised each other to keep this relationship our own secret. Things weren't to be this way, because a few days later, I was killed, and my lover as well.

I felt sad that day at school, but I knew things changed since then, but it still happened today. Being harassed or killed for being yourself, something you couldn't choose to be, was a concept I never understood, and probably never will. People had so little self-esteem, they had to ridiculize and stomp on other people's shoulders to have the impression to be a giant. When would this change, I had no clue, and I wasn't sure if it ever would.

Funny thing that after losing a lover in a dream. I might have found the one of my current one. I didn't think the dreams were connected whatsoever to my daily life, foreseaking what would happen, but still, sometimes coincidences were meant to be, especially when I bump into them, literally.

For once I wasn't the only one not looking where I was heading and I walked straight into a man; almost making me fall. I turned around and faced him. The laugh I fell bubbling in my throat died when I saw his face. He looked like… like my priest self's lover. The same eyes, nose, lips, even that beauty mark above the eyebrow.

"Sorry for bumping into you. Are you alright?" He asked me, and I knew I must have paled.

"Yeah, I'm… In fact, I'm lost. Could you help me out?" I asked, a new feeling pressed against my insides.

He eagerly argued, to my surprise, and proceeded to show me around the college, as it was my first day. I knew quite the place already, but he didn't need to know that.

We parted with exchanged numbers and a date the next day. That night, I dreamt again, which was strange because I usually was having one per two weeks, not two in two days. It was as if they, whoever "they" were, wanted me to understand something. This time, I was a scribe in the Middle Age, and I had met someone recenty, a knight who didn't think I was only a bastard, which was refreshing and exhilarating. I was to meet him tonight, and my excitation messed up my writing in the afternoon before. When I saw him, I immediately recognized him as my Egyptian's lover, and current self's interest. Had it always been the same? That person, every life, with whom I'd somehow meet, until destiny would separate us. I remembered living happily with him, or her, until our bones would grow too tired to support us, white hair thinning, but the love between us still the same. Always. This was all connected, we were connected, and I could remember it, somehow.

The next day, I met with my soul mate (because, that was it, wasn't it?), and I finally gained enough courage to ask him.

"I have an odd question for you, Elmond. Do you have, by any chances, dreams of your previous lives?"

I cringed internally at my straightforward question, but I had to do it. So far, I really liked him, and it was no wonder if we really were destined for each other.

He didn't seem unfazed by my question, on the opposite. He merely swirled the coffee in his cup, before smiling.

"I was afraid I was the only one," he finally replied, green eyes making me feel hot.

"So you know about me?" I leaned over, and he nodded.

"Since the moment I laid eyes on you."

I grinned, and didn't need any more excuse to just make him lean towards me and seal our lips together.

(What is 100TC?)

Yes, I did refer to another story (or a few). I believe in reincarnation and this theme made me think about it, I don't know. Sometimes the story writes itself and goes in another direction than what you first expected. I like it though.