Dreams between the lines.

In an uncrowded place, hidden among the tall buildings and narrow streets of an ancient city, there was a library that housed important literary works, as well as many books with texts that held secrets waiting to be revealed. There were very few inhabitants of that metropolis who went there to read its rich literature; instead, the vast majority preferred to make use of technology.

That library had long corridors, shaped by the numerous wooden shelves on which the books it displayed were parked. The oldest and least read volumes were relegated to the back, where dust often covered them.

There, tucked among its dusty bookshelves, one could always find Thomás, a middle-aged man, a skilled reader and researcher fanatic of paranormal activities. This man dedicated many hours to read and review the oldest texts, trying to locate some revealing writing that explained the meaning of dreams and that, at the same time, contained the key to make them come true.

Thomás was a solitary man, with many gray hairs, wore thick-rimmed glasses and had a great obsession for exploring old books and testing the theories he found there; he was the most common person in that library.

This man had read a great number of texts on the subject, but he had never found anything that left his thirst for answers fully satisfied. He longed to find the true meaning of dreams, and their relationship to the real world, but his vain efforts simply gave rise to this obsession from which he could not escape.

One such day, like any other ordinary day in the life of the usual Thomás, after digging through a section of the library he had never checked before, he came across an untitled book, with a worn black leather cover, placed among others of very different textures and contours; something that made it stand out among the others and made it seem very out of place. This immediately attracted the attention of the obsessed reader. Feeling very intrigued, he took it off the shelf and opened it; as soon as he began to leaf through it, he noticed something strange and, at the same time, surprising. The texts contained in the book were handwritten, but what impressed him most was something he found chilling: the handwriting was completely identical to his own.

The first lines she read from the manuscript contained the following warning: “There are secrets that are best kept hidden”. Those words did not faze Thomas' curiosity, and he continued reading. The further he went on, the more he felt as if he were talking to himself. The pages of that volume were full of stories that recounted the dreams of some people and how these, when altered, gave rise to a series of misfortunes that changed their destiny in a 180-degree turn.

Thomás, as he read more deeply, felt a strange connection with the text, as if everything written there was closely related to him, although none of the experiences narrated therein were lodged in his memory. In spite of all these forebodings, he continued reading. His skepticism was so great that neither the book's warnings nor the rest of the pages he was exploring could prepare him for the surprising moment that, line by line, he was approaching.

Soon, he came to a paragraph in which he read about an ancient ritual, behind which there was the possibility of entering into dreams, changing them or making them come true; at least, that was the belief of the one who wrote the pages of that manuscript. The description and the words of that ritual were well detailed. Reading this, Thomas became excited and his breathing slowed down, while his heart was racing; he could not believe what was before his eyes. “Aha! I finally found what I was looking for,” he thought.

Such was the feeling of victory that Thomas did not hesitate even for an instant to recite the ritual. As soon as he uttered the last syllable, everything around him was overshadowed by a bright light that forced him to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself in another place, one where few things made sense, the laws of physics seemed not to exist and time suddenly varied; logic was the opposite of what he knew: he was in someone else's dream.

When he finally understood what had happened, his enthusiasm was so great that he did not hesitate to explore and interact. He made changes, removed elements and forced decisions that modified the outcome of that dream. Thomás, after feeling at ease with what he saw, changed from one dream to another of his own free will in the blink of an eye, like someone who opens a door to go to another room.

With this new superpower, he entered the dreams of friends, neighbors, and strangers as well. He delved into each of them and saw their longings and fears; he felt like a God and changed the things he felt he needed to replace or erase to improve the outcome. After tiring of wandering in many places, he returned to the real world. He did not know how he did it, but he wanted to see the results of what he thought he had done well; however, it did not take him long to notice something strange: the altered dreams had a very different impact on reality.

Thomás noticed some changes that were not very subtle and very different from the ones he had been through. One friend, who dreamed of advancement in his job, was suddenly laid off. Another acquaintance, who longed for a better car, was soon involved in a road accident in his old car. The balance between the dream world and the real world seemed to be compromised, and he felt guilty.

Determined to fix it, he reached for the manuscript again; he hoped to read something that would turn the whole mess around. He leafed through and read until his eyes could read no more; until he lost track of time. Suddenly...

-Thomas, wake up, man, it's closing time! -The librarian's voice brought him out of his trance; it woke him up from the deep sleep he had sunk into.

Thomas opened his eyes; he woke up lost, confused. In front of him was that manuscript, untitled and covered in worn black leather. It took him a few moments to understand that nothing of what he had seen and done was real... at least that's what he told himself at that moment.

-Come on, my friend, they're waiting for me at home! -exclaimed the Librarian, hurrying Thomas to leave the place.

-All right, all right. I'm leaving now, but you know I'll be back. -answered Thomas.

-Of course you will, my friend. You know you are always welcome, but today's day is over. -said the Librarian.

-I know, my friend. Of course I know. - replied Thomas, as he walked towards the exit and, at the same time, waved goodbye to the Librarian.

Thomás, that day he left the library doubting about what was real and what was not; he did not know if he was in someone else's dream or in his own dream; he could not distinguish if it had all been part of his imagination while sleeping. He just knew that was something he would soon find out, but for now, he just needed to rest.

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