The day dragged on, normal on the surface. But this… static in my chest wouldn’t quit. Csses blurred into background noise. My brain? Stuck on repy—her face, the dream, the way reality had glitched.

  Her name? Still a bnk. But her face… sharp. Too sharp. Not like those foggy dream-people who vanish by breakfast. I knew her. But also… didn’t. My adult self had never met her, but in that dream? Felt like she’d been carved into my DNA.

  Walking home, the itch under my skin turned urgent. Tonight. I’d dream again. Had to.

  Dinner? Scarfed down. Scrolled my phone—meh. Bed? Early. No clue if you could boss dreams around, but hell, I’d try.

  Sleep spped me fast. When I blinked awake, my room was gone. Golden-hour light washed over a street I knew—but cleaner, quieter. My spine prickled. Past. Again.

  Looked down. Smaller hands. Weird clothes. Caught my reflection in a window—thirteen. Not a dream. I was here.

  A rustle behind me. Turned. Her. Smile like a supernova, energy crackling off her. My heart was hammered.

  — There you are! — She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  This time? No chickening out. I stepped closer, eyes glued. Her hair fluttered in the breeze, eyes warm enough to melt gciers. Something in my gut twisted—not fear. Recognition. Muscle memory. Before I could overthink, my hand reached out, brushing hers.

  She didn’t flinch. Just ced her fingers with mine, easy as breathing. My heart did a backflip. None of this made sense, but my body? All-in.

  — You’re spacey today, — she teased, tilting her head. — What’s up there? —

  My brain? A tornado. But I managed: “Just… you. How you glow.”

  She ughed—a sound that buzzed in my ribs.

  — I’m always happy when we’re together, — she said, no hesitation.

  The words hit me like a sucker punch. Something in her voice—that tone—sent a shiver of half-memories rattling loose. Flickers of kid ughter. Pinkie promises under star-soaked skies. I couldn’t grab them, not fully, but they pulsed just out of reach, a bruise on my brain.

  Didn’t overthink it. Just hugged her. No agenda, just… needed to. To see if she’d dissolve into smoke. My adult self was shook—how natural it felt. Fit like we’d done this a thousand times.

  She didn’t speak. Just hugged back, arms tight enough to crush doubt. For a heartbeat, it was sanctuary. An anchor in a storm of what-the-hell-is-happening. I shut my eyes. Let the chaos fade.

  Here, now, nothing else mattered.

  We stayed like that—seconds? Hours?—until she pulled back, soft but firm. Her smile was a bde wrapped in velvet.

  — C’mon. Got something to show you — she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me down the street.

  We walked as the sun bled orange across the sky. Every step cranked the déjà vu higher. I knew these houses—the cracked blue door, the rosebush gone wild. My adult brain screamed impossible, but my bones? They remembered.

  — Where’re we going? — I asked, curiosity leaking through.

  — Our spot, — she said, smile sharp enough to cut gss.

  The way she said it—like it was gospel—made my ribs squeeze. Whatever waited there? It’d flip my world. And part of me… part of me already knew.