Reading Dreams

By Gene Breitbach

Nick is a simple office worker/bookkeeper. His hobby of reading starts to take unusual turns. He becomes part of the stories he is reading and enters daydreams of different story-lines. Unable to accept how he is a character in the books he wanders off and learns that he has been chosen to positively affect turning points in history. Nick finds

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eugene Breitbach
• Release date: Sep 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781088057339

Book preview

Chapter I

I’m an avid reader and have gotten to the point on many occasions where I forget I’m reading and just see the story going. Seeing the fighters overhead as they get into dogfights. Hearing the fight back and forth in a courtroom. Watching the boat sail out of the harbor. Hearing the sirens during an air raid. So many fond memories of all the books I have read.

One day it all changed...

I was reading a book about a naval battle. The storyline took place on the bridge of a battleship. I heard the commander barking out orders. Hard to port!! Arm the big guns!! Prepare for battle, men. They are throwing everything at us. Tell the aircraft carrier to launch every fighter they have!! Lt. Newberry. Give me a sitrep! This was way too weird. My name is Nicholas Newberry. Yeah, my parents had a thing for starting names with an N. He was talking to me. I didn’t see the name Newberry anywhere in the book. How could this be? I’ve gotten wrapped up in a story to feel like I’m there, but I was actually in the story. I was on the bridge with Captain Anderson, and he was treating me like one of his officers. This can’t be real. I took the book and put it down. This was freaking me out. I surely can’t be in a story I am reading. No matter how in-depth I am with the storyline.

I got up, put the book back on the shelf, and left the bookstore. It was a normal day at the mall, and people were walking through cars as they traveled up and down the rows. I was still dazed from all that had happened with reading the book, so I wasn’t paying much attention. A car horn blew, and I was startled back to reality. I had almost walked into the car. It was a bright red sports car that I wouldn’t have missed, but my mind was still obsessed with the experience of reading. I finally found my car two rows over. Plain blue junker got me to and from where I was going, but that was about all. I always felt that my books took me everywhere I wanted to go. Today was just a strange reality of that.

I got to my apartment. It was a duplex, and I lived upstairs. It was nice that I could see out the windows and enjoy the scenery. It was fall, and the leaves were changing. Bright orange and red leaves were falling and floating around in the air. So peaceful in the fall. The temperature was starting to fall with comfort. Fall jackets to keep the cool wind off.

I tried to relax in the living room to get that weird feeling from being in that story. At least it felt that way. I made dinner and sat down to eat. It wasn’t very fancy—a hamburger with noodles and vegetables. I had put some soup in the mix just to add flavor and make it smoother to eat. As I sat down, I turned on the news. It was the same old thing. Car crash here and there. Police were investigating some gang-related shootings in the middle of town by the children's shelter. It’s all so sad that I really don’t like watching, but it took my mind off the experience of the story earlier. I had bought a cake earlier in the week and had milk and cake for dessert. I sat satisfied and relaxed.

I was full, and the outdoors beckoned me. So I put on my favorite yellow windbreaker and went for a walk. There was a nice trail about a 5-minute drive from my apartment. I parked in the lot and headed out. I started walking, and the leaves and small branches crackled under my feet. Fall made the trail spongy to walk on. A little squishing sound here and there. I followed the Green trail as it was 1.5 miles, and since it was already getting dark, I didn’t want to be on the trail in the dark. Too many branches and rocks on the ground to trip over. It was a comforting walk. I heard the birds chirping as the breeze gently moved the branches. And there was a scurrying of squirrels and rabbits next to me as I absorbed the calm of nature. It was almost nightfall when I got back to my car.

I had a normal day the following day. I work as a clerk for a small silkscreen shop without much excitement. A little typing, filing, answering phones and filling out some forms tracking production—just something to pay the bills. I stopped at the bookstore on my way home again that day. I sat down and found a book about WWII and started to read. I was engrossed immediately in the story. Corsairs and Mustangs were flying against Japanese Zero’s. The sky was full of planes, and I could hear the firing of bullets from each plane as they dove at each