Tales of Wandering Hearts

By Multiple Authors

Sometimes all we need is bursts of short stories that can take us to a different world in times of uncertainty and despair, even if just for a little bit of escapism. In this book, we get to read short stories from different genres and different authors' backgrounds, giving us a chance to explore new tastes in storytelling from modern Emirati setting, fantasy, science fiction, and modern Western settings, and many more. Join us on a journey of exploring new worlds through the eyes of our writers. authors: Heba AlHashemi ,L. Toma, Maryam Al Shawab, Mouza Al Mheiri , Yousuf Hatim Al Lawati

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sail Publishing
• Release date: Nov 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789948869276

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Tales of Wandering Hearts

A collection of short stories by diverse voices

Published by Sail Publishing L.L.C.

First published in 2021

Copyright © 2021 by Sail Publishing L.L.C.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book uses a font purposed to make the reading experience easier for dyslexics, towards an inclusive reading experience.

ISBN: 978-9948-8692-7-6

UAE National Media Council Permit #: MC-02-01-8899679

Age Classification: +16

The age classification for this book’s contents is set in accordance with the age classification system issued by the UAE’s National Media Council.

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Heba AlHashemi

Blocked

I had to see him. I just had to talk to him. Even if that means walking into his dreams. He leaves me no other choice! But since we live in opposite time zones now, I had to put myself to sleep at an ungodly hour, which meant ruining my delicate sleep cycle. A drastic measure in my opinion, and one that will not help with my dark circles.

I recently started to lucid dream, that is how I got the idea of walking into his dreams to talk to him. I have always experienced strange and vivid dreams since I was a child, but I became interested in controlling my dreams fairly recently. Being able to dream vividly can be enjoyable when it is a regular dream, but when my dreams turned to nightmares, you can imagine how terrifying they were. I stumbled upon ludic dreaming when I was looking for ways to get rid of nightmares, a way to explain to myself that I am not in real danger, so the nightmare won’t be scary anymore.

Once I mastered calming myself during a nightmare and changing the course of my dream, I took it a step further and started practicing being in full control of my dreams, so much in control that I choose what I dream. It took me several months to perfect my techniques, and now I consider myself a professional, one night I am strolling the streets of Paris and, another I am at the biggest library in Seoul. I can easily say not many people can do what I do.

The day I planned to walk into his dream I slept at 1 pm, hoping that he’d be sound asleep by then. When I started dreaming shortly after, I performed a reality check to ensure I had full awareness and control of my dream, I took a deep breath, that I did not really need but took nonetheless, and then I started thinking of him. I suddenly found myself in front of a door.

Let me pause here for a moment as I realized I have been going on about this him for a while without mentioning names or giving explanations. As for the name, you can give him and me any name you would like, it does not change the facts. However, the explanation is as follows. He and I were best friends, he was my ride or die, we have been friends since middle school, and people swore we were more than just friends, but for all my years knowing him we remained friends.

Then things changed.

I moved away for work, the day I left he tried to say something, I think he wanted to tell me to stay, I could see it in his eyes, but his lips did not form the words. He remained silent, and so I moved away. I started living my new life as I should, as I thought he would want me to. A fresh start in a new place with a new job and a new guy, only to my surprise, and out of nowhere he blocked me.

Now, back to where we were, the door. Something must have gone wrong in a split second because when I opened the door, I was met with a scene I did not expect. I must have been thinking about the office or work because I had walked in on my boss looking like Conan the Barbarian and fighting a dragon that looked like his wife. I quickly shut the door and was conflicted between laughing and screaming. The scene was comical, but my boss is pushing 70 probably. How am I going to look my boss in the eyes on Monday? I’ll probably have to go to work in thick dark sunglasses or fake my death and move somewhere new, again.

I needed to focus.

Focus, dammit focus!

I don’t know how much time I have left, and I need to find him, I need to talk to him. I need to understand. I started thinking