The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the dazzling sunlight streaming into the room. There's no way I'd sleep until the sun was this high. No, wait—this room is my old dormitory from 10 years ago.

Is this a dream?

The 10 years from the academy until I turned 28 are vivid in my mind. So this must be a dream about my school days. Good grief, I thought I'd forgotten the past long ago, yet here I am dreaming about it.

This dream is intense. For a lucid dream, my body isn't moving the way I want it to. When I tried to get up recklessly, my leg muscles felt so stiff that I tumbled to the floor like a newborn animal.

I forced myself up, leaning against the bed. Step by step, the rough texture of the wooden floor felt vivid against my soles. I left the room and started walking down the hallway. And there, at the end of the corridor by the sun-drenched window, you were standing.

It's a dream. Even so, it's been 10 years since I've seen your face. Even if it's just a dream, I should be happy to see you after all this time. I hurried my pace to get a proper look at you before I woke up.

When I reached you, the warm sunlight greeted me first. ...It was warm. It's heating my face right now, so vividly. But this is a dream... Yet even this breeze through the window gap tickles my skin, everything outside is so green, and your voice calling my name right now is so incredibly clear.

"...Huh?"