She closes her eyes and gets lost in his arms. His breath caresses the back of her neck as she whispers “let’s pretend that this is forever”.

The words hang in the air as if the slightest sound will make them disintegrate. She reaches up to pull them close to her heart. With eyes shut; she imagines someday they will get married under a silvery moon with yawning stars that flicker like candles against the obsidian sky. He tells her it will happen and reassures her with a kiss.

Whispering dreams under the covers as they try and touch each word to make them more real. The music from their hearts become the soundtrack for the thoughts. Lyrical art colors their world.

Oh my love, you made me believe.

His finger draws constellations quietly upon her skin, mapping their future out in tender lines. She paints their sweet imaginations that will last for lifetimes upon his lips. Their shared smiles bind their hearts so they beat together as one.

As he pulls her closer, she prays that their somewhere is out there and happily ever after is waiting at their fingertips as they clasp hands. He presses his forehead to her as she pleads, just for tonight, let’s dream a little more.

Just as he begins to cover her with the words she longs to hear, just once more, she awakens from the dream. Her eyes open to darkness, her hand reaches to an empty spot, and coldness surrounds as reality comes rushing back. She pulls the blanket tight around herself as she recalls it is another he lies next to like all the nights before.

There is no “us”, she sighs.

The “our” is he and the woman he is with.

That only leaves her.

As the sun chases way any dreams that lurked in the corners of her heart; she surrendered to the reality that invaded her world. She opened her hand and blew away all the dandelions she once took comfort in finding, erased all the 11:11 moments from her mind, and tossed back all the so-called lucky pennies. Wishes were for fools and children who still believed in fairy tales.

Now, with an empty heart, she fell back to sleep but this time, she would no longer dream.