It was already eleven o'clock in the evening when Chase woke up from a depressing nightmare for the third time. Putting a hand on his chest, he tried to calm himself down, and tried to tell himself that it was just a dream and nothing more. Just like he had done so many times in the past few years.
He shifted his eyes from the white, crumpled sheets to the glass window a few meters away from his bed. He hadn’t closed the blinds and now he could see the small dots of different colored lights outside that reminded him he was still in New York. Closing his eyes for a moment after he calmed down, he let out a sigh and stood up, walking towards the annoyingly colossal window. He never hated how big it was before, and perhaps, if he could explain it well, it was the fault of those nightmares constantly reminding him of how small he was.
Chase stared at the sight before him. It seemed more peaceful and serene than the previous nights. The lights interweaved with the mist as winter came around. Yet, for some reason, Chase's heart wasn't moved at all. His eyes appreciated the lovely scenery, and he knew it should have made him feel at peace. But somehow, he felt nowhere near peace at all.
He couldn't understand it.
The nightmares he had been having lately weren't actually nightmares. Rather, they were a series of vague images that he couldn’t interpret well. He was never good with interpretations.
He would find himself running—chasing after someone—a child around ten years of age. The child had a slim body with a very blurry face. Chase would call out, asking who the child was, why they were running away from him, but the child would just smile at him and start walking away. It was always the same and Chase couldn't help but feel frustrated upon experiencing the same thing over and over again. The nightmares made him feel helpless.
Some nights, it was even worse, and he would find himself depressed over them.
Chase felt bitter to the core when he thought of it. After all, those were just bad dreams. How could they possibly hurt him?
Chase sighed and stared up, his eyes casting over the darkness, and trying to look for stars. There were nights when he felt something was missing, and that only by looking up would he find a little comfort to cover up this inexplicable emotion. For him, the sky was a friend, always there waiting for him after a tough day.
The empty sky waved to Chase, bravely accompanying his lonely heart though no stars could be found.
Chase smiled sadly upon seeing it, but then remembered the child in his dreams had once handed him a piece of paper. A few words were written on it:
"Not all empty skies are lonely skies. Sometimes, the skies are just empty because they are preparing for tomorrow's brightest stars."
It was funny how Chase could still recall each word written on that piece of paper. It was even funnier how he managed to read those lines knowing that he was just in a dream.
However, the child was right. Nothing was permanent in this world, after all. Empty skies can be filled too. A night would surely come when stars would appear and spread their brightness all over the once lonely dim sky.
Could Chase compare that to his lonely heart? Could stars come and fill all the emptiness in his heart too?
Chase felt his chest pound louder at the thought. Somehow, all the emptiness he felt at the moment seemed to empty out further, as if his body was getting ready for the stars to fill it up.
Maybe the child in his dreams was right. Maybe Chase could also hope for his heart to be filled like the sky. Maybe his heart's loneliness would also come to an end and be replaced by overflowing happiness soon.
Soon.
Chase hoped it would happen.
Chase smiled.
Chase knew, sooner or later, it would.