John had his regular breakfast; fried and toasted bread and a cup of warm milk. He took his backpack, made sure all the electrical appliances were turned off and then closed his door shut and left his house.

John, who is in his early twenties, goes to a college by walk and rarely he takes a bus. One of his friends, Abdul, does part time job in a cafeteria, where John and him drink beverages after college.

John knew he was late and so he took a bus.

He sat close to a window seat and glanced at his watch. 9:30.

The bus stopped for the next stop and that's when John noticed her.She, who might be the same age as of John, searched for an empty seat to sit. John, rose his hand to notify her that there's an empty seat beside him. She gave a half smile as she headed towards him. John had an unusual feeling for her. She's a stranger to him but..."Thank you", she said as she sat closer to him. "Welcome. I'm John and you?" John doubted whether she would tell her name. "I'm Lily", she replied.

"Sweet name", John replied and he knew that felt inappropriate. Of course, Lily is a sweet name.

"I'm about to join a college called, "St.Franklin..." she said. John interrupted, "That's where I belong to" with an awkward smile. Lily too smiled back.

John felt like he was the luckiest guy in the world. Earlier, he got Lily to sit beside him and later, he found she belonged to the same class. Well, that's how luck helps love. "Hey!"John called, "Can we have a cup of coffee today eve?" Lily thought for a second. Then she replied,"Sure". John took Lily to his friend's workplace, The Cafe Castle" (it sounds like that show, chuckled John)

Abdul appeared from nowhere, with his apron on and a plate with two cups of coffee. "Welcome John!" he exclaimed as he went closer to John and Lily. "Hey,Abdul, this is Lily."

They shook their hands and Abdul offered their coffee and left the place. "The coffee is good" said Lily as she took a sip. "Also the lips" John said, "I mean, yes, coffee is good." Lily smiled. "Umm...you know"started John. "You look beautiful" Lily said"Thanks...you look handsome"

"Wanna come to my home?" asked John and he knew it was too quick to ask a girl to his home. "Maybe, tomorrow?" asked Lily.

"Okay" John replied. "Okay" Lily said.

The sky was reddish brown. The air was warm. No sign of trees. John opened his eyes with high effort. He was lying on sand. He got back his consciousness as he decided to stand. His body didn't want to. With high input of energy, he got up.

He was alone. Standing. Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder.

He shrugged in fear and turned to see who it was. He was amused to see a guy wearing a mask...the mask usually people wear to resemble ghosts. John laughed out loud. "Come on,Lily, I'm scared." Then, he laughed again. "Fool" It was a masculine voice. "I'm not Lily. I'm...I'm...what did I just forget my name?." asked the guy in despair. "Wait, what? You don't remember your name?" asked John in astonishment. He tried to unmask the guy. "You can't. I tried. Try to remove yours" the guy replied.Reality hit John like a rock that his face too was covered with a mask. "What the..."

Then there came an alarm.John and the guy were baffled. Then, they heard the words,

WELCOME.

WIN TO LIVE. LOSE TO DIE.

Then the voice vanished. John walked few steps back. There were no signs of life except him and the guy.

And, then, he felt chillness on his shoulder, when a lady rested her hand and said, "Hello".

John screamed out of his life in fear. He found himself in his bed. He looked around him. There was no guy. There was no lady. There was no voice.

It was a dream.