Page 65 of In Somnis

“Better. Weirdly better.”

If you don’t count the stranger in my dreams.

“That’s great! So the crystal worked?”

“I don’t know if it was the crystal, but, yeah, I didn’t have the same nightmare again.”

“That’s huge.” He looks genuinely pleased. “But I think you’ll have to wear it a few more nights to make sure.”

“I’m planning to, thank you.” I take a sip of coffee, watching the fairy lights sway above us, and decide to take the leap.

If someone can help me with the lucid dreaming stuff, it would be him, right?

“Do you… know anything about dreams?”

“Nope.” He shakes his head. “I’m more into astrology, crystals, and cards.”

Shit.

“But…” he adds, “… my mom is super into dreams. She has a whole bookshelf on dream interpretation. Symbolism and that stuff. If you want, I can look up whatever you dreamed about.”

I hesitate, turning the cup slowly. “It was… kind of ridiculous.”

His eyes light up. “Try me.”

“Okay. There was a kitchen, and… muffins. Lots of muffins.”

When I chance a look at him, he’s grinning eagerly. “I’m listening.”

I sigh, glancing back up at the sky and gesturing with my coffee. “They were floating in the air and had little smiley faces on them. And they were singing.”

“Singing?”

“Yep. And at the end, they all started attacking a guy who was also in my dream. But he was a stranger, and⁠—”

Jasper snorts so hard he almost chokes on his croissant, coughing and laughing at the same time. “Oh my God.”

I shoot him a glare. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“Sorry.” He chuckles, wiping at his mouth. “I just… okay, I don’t even need a book for that.”

“Oh?” Hope flickers up before I can stop it.

“It means you’re into muffins, and that you don’t like to share your food,” he says solemnly, finishing the last bite of his croissant. “Which, honestly, tracks for a Taurus. I still need your moon sign.”

“I always share my food.” I nod pointedly at the crumbs on his lap. “But yeah, let’s do the tarot first, and then we’ll see.”

I finish my croissant faster than is probably dignified and drain the rest of my coffee in one go, wrapping both hands around the empty cup just to have something to hold.

I need something. A sign, a nudge, anything that points in a direction I can actually follow, because right now I have too many threads and no idea which one to pull.

But it’s obvious that whatever answers I’m looking for about the dreams, I’m not getting them from him.

Jasper takes our empty coffee cups and sets them out of the way, then grabs his tarot cards from his bag and hops back onto his swing, already shuffling. “Okay.” His cheery demeanor shifts and turns serious as he brushes his ringed forefinger lovingly over the deck. “I just learned the past-present-future spread, so that’s what we’re doing. The past first, because that one’s easy to verify.”

“Sure.” I brace myself. “Hit me.”

He lifts the cards between us, right in front of my face, and slides his thumb down the shorter edge, bends them back, then lets go so the cards rattle against each other in a smooth cascade. “Say stop when you feel it.”