Chapter 2
Jun's Unfinished Dreams
In the vice of everyday reality, Jun carries within him an inner world as vast as it is mysterious, a parallel universe that comes to life each night in the echo chamber of his dreams. This dreamlike dimension, more tangible to him than the waking world, calls to him with growing insistence, weaving around his mind a web of unfulfilled desires.
Every night, the same dream unfolds with the precision of a score played many times over. The horizon opens onto a field of ripe wheat stretching as far as the eye can see, rippling under the caress of an imaginary breeze. The setting sun sets the sky ablaze, painting the vault of heaven with a fresco in shades of fire and gold, casting long shadows over the world.
In this natural cathedral, where the golden ears rise like so many silent prayers towards the firmament, a female figure takes shape, as elusive as a dream in the twilight. She is nothing but sketch and suggestion, a watercolour diluted in the evening mist, and yet Jun recognises her instantly. His heart races as if it were trying to escape from his chest.
Carried by an irresistible impulse, Jun rushes after her. His feet barely touch the ground, as if gravity itself gave way before the urgency of his quest. The air around him vibrates with a peculiar energy. Step by step, the distance between them shrinks imperceptibly, as in an infinite dance in which every movement brings them closer without ever quite uniting them.
In the distance stands an ancestral gateway, an imposing structure woven of living wood and mystic symbols. The glyphs adorning its posts pulse with a muted glow, as if animated by a consciousness of their own. Each symbol whispers a secret that Jun cannot quite grasp, but which resonates in the depths of his being.
Just as Jun is about to reach her, the figure crosses the threshold of the gateway. She stops and turns back towards him, while the doors begin their slow closing. Her gaze pierces him, holding all the mysteries of the universe, all the melancholy of impossible loves. In her eyes shines an invitation to transcend the borders between worlds.
Jun reaches out desperately, his fingers trying to capture this enchanting vision. But the gateway, inexorable, closes with a rumble that shakes the very foundations of reality, like the knell of a missed opportunity.
It is at this precise instant that Jun invariably wakes, his heart pounding against his ribs, his fingers still stretched towards a presence that has evaporated like dew beneath the morning sun. The sense of loss that floods him is so visceral that it hollows out his chest.
But beyond the pain of absence, a spark of hope persists, an inexplicable certainty that this woman is not merely a product of his imagination. One day, perhaps, the gateway will stay open long enough for him to join her in her realm.