"There is a sect of psychologists that believe dreams are nothing but the hidden desires of mankind and when these desires are suppressed, they manifest themselves in forms of nightmare... Nightmares trouble your good night sleep? No worries for we here at Eevie's Dream-catcher Practice offer services to chase away your nightmare for a reasonable price! Call the phone number or contact the email-address shown at the bottom of the page to schedule a consultation. First consultation is free and the subsequent fees for consultation are decided according to the seriousness of your case. Terms and condition applied."

Adam highlighted and un-highlighted the weird promo slogan of this curious website he stumbled upon. In today's day and age, this sounded pretty much like a hoax, the pitch of a snake oil merchant, but... his eyes swept the bottles of sleeping pill on his table. What other choices did he realistically have? The effect of the sleeping pills were wearing off, his old recurring dreams were slowly coming back. He was afraid to get into bed at night and the effect showed in his work. He almost nodded off at his cubicle one morning and thankfully his supervisor wasn't around.

Galvanized by his apparent lack of option, Adam steeled his resolve. As long as he looks out for pitfalls like suspicious inquiries like social security number and credit card information, there is nothing for him to lose, he told himself. As he decided to fire off an email to the mysterious address, he heard the door to his room click. He closed his browser in a hurry and the screen returned to his desktop, the picturesque scenery of a 3-storey tall white cross amidst a meandering plain of grass.

"Adam, you want to join us at the bar? I know you don't drink but we can have a match of darts between us, come on, it'll be fun!" said the familiar voice. It was his roommate and colleague, Jason.

"Thank you, I'll be fine. I have something to do. Have fun on my behalf," Adam declined politely.

"Come on, don't be such a spoil sport. What is so important that you're working on anyway?" Jason leaned in from behind to look at his screen. He was a bit dumbfounded when he realized it was only the desktop page.

Suddenly, Adam sprung up from his seat almost knocking into Jason's chin if not for the fact that Jason lean back quick enough. Before Jason could say anything about it, Adam leaped under his covers and grumbled, "I need to sleep early. There's work tomorrow right? So you also don't stay out too late."

Jason looked at his roommate curiously. The guy is going to bed but he didn't even shut down his laptop? However, seeing as how Adam had completely scurried under the covers, Jason decided to not nag his roommate with frivolities like this. He decided to cut Adam some slack because recently he too had realized the dark circles that had reappeared under his roommate's eyes. Maybe his friend did need some good night sleep. He shrugged and said, "Alright then, sleep tight and I'll see you tomorrow."

Hidden under the comfort of his bed covers, Adam willed his heart to stop palpitating. He sighed in great relief when he heard the door to his room open and close. He could no longer feel Jason's presence in the room. He pushed his covers back as he sat up. He felt a great weight pressing down on him and he swore he could hear a familiar and gentle male voice giving a sermon. He shook his head ferociously as if trying to shake the voice out of his head. This could not go on anymore...

He dragged his body back to his table and faced his laptop. He reopened his browser and clicked on the history tab. What is there for him to lose, was the thought that floated into his mind. After he typed a short email stating his situation, he clicked the send button. Then, he stared at the screen numbly, wondering what the hell was he doing. He probably entered himself into some malicious spam-mail chain or something of the sort. If he was in the mood to laugh, he would have laughed at himself. He picked up the leather-bound bible on his table and he couldn't help but think, maybe he was going about this the wrong way. Salvation perhaps was in prayers. As he prepared to really retire for the night, he heard the message alert from his laptop signaling that he just received a new mail in his inbox.

The mail went: "Dear valued customer, thank you for your interest in our services. After a close reading of the mail you've sent us, we have a rudimentary understanding of your situation. Your trial consultation will happen tonight. Do not worry and go to bed like usual. We will meet you in your dream.

XoXo, Eevie's Dream-catcher Practice"

Adam stared at the short writing on his screen, he scrolled down further trying to ascertain more information like perhaps a personal phone number, Skype address, anything, but that was it. That was the whole correspondence. This must be some kind of prank, he thought to himself. Even though he went in not really expecting anything but for some reasons, he felt disappointed. Eventually, he closed his laptop, switched off the lights and climbed into bed. Like usual, he washed down several sleeping pills with a glass of warm water, prayed and prayed until his eyelids drooped from tiredness...

She felt tickled by the grass caressing her ears. She swatted it away as she opened her eyes and sat up. She found herself in a sprawling plains with no defining geographical features like trees or outcroppings. It was a sea of green as far as the eye could see, expect for a solemn looking church that seemed to sat in the middle of nowhere. The church was a stone building that definitely predated the twentieth century. It had an unassuming character except a singular belfry that rose into the sky. She seemed to be able to spot a large bell on it. She shrugged since this was not even close to the weirdest dream she had seen. 'Looks like this is going to be easy picking,' She thought. However, as she stood up to wipe away the grass that stuck to her clothes, she realized with a start that something was wrong.

A sense of vertigo struck her, 'Why are the ground suddenly so close to me? And why are my hands so...tiny?' She observed her hands slowly and curiously like they were not her own. Her gaze went lower and realized, 'Wait... What happened to my breasts?' She felt her body all over and finally came to the conclusion that she had shrunk to the size of a child, or rather, she had regressed to the state of a child. From the looks of things, she put herself at about age 8 to 10. But... a forced appearance change? The client's issue shouldn't have caused something as drastic as this... So this might be more complicated than she initially thought. Right then, she smelled the scent of roses in the air even though there was no sight of any flowers much less roses around. Her lips curved into a mysterious smile... 'So her forces are behind this, well that explains a lot of things.' She patted a rectangular object that was inside her pocket and said with a shrug, "Well, thankfully I came prepared."

She dusted herself off and headed towards the solitary church. As she came closer, she was struck with an impression the church looked suspiciously like a... face. Two rickety boarded-up wooden windows were high up in the building and there were no other windows or openings in sight. They were located on the same level and resembled a pair of closed eyes. However, the defining feature of the stone facade was none other than a large wooden door that blocked her way. It was about three times her height and had a sturdy feel to it. She tried to get closer to knock on it but as she leaned in, she heard sounds coming from within. It sounded like voices... of children?

Truth be told, she could have turned to leave, but what choices did she have when her client was on the other side of the door. The energy profile of a dream's host was unmistakable. She leaned all her weight into the door but it didn't even budge. She doubted her normal self would be strong enough to open the door much less when she was a child. However, this was after all... a dream. She pulled out the object in her pocket, the tool of her trade so to speak. It was a deck of cards and they were all facing up. They were multi-colored and as she fanned them out in her palm, one could see there were seven colors in total, red, pink, green, blue, black, gold and purple. There were various numbers of cards for each color and there was in total about twenty something cards. However, the singular black card stood out. As she pulled out a red card, the door suddenly slid open like it was on automatic.

The first thing that struck her was the contrast in lighting. Outside the sun was shining brightly but inside the church it was night and the only source of light was the candles that hung on eight columns, four on each side that ran down the middle of the room. The weak candlelight lent the place a sense of intimacy and simultaneously, gave her who was still beyond the threshold a limited view of the things within. The white columns were decorated with meaningful flowers like baby's breaths and tulips. The pews were crowded with children consumed in their childish antics, however, curiously enough, not one seemed interested to cross the bloody red carpet that separated the pews into two. All of them were smartly dressed, boys in tuxedos and girls in dresses. At the end of the carpet stood a handsome boy of about ten in a pressed suit. Based on her reading, this was the host, her client. Before him was an elderly, gentle looking priest in a black cassock. He was probably there to officiate this... wedding.

The room was curiously oblivious to her presence and the fact that the door had opened so suddenly. They carried on as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, she heard a creaking sound coming from above. She lifted her head and saw the wooden planks that boarded up the window crashing down towards her. She nimbly side-stepped out of danger and the planks shattered into smithereens. At that instant, a hush fell over inside the church. The children froze in the middle of playtime and turned their heads towards the front of the altar in unison. Then, in their childlike voice, they chanted, "Where is the bride? Where is the bride? Where is the bride?"

The boy was getting increasingly flustered from what sounded like accusations from his wedding guests. He stumbled over his words trying to justify himself but it was obvious that he was not winning over the crowd. Suddenly, the priest on the altar turned stern and announced with finality, "There is no bride because you are a sinner!" The judgment silenced the room. "But Father... I'm not... Please believe... I'm innocent..." The boy pleaded but the priest ignored him and led the room to chant, "Sinner! Sinner! Sinner!" The priest appeared to be consumed by religious fervor. The boy stepped involuntarily backwards from his main aggressor and slipped. He landed squarely on the carpet with a heavy thud and it seemed to awaken the giant. The church groaned as it shifted like it was actually alive. This spooked the girl but her fear was nothing compared to the boy's. He tried to claw his way out and blood-red liquid oozed out of the carpet, staining his suit. As if responding to pain, the carpet flicked the boy into the air like an actual fleshy tongue. The boy screamed for help and the people in the dream started to flicker like images from an old television screen. "Crap, the host is waking up!" The girl cursed under her breath. The stone bricks of the stone walls started to crumble and she immediately blinked out of existence lest she got trapped in his dream. In her hurry, she didn't notice the waif of a figure who stood in solitary up in the church belfry.

Adam woke up with cold sweat breaking on his forehead. He sat up and breathed deep, trying to calm his beating heart. As he calmed, the sounds of the morning sifted into his ears, the chirping of the birds and the sound of the few solitary motorized vehicles. Out of nowhere, he heard a groan coming from his side. It was his roommate, Jason, tossing around in his sleep. He was half-dressed and had kicked away part of his mattress. Adam studied his roommate's aquiline nose, sharp jaw, hair that was tousled from sleep, and bare chest that was rising and falling steadily. A quick blush rose to Adam's face when he realized his roommate's male part was doing its morning salute. Adam dashed into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face and freshen himself to face the rest of the day.

The rest of Adam's day was spent in a daze, him being all caught up with what he saw earlier. Night had fallen when he finally tumbled through the door of his room. The first thing he noticed was the absolute silence. This meant that Jason wasn't around to fill the room with video game noises. This was better, Adam concluded in his mind, some alone time would probably do me good. After a shower and dinner, Adam switched on his laptop, and realized he received a reply from the strange website he emailed the night before. Compelled by curiosity, he clicked it open

"Dear esteemed customer, after visiting your dream last night, my rudimentary diagnosis is that you've been haunted by those in my business call, a Nightmare. Of course, I will need to talk to you for a little more before I can come up with a firmer conclusion. Therefore, I wish that you retire to bed early tonight and I shall meet you in your dream. Do not fret because after we ascertain the source of your Nightmare, I will do my best to help you exterminate it.

P.s We will discuss the issue of payment during the dream meeting as well. I will see you tonight.

XoXo, Eevie's Dream-catcher Practice"

Adam studied the message with skepticism. Then, he lied down on his bed to figure things out. First thing's first, he did kind off spot a little girl that usually wasn't there in his dream yesterday night. However, he was too caught up in his own trauma to be able to tell whether that really happened or it was his brain playing tricks on him. Secondly, the dream did have a premature ending compared to the other ones he had earlier, at least, this time, 'she' didn't make an appearance, and that thing did qualify to be called, a Nightmare, as long as it defined things that could scar one for life. However, the question was: Were these enough for him to base his trust in a mysterious message from a person whom he had never met before? Furthermore, what was this payment the message spoke of, Adam had a feeling it was not referring to conventional monetary payment. Maybe Adam's nerves had been pulled taut for so long that lying on the bed unraveled them or there was some magic in the email, because even without the aid of medication, Adam was slowly succumbing to drowsiness...

When Adam came to next, he was standing in front of a door, yes, a nondescript door that was attached to nothing and seemingly led to nowhere. The space he was in was a wide grey expanse that was somehow lit. There was nothing as far as his eyes could see other than this door before him. He circled around it slowly. The door had a silver doorknob and was somehow standing even though it wasn't installed into anything, not unlike the prop doors used by actors on stage. While he was debating how to proceed, a female voice drifted out from within, "Don't be shy, come on in."

Adam pushed the door open cautiously. While he didn't know what to expect but what he saw disappointed him because everything was so... commonplace. The room was cramped and barely furnished. It was windowless and had a single hanging lamp lighting up the place. The only thing of note was the four walls were painted a dull blue, the kind that would make him fall asleep from staring at it for too long if he wasn't already. In the middle of the room was a steel table and a set of chairs. An old woman about seventy of age sat in one of them. She had on a floor-length floral printed dress with flowing sleeves, or more commonly known as the hippie dress. Her sandy-colored hair was frazzled and unkempt like hay that needed a good brushing. She had no accessories or make-up except the wrinkles and lines that decorated her weathered face. The first thing that came into Adam's mind was... charlatan!

"Mrs. Eevie?" Adam ventured cautiously.

"A gentleman always leads with his own name," came the reply in a surprisingly young voice. "I'm Adam..."

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Nice to meet you, Adam. I am indeed Miss Eevie. Please have a seat," The woman said as she gestured at the empty chair opposite her with an gnarled hand. As Adam sat down, she proffered him a warm and friendly smile. Adam felt instantly at ease, Miss Eevie reminded him of his kind grandmother.

"Well, we have lots of things to discuss so let's not waste time," suggested Eevie. "First thing I would like to know is when did you start having these troublesome dreams?"

Adam scratched his chin in contemplation before coming out with an answer, "I believe they started when I moved in with my current roommate, Jason so that would be about two months ago."

"Jason, is it? Tell me about him if you don't mind," Eevie urged.

"Of course, I don't. I didn't know Jason before we moved in together, I met him over the internet when he posted a tenant ad. He was looking for someone to share his rent and I was looking for a place closer to my workplace to live. Initially, there were some rough patches but we got over those quickly. It was probably because he had the best personality of all the people I know. Not only that he's also athletic, kind-hearted, hardworking and many more. He always cheers me up when I'm down and share my happiness when I'm happy. In fact, he is the one most worried about my constant nightmares. He is a wonderful man..." Adam suddenly stopped himself, realizing perhaps he had been rattling on for too long. He turned to look at Miss Eevie, and she gave him a mysterious smile that he had a hard time deciphering.

"Thank you for the glimpse into your life," Eevie offered before continuing, "Now, do you mind telling me about your religious background?"

For some unknown reasons, Adam could feel his guard go up. "Why would you want to know that?"

"Honey, you were swallowed by a church in your dream, do you need a clearer symbolism? Plus, I'm not saying this is the source of your nightmare, it's just that this will go better if I know more about you as a person," Eevie comforted with a smile.

After a pause to weigh her words in his mind, Adam explained, "I was an only child born into a religious family. My parents were simple folks but they instilled the faith of Christ in me since I was a wee child. They were good people who walked the straight path of servitude to God. Every day, I strive to be more like them."

Eevie nodded along. She added when Adam seemed to have finished, "What about the priest in your dream? Who is he?"

Adam's eyes glazed over from fond memories. "That would be Father John, the priest from my childhood. He presided over the church from my home town. He was an old-fashioned, stern but fair priest. Perhaps it was my parent's influence but I was always fond of Father John and he looked after me like I am one of his own. He taught me everything I knew about the forms and rules of my faith. He taught me how to be a good and lawful Christian. Other than my parents, he was the biggest influence that shaped me into who I am today..." Adam was silent for a moment as he was pulled back into the present. "However, in my dreams, he seemed to be very disappointed in me. Do you know why that is, Miss Eevie?"

"Oh, honey, I think you know the answer," Eevie said with a meaningful smile before changing the subject completely, "Regardless, we can always come back to it later, because now I would like to speak to you about the matters of payment."

Adam subconsciously reached into his pocket but was to quick to realize he was in a dream. Plus, she hadn't really solved his problem, hadn't she? "But Miss Eevie, should you take care of the problem that has been troubling me first before asking for any payment?" He asked haltingly.

"That little problem? No worries, I'll handle it in a jiffy, trust me," Eevie replied with a winning smile before adding, "Consider this a prepaid. I will compensate you if the treatment fails but I assure you it won't."

While Adam was debating what she said, Eevie continued as she pulled out a handy credit card terminal, "You look like a strapping young man, so I think five life essences should be payment enough."

"Life essence? What exactly is that?" Adam asked slightly worried.

"You know how they say the blood is the human essence like how it keeps one's body alive?" Eevie explained slowly, "Don't give me that look, I'm not saying that I'm going to draw your blood but that the concept's almost similar. I might be as ancient as some vampires but I'm not one. Think of it as blood in a spiritual sense. And just like blood, your life essence will regenerate itself over time, so really, you're not losing anything. It's a real bargain for you." Here, Eevie winked.

Adam pulled his hands back instinctively and questioned, "Are there going to be side effects, like... shortening of longevity? Things like that."

"No, no, no. Of course nothing like that." Eevie shook her head and tutted like she was lecturing a petulant child, "In fact, I dare say this is safer than even drawing or donating blood. What harm can an old granny like myself really do? Trust me..." Eevie persuaded with a gentle smile.

With obvious hesitation, Adam slowly pushed his right hand forward.

Eevie smiled encouragingly as she pulled out a pen-like object that was attached to the terminal's side. She placed it between them and said, "Now, honey, just hold on to this. Do not worry, it will not hurt even a bit."

Adam touched the pen gingerly and felt the cold sting of steel. He eventually wrapped his whole palm around it and held it firmly in his hand.

Eevie pressed some buttons on the terminal and announced, "Okay, here we go."

Adam felt something like a sense of numbness spreading from his right arm, but nothing beyond that. He looked at the terminal because something was coming out of the slit opening where people usually slot in the credit card. It was a rectangular card that was the size of a normal poker card. The back of it was pure black while the front was white with the words, "Essence of Life" written in cursive and bold near the bottom. After the first card finished printing, Adam started to feel light-headed as if he was really donating blood.

Adam felt his focus wavering as the second card started to get printed. For the first time, the sound of alarm cropped up in his mind. His first reaction was to drop the pen but for some reasons, he couldn't. It was as if the hand was no longer his. It had become as unresponsive as stone even though he could still the touch of the pen in his grasp. His panic was soon overwhelmed by fatigue as the second card finished printing. His eyelids started to droop and he could feel the room spinning. By the time of the fourth card, he tried to say something to Eevie or even yell at her but he was too drained to be able to do that. By the start of the fifth card, Adam collapsed onto the table. He appeared to have gone unconscious. Eevie was unfazed throughout all these. She sat there waiting patiently for the process to finish. As the fifth card hit the table, Eevie picked them up before they disappeared down her billowing sleeves. Suddenly, the chair underneath Adam disappeared and so did the room. Adam fell through the darkness into the abyss below. The only things that remained were Eevie who still sat in her chair and the table that now floated in the middle of nothing. Seconds later, a blue card with the picture of the earlier room appeared on the table. Written on the bottom were the words, Sloth Level One: Small Shelter. Eventually, the card, the table, the chair and the person all blinked out of existence.

Before Adam opened his eyes, he could hear the sound of children playing and his heart seized with consternation. His fear wasn't unfounded because when he finally opened his eyes, the all-too-familiar church fell into view. Then, the machine of his nightmare started to move. The children went silent suddenly and they whipped their heads around at him. Adam felt so naked like they were staring into his soul, playing with his deepest and darkest secret. The "where is the bride?" chanting started anew, and Adam turned to Father John beside him in anticipation. A pair of stern eyes greeted him. "Sinner!" Father John commanded in a booming voice that shook the building to its foundation. Adam could feel his legs giving way as he stumbled involuntarily back.

However, at that moment, something different happened. Kindness returned to Father John's feature and the familiar face from Adam's religious childhood reappeared. Adam was confused and comforted. "It has been a long time, my dear child," Father John said in his gravelly voice.

"But... but, I see you every night in my dream, Father..." A still-shocked Adam mumbled.

Father John frowned.

"You consider that caricature my replica? I must have left quite a scar on young Adam then." Father John commented in good humor.

Adam shook his head quickly. "No, no, of course not Father, you've always been a figure of inspiration to me. I can see now that the other figure was nothing more than a figment of my imagination."

"Ah, yes, Adam," Father John twirled his finger in mid-air as if stressing his point. "The key here is a figment of your imagination. In other words, this is all an experience of self-reflection for you, my child. Now, I want you to take this opportunity to really look at yourself because self-reflection is often a good tool to help us grow, and I would love to see you grow into your best self. Now, let's go through this together. What did the other me told you?"

"That I'm a sinner..?" Adam answered timidly like he was doing a confessional.

"Do you agree or disagree?"

Adam frowned in deep thought. This was a question he really hadn't considered before. "I..." he hesitated.

Father John smiled encouragingly. "No matter, I will help you answer that, child."

"You are," He concluded firmly.

Adam's heart skipped a beat, worried that the nightmare would come back in full swing but Father John continued gently, "Because child, we all are. As the good book says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Adam turned his face up and Father John offered him an encouraging and understanding smile. He could feel tears pricking his eyes.

"But more than that, child, I wish to apologize to you, because in my occupation to impart upon you all the knowledge regarding our rituals, I have forgotten to teach you the one important message of our faith. It is a universal message that has survived the test of time, it is the message of forgiveness. Ours is a faith built upon the message of forgiveness. Forgive your neighbors but most importantly, forgive yourself as God in Christ forgave you."

Father John patted Adam lightly on his shoulder. "My time has arrived. May your road be straight and righteous, my child."

Father John's hand started to smudge like he was made of watercolor and the painter was washing him out.

Adam nodded and whispered through his tears, "Thank you, Father..." Like before, Adam started to flicker as well, a signal that this dream was ending for him.

As Adam blinked out of view, Father John dissolved to a little girl that held a pink card that read Lust Level One: Singular Mirage in her fingers. As the card disappeared, Eevie thought, "God, I wish Adam will forgive me for that deceit. Although I guess technically he couldn't be hurt by what he doesn't know."

The shifting of the church and panicked screaming of children brought Eevie back to more pressing matters. She quickly took out another card and this time it was a gold one that read, Greed Level One: Loan. After it disappeared into thin air, a large faint gold seal materialized way above everyone's heads. It was as if the seal was superimposed onto the church's ceiling. Few seconds later, everything returned to normal. The children started playing again and Eevie thought, "Isn't it time for the bride to show herself already?"

Right at that moment, the bell started to chime. Pealing of the bell silenced the children and the atmosphere inside the church reached a critical peak, the tension was palpable.

The church door was blown open by a sudden strong gust of wind. Standing in the half-light was the bride. She struck a slender figure. She had on a tulle veil, a white cinched-in bodice and floor-length train, the very picture of elegance. The all white ensemble made the red in her rose bouquet really pop.

She glided on the red carpet gracefully like she was dancing through air. However, she halted suddenly when she reached the middle part of the church, right under the center of the golden seal. It was as if she could sense something was wrong.

A pair of pink-colored eyes, like sea glass, glared at Eevie from underneath the veil.

"Honey, your groom has left the building. I suggest you surrender now and save both of us some time." was Eevie's reply.

"What have you done?" the bride croaked. Her voice sounded like it came from a broken windpipe, sharp and hollow.

"Sent him back to the real world where he belongs." Eevie responded with a shrug.

Eevie could feel the creature's hatred zeroing in on her but she was unmoved. Au contraire, it was the bride who lost her composure first. The eyes that glared at Eevie was started to get colored by unease. Eevie pointed upwards and explained, "I've used Greed's power to take over the host's dream or this place would have collapsed after he left. Since your power has no effect in my domain, let's wrap this up, I don't have the time to waste on Nightmares such as yourself."

Acknowledging her disadvantage, the bride turned to flee.

"Fine, you want to do this the hard way," Eevie sighed as she pulled out a red car that read Wrath Level One: Bolts from her sleeve. She tossed it at the creature and the card turned into a red arrowhead mid-flight. It shot through what would have been the bride's heart.

The bride collapsed in a shower of rose petals. Instead of spraying blood, it was raining rose petals. It was as if the bride was made out of pure roses and Eevie's attack blew her apart, shredding the wedding dress in the process. It was violently beautiful.

Eevie strode down the aisle and stopped before what remained of the bride. She squatted down and started to sift through the broken tatters. Eventually, she picked out three pink cards that read Essence of Lust on the front. Eevie pocketed them with a smile and departed from Adam's dream. Her job was done.

Adam sat the bar nursing a glass of water and a bowl of nuts. When he returned to his room earlier, Jason wasn't there. Adam thought he would find him at his favorite watering hole. Obviously, he was mistaken. Adam was slightly disappointed but he took the opportunity to collect his thoughts and to figure out the things he needed to say. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder and that familiar voice said, "Hey man, fancy seeing you here."

A smile blossomed on Adam's face but it froze when Adam turned to see the girl Jason's arm was encircling intimately. Jason saw the way Adam looked at his companion so he was quick to make the introduction. "This is here is Eve. I met her here actually that day when I asked you out for a drink. If you can believe it, we kinda hit it off from the first second we met, and we're actually going on a movie date tonight..."

Jason rambled on but too many information was crowding up Adam's mind and his brain didn't have the processing power to compute everything. The eventual sentence that reached into his head was, "Alright man, we'll catch you around. We have that movie to catch."

Jason waved him goodbye and Eve did the same although in a much shyer manner. Adam could only nod in return like he was dazed.

After everything was said and done, Adam smiled. There was sadness, yes, but it wasn't sadness from loss, because there was nothing for him to lose to begin with. It was sadness from acceptance, acceptance that a part of him, albeit one that greatly shackled him had moved on. He realized, prior to this, he didn't love a specific man per se but the vague idea of one, an observation affirmed by the fact that it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. Therefore, if anything, Adam profited as he gained a new understanding of himself. In the end, he smiled because everything panned out, he felt he was one step closer to his true self and was finally ready to face the world with more honesty.