“I just- I just don’t understand.” I said after a bite of noodles. Yang RunYu - but everyone just calls her Yu - makes the best noodle soup in town - and even better wontons. I wasn’t feeling well, and I texted her asking if we could chat. What had happened was just crazy! And while I knew it was all a dream, I just couldn’t help but wonder. “I was on the train, going to my ‘audition’, and then it suddenly vaporized. Like, into thin air!”

Yu sipped her hot tea thoughtfully, I could tell she wasn’t drinking it though, it was way too hot to not burn her lips in the process. “I think that you might feel a certain way, and that is why your dream had this type of outcome.”

Yu had immigrated to the US from China when she was 13, almost 20 years ago. While she still had a slight accent, her English was a lot better than some of my classmates in my old physics class.

“Okay,” I said, “But what would I feel?”

“I don’t know.” Yu said. “Only you will be able to figure out how you feel about anything, life, even.”

I nodded, and took a sip of the beef broth. I was getting more inspirational life advice. It normally happens every time me and Yu talk.

“Don’t worry,” Yu continued, “Everything will all blow over after this. And, just checking, do you have an audition?”

I shook my head. “I’ve thought about it, though.” I stirred my soup, all the noodles gone. “I’ve wanted to do it for a very long time.”

Yu nodded. “Yes, I see.” She knit her eyebrows together. “You should do it.” She said. “Give it a try, and see if it’s something you want to pursue further.”

“I can’t.” I said. “My parents will disown me.”

“I’m sure they won’t.” Yu said. “If you end up being really successful…”

I shook my head. “I went too far choosing a liberal arts degree over engineering, or medicine.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Oh.” Yu said. “I see.”

I nodded. If I did theater, my parents would never talk to me again. No matter how much I like it, I think that I’ll stick to watching the shows, and listening to the albums. I think of all the classics; Les Miserables, Rent, Wicked, West Side Story. I would love to be a part of a community like that, but it’s just not something that I would be able to do, I have no connections, no way into that world. I’m better off insinuating myself into the speech world, and start to find places to post my articles.

But the fact that I had that weird dream in the first place, it was creepy! I was starting to wonder if I was all right psychologically. I suddenly remembered all of the murder documentaries that me and my mom used watch together. A lot of those people had psychological issues, where they thought they saw things, and ended up killing people. I shuddered, and for Yu’s sake, acted like it was cold. Which it was.

It was the middle of December here, and when the snow fell, it fell hard.

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we lived somewhere else?” I asked. “I mean, if we were in a different city, do you think we’d be more successful?”

Yu sighed. “That is for you to see for yourself. Once you graduate, where do you want to go?”

I thought for a second. “Somewhere where I can show the world what I’m made of.”

Yu raised her eyebrows. “That is very ambitious.” She said.

I suddenly felt bad about what I had just said. “I- I mean, do you ever think about moving somewhere else?”

Yu nodded. “Oh, yes, all the time.” She looked into her hot tea. “My brother and my nephew live in New York, and I have been meaning to visit them for a very long time. But, well, I was never able to put aside enough money for it.”

I nodded. I didn’t even bother bringing up asking her brother for help. Yu, like Theo, was a very strong and independent person. She didn’t need anybody else’s help, and that was that. She was going to solve her own problems, as she had most likely started them.

I stood up, thanked Yu for the conversation, and paid for my noodles.

As I was walking home, I felt something in the back of my mind, like a tick, tick, tick. I thought about leaving Avis, maybe going to New York City, or even out of the country. Tick, tick, tick. I thought about my dreams, and I knew that I couldn’t let them go. The years are counting down, that’s for certain. And as I time myself for success, I know that I cannot stay here for the rest of my life. I have so many years ahead of me, and I better use them.

The clock starts now, just like my dream said. What am I waiting for?