Do dreams really hold meaning? Some say dreams can be magical escape to far off lands or an exploration of your deepest desires. While others can keep us up at night with haunting imagery of the things we fear most. Maybe it's a lack of imagination or the gaps in my memory, but my dreams are not that spectacular. In fact, for as long as I can remember I've had the same dream. Now I know what you might be thinking "The same dream? Maybe you just cannot remember your other dreams and that is the one that sticks out in your mind best? After all we don't remember most of our dreams anyway." Trust me I have heard it all, but the facts are I always dream the same dream. In a way it is kind of comforting because in a way it feels as if it is something I should remember, but it is just out of reach.

The dream always starts the same, I am a child playing in the grass. It smells as though it has been freshly cut. When I look out in front of me, I can see trees that are as tall as the sky and figure that looks about my size. There seems to be some familiarity about the figure, as though I should know who he is, but I just do not. He extends his hand out to me, but he's just out of reach. The dream always ends the same. As soon as I get close to him, I wake up.

"_, _, wake up before the teacher yells at you again!" A harsh whisper sinks into my ear and my eyes snap open. I lift my head up from the desk and pushed the hair out of my eyes before unleashing a deadly glare. "Elizabeta it's Friday, are we actually doing something important today?" I replied in a groggy whisper. Elizabeta laughed. "No, but I think you're going to want to turn around and look at the view." Elizabeta replied with a wiggle of her eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and shifted my direction to the front of the classroom where I was met with an icy gaze that chilled me to my very core. "He has been totally checking you out, since the moment he walked in." Elizabeta whispered. "Class, I want you to meet our newest student." The teacher booms in hopes to gain the attention of his sleepier students. "What is your name son?" The boy broke eye contact for but a moment. "The name's Ludwig, Ludwig Beilschmidt." He replied in a smooth voice. "Why does that name sound so familiar…" _ thought to herself. "Well it's nice to meet you Ludwig, class is almost over so you can have seat over there by _ and I will get you a book hopefully before the week is out." I give a small wave. Ludwig gave a small smile and swiftly made his way over giving a crisp nod as he sat down. His icy gaze remained, finally I broke eye contact before I turned any redder. "Why am I getting all flustered and why will he NOT stop staring at me." The minutes seemed to drag on for an eternity. It was as if his gaze had frozen time itself. Finally, the bell rang. I gathered my things as quickly as I could and bolted for my locker. The feeling of his icy glaze made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end. I shoved my head in my locked and pretended to look for something in hopes he would finally leave me alone. His icy presence faded and was replaced by a much warmer one. Elizabeta peeked her head around my locker door. "Is everything alright? I've never seen you bolt out of class that quickly before." She chuckled. "That new guy may be cute, but when you stare at someone for more than five minutes you start to enter stalker territory." I replied nervously "but the weird thing is, I feel like I've seen him before." Elizabeta shot me a worried glance. "I thought you couldn't remember your past?" she asked inquisitively. "The only piece of memory I have is my dream." I replied biting my lip. "Yea, the only dream you ever have, that must get really old." I shrugged "I think it would be weird to have different dream." Elizabeta smiled. "Listen, I would love to analyze your dreams further, but I am starving." I grabbed my lunch from my locker and followed her down to the lunchroom.

We sat at our usual spot in the lunchroom, but today felt different. Maybe it was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I had made for myself instead of tuna or maybe it could be that Ludwig was slowly making his way toward our table. "It seems like your stalker wants to join us for lunch." Elizabeta whispered. I glared at her as I took a large bite out of my sandwich, the jelly oozing onto the bag on the beneath it. "Oh god, what could he want now." He had a very formal way of walking. His long legs strode with a determined nature. When he reached the table, his heels clicked together like a solider lining up to march. "May I talk to you for a moment?" Ludwig asked. "That depends." Elizabeta retorted with a sly smile. "Well I wasn't really talking to you, but I'll play along. Depends on what?" he replied flashing a pair of pearly white teeth. I tried to conceal my smile with my napkin as he spoke. "You've been staring at my friend like a T-bone steak from the moment you stepped into the classroom, frankly it has made us all a little uncomfortable. If you wish to speak with _ "privately" I expect to see them back in one piece." Ludwig smiled "Cross my heart." His smile had a princely like charm, but I still felt quite uneasy.

I stood up and followed Ludwig to the quad. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked in a nervous tone. "First of all, I wanted to formerly apologize for staring at you like a "T-bone steak", you just remind me of someone I used to know." He replied his words trailing off. I looked at him wanting to ask him more, but I just could not shake this uneasy feeling. "Well, was that all you wanted to tell me?" I replied taking a step back toward the lunchroom. He leaned forward in an attempt reel me back in. "The teacher said you first name was _, right?" Ludwig asked. "Yes… _, _ _." I answered a quiet voice. Ludwig 's eyes widened "It's really you!" he replied wrapping me in his arms. He squeezed me so tightly I almost forgot how to breathe. I squirmed in his grasp and tried to push myself away from him. "What are you talking about, and why are you hugging me!" I exclaimed. Ludwig let go and his cheeks started to glow a dusty pink. "You don't remember your past do you?" He whispered. I balled my hands into fists at my sides. I could feel my throat start to tighten before I finally blurted. "No, I have this vague memory of being a little kid and another figure standing just outside my reach waiting for me." As the words left my lips, I wished that I could scoop them back up. "I'm sorry for dumping that all on you!" I replied. I could feel my face growing hot and wanted more than anything to leave. "So, she remembers him…" Ludwig thought to himself."I know this is going to sound hard to believe, but we used to be really close friends when we were children." I felt my body trembling, my legs wanted to run, but it felt as though they were cemented to the floor. "Could he be the one I've been dreaming about? This just all seems too good to be true." Ludwig took a step toward me holding my hand. I looked up at him. "This all seems a little too good to be true. How can I trust you; do you have any proof that we knew one another?" His expression conveyed that my words might have hurt him, but he brushed it off with a smile. He reached his hand into his pocket from which he pulled out a very old and torn photo. He handed it to me, the picture was faded but there was no mistaking it. That was me, a small child with a dopey grin. My two bottom teeth were missing, and I was standing next to a lanky boy who was mostly legs with blonde hair the color of sunshine and striking blue eyes. "This was taken at my father's family home, before it burned down." I pulled my eyes away from the photo for just a moment. "Burned down?" He nodded "Yes, when we were children you and I were neighbors we played in that garden almost every day. You lived with you grandfather who heavily doted on you, but some very bad people took that all away from us." My head was spinning. His words spun around in my brain like silk. I tried to cling onto them, but they seemed to slip through my fingers. I kept a tight grip on the photo in my hand, as it felt like to only thing that was keeping me grounded. Ludwig put his hand on mine and said, "You can keep that photo if you'd like." I smiled as tears welled up in my eyes. "_, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but I want more than anything to help you remember." I bit my lip. These were the words, I have wanted to hear for as long as I can remember. A tears escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. "You will?" my voice hopeful and quiet. Ludwig wipe the tear from my cheek and smiled. "I will certainly do my best to try. Though it has been said, when people lose their memory it is good to be surrounded by things from your past." He replied in a warm tone. His warmth faded into a more serious expression. "_, has anyone else tried to ask you about your past?" I shook my head "No, you're the only one. Other than Elizabeta I really have not spoken to anyone about my past." He relaxed his gaze and let out a sigh of relief. "Why do you ask?" I replied in a nervously. "As I mentioned there are some people, very bad people that are trying to find you. The same ones that burnt my family's home and took you away." A cold chill danced up my spine and my mouth became very dry. "What do they want with me? Why am I so important?" I asked afraid of knowing the answer. Ludwig took a deep breath. "There is not enough time for me to explain everything in detail, but basically they want to make sure you don't remember your past." I could feel a lump forming in my throat. "Am I dreaming? How can any of this be?" "_, I'm sorry I know that this is a lot to take in." Ludwig said cupping my chin in his hands. "I just want you to be safe." His words felt comforting despite what danger loomed for me.

"Since I can't always be by your side there are a couple of people you need to watch out for. First, is a short Japanese man with a bowl cut and brown eyes. His name Kiku, but do not let those big brown eyes of his deceive you he is extremely dangerous. Next, is a man not much older than the last, an Italian with medium length brown hair and a big curl flopped on one side of his head. He may seem sweet and friendly, but it is all an act. Finally, and probably the most dangerous one of them all is a guy around our age with snow white hair and eyes that look almost red in color. His name is Gilbert, though they all might assume different names to try and deceive you. If you see any of them, I want you to run to somewhere and call me right away, got it?" I nodded as the bell rang. "Here is my number, like I said call me if anything happens, or if you just want to talk." he said with a smirk. I gripped the piece of paper and put it in my pocket, before briskly making my way back to my locker.

As I fast walked over to my locker Elizabeta was impatiently tapping her foot, her hand gripped tightly on my lunch box. She looked me over and brushed away the hair from my neck. "No visible bite marks, looks like I won't have to beat him with my frying pan." I chuckled, but knew she was not kidding about the frying pan, she kept it in her locker though most people assumed it was because she liked to cook. I sighed. "Actually, he is someone from my past." Elizabeta's eyebrows shifted. "And you believed him? _, doesn't that sound too good to be true?" Her tone seemed that of a disapproving older sister. I could feel a lump forming in my throat. My face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. "Well, he is the first guy I have ever met who seems to know anything about my past. The least I can do I is hear him out. Just look at this picture." I pulled out the faded photo from my pocket and gingerly handed it over to Eliza. She held the photo up next to my face. "Well, it's pretty uncanny how much that looks like you, but you also said that he gave you the creeps." Eliza replied handing me the photo. "Though his actions were a little misguided, I truly do think he means well." I said with a hopeful smile. "And if anything weird happens, you'll be the first to know."