Strange Dreams
ACT 2 – Strange Dreams
Three weeks after the transplant...
Ethan finally went home.
For the first time in years, he could walk without a wheelchair.
His breathing was steady.
His skin had regained its color.
He laughed more than ever before.
The doctors called it an extraordinary recovery.
Sarah finally believed their nightmare was over.
But then...
The dreams began.
The first one came on a quiet night.
Ethan woke up suddenly, covered in sweat.
Sarah rushed into his room.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
He slowly shook his head.
"No."
"I don't think it was a dream."
She smiled gently.
"You're still recovering."
"Your mind is just processing everything."
But the dreams kept coming.
Night after night.
Always the same.
In the dream...
Ethan stood in front of a beautiful house beside a peaceful lake.
The water reflected the morning sun.
A giant oak tree stood in the front yard.
Its branches stretched across the sky.
A golden retriever came running toward him, wagging its tail happily.
Without thinking, Ethan knelt down.
"Hey, Cooper."
The name came out naturally.
As if he had called the dog a thousand times before.
In the distance...
A little girl laughed as she swung back and forth on a white swing.
Her laughter echoed across the yard.
Warm.
Familiar.
Comforting.
Every time Ethan tried to walk toward her...
He woke up.
The dreams never changed.
The same house.
The same oak tree.
The same dog named Cooper.
The same little girl.
The frightening part was...
Ethan had never been there.
He had never seen that house.
He had never owned a dog.
And he had certainly never met that little girl.
Sarah became concerned.
She scheduled an appointment with a child psychologist.
"After a major surgery," the doctor explained,
"Children sometimes create vivid imaginary memories while coping with trauma."
Sarah wanted to believe that.
She truly did.
But Ethan kept describing new details.
"Mom..."
"There's an old wooden boat behind the house."
"There's a white bench under the oak tree."
"And inside the garage..."
"There's a dark blue classic car."
Sarah had never mentioned any of those things.
No one had ever told Ethan anything about Jonathan Hale beyond the fact that he had donated his heart.
Then one evening...
They were watching the evening news together.
A special report aired about the memorial service for billionaire Jonathan Hale.
The camera switched to an aerial view of his lakeside estate.
The moment Ethan saw it...
He froze.
His eyes widened.
His heart began to race.
He slowly raised his finger toward the television.
"Mom..."
His voice trembled.
"I know that house."
Sarah looked at the screen.
Then back at her son.
"What did you just say?"
"I've been there."
"So many times."
A chill ran down Sarah's spine.
The news anchor continued.
"This lakeside estate was Jonathan Hale's home for more than twenty years."
The camera panned across the front yard.
A massive oak tree filled the screen.
Beneath it...
A golden retriever lay quietly in the shade.
The reporter smiled.
"Cooper, Mr. Hale's loyal dog, still waits for his owner every day."
Sarah felt the blood drain from her face.
Ethan whispered...
"I knew his name."
No one in that room could explain how a ten-year-old boy—who had never met Jonathan Hale, never visited his home, and had never seen those images before—could know details that no one had ever told him.
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And that...
Was only the first mystery.
