Jordan forgot his toothbrush.

Jordan, in all his wisdom, somehow forgot to pack his toothbrush. He only realized this once he’d arrived at his hotel, which was at around 10pm on a Sunday, so his options were limited. Across the street from his hotel was a small convenience store that still had the lights on, or maybe it was a building that looked like a convenience store, or maybe it was just a building that looked like it might sell a cheap toothbrush.

As Jordan walked across the street, he thought about how strange it felt to be staying at a hotel in his home town. He hadn’t been here since he was 18, and he had never been to this side of town either, so it was all very unfamiliar feeling.

When he entered the maybe-they-sell-toothbrushes building, his unfamiliar feelings grew. The inside of the building looked more like an antique store than a convenience store. There were ornamental rugs hanging on every wall from ceiling to floor. Above him was a blanket of dream catchers, hanging from every inch of the tile panels. Directly in front of him was a young woman behind a counter, and she was working on something with her hands.

Approaching the counter, Jordan cleared his throat. “Excuse me miss, I’m looking for the nearest convenience store. I’m not familiar with this area, is there one near here?” Once Jordan reached the counter, he noticed a few things. First, was that he saw what it was the woman was working on; A small dream catcher. Second, was that the pattern on the dream catcher looked familiar to him. Third, was that the woman behind the counter was extremely beautiful.

“What is it you are looking for?” For some reason, the question caught Jordan off guard. When the woman looked up at him, he felt something stir inside him... some feeling that he hadn’t felt before. A feeling of familiarity, and something else.

“I just need to buy a toothbrush, I’m visiting from out of town and forgot mine.” The young woman smiled, reached from under the counter, and presented a brand new toothbrush, still in the package. Jordan was caught off guard for the second time in the last 15 seconds, which was petty exciting for him.

“We get a lot of visitors looking for things like this, being that we are near the hotel. You can take it.” This all felt familiar, and mystical, and, something Jordan just couldn’t put words to. It all felt silly, too, because it was just a toothbrush, and Jordan was standing there like someone had just pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

“Oh, thank you so much! That’s very kind of you.” As he reached out to accept the toothbrush, the young woman put the dream catcher in Jordan’s hand to go with the toothbrush. They made a very odd pair.

“You will take this too. Go and dream. Goodbye Jordan.” Without another word, Jordan turned on his heels and walked out. He walked to the hotel, into the elevator up to his room, and fell right into his bed. This was all very strange, because Jordan didn’t want to do any of that. He was very confused, and wanted to ask the woman how she knew his name. But his body betrayed him. It willed him to collapse onto his bed, and he fell into a deep, undisturbable sleep.