The gray skies above him opened up, and it began to pour. Thomas sprinted across the street to the café. Unseasonably wet for August, he thought.

 

His best friend Jake sat at a table in the back, drinking coffee. Tom asked a passing waitress for the same before walking over and taking a seat.

 

“So, what’s the big news you just had to tell me on my lunch break?”

 

“I’m sorry to spring this on you, but it really couldn’t wait,” Jake replied.

 

“Why, are you in trouble?” Thomas asked worriedly.

 

He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. Far from it, actually.”

 

Grabbing an ashtray from the table next to them, Thomas slid it over to Jake. “No, thanks,” he said. “I don’t smoke.”

 

“Oh, you quit? If that’s your big news, then congratulations.”

 

“Well, no, I never started. But don’t worry about that right now.”

 

He fiddled with the empty ashtray for a moment before continuing.

 

“Well, first of all, Tom, I don’t exist.”

 

Thomas smirked and said, “Oh, is that so?”

 

“Yes. And you, my best friend in all the worlds, don’t really exist either, but that’s another matter.”

 

Jake had always had a strange sense of humor, and today seemed to be no different.

 

“OK. So, you don’t exist. I’d say it looks like you do, but maybe there’s something wrong with my eyes.”

 

“It’s a little more complicated than that.”

 

The waitress stopped by their table with his cup and a pot of coffee. She smiled at Jake and said, “How about you? Need a refill?”

 

“Yes, thank you,” Jake said. She moved on to the police officer sitting one table over.

 

“Do you remember your dreams?”

 

Thomas replied, “My dreams? No, they always fade away when I wake up.”

 

“Mine don’t. Not anymore, anyway.”

 

The front door of the café chimed as a customer walked in. Outside, the rain continued to fall.

 

“And have you ever had a lucid dream? Where you know you’re dreaming and can take control?”

 

“No, never had the knack for it, I guess.”

 

“Well, I often do, but always wanted to hold on to them after I woke up.”

 

Glancing over at the officer, Jake leaned forward and said quietly, “Seth told me a few months ago about this herb they just discovered in South America. I talked him into letting me try it.”

 

Thomas held up his hand. “Seth? What, some new kind of psychedelic?”

 

“It’s not a drug. Not the way you mean it, anyway,” he replied.

 

Funny how Seth always seems to end up as a dealer, Jake thought to himself.

 

“Fine, fine,” Thomas replied with a frown. “So, what does this ‘herb’ do?”

 

“Well, you don’t forget your dreams. I don’t know exactly how it works, but the important thing is that it does.”

 

Jake’s eyes opened wide. “I remember everything. That’s how I figured it all out.”

 

“Figured what out?”

 

“First, tell me this. Where do I work?”

 

“Unless you got a new job recently, you work for the supercollider in Waxahachie as a particle physicist.”

 

“Okay, and am I married? Do I have any children?”

 

“You’re single, Jake, and you never had any kids. What are you getting at?”

 

Jake leaned back in his chair. “I’m not sure how it all fits together, but I can see it all play out in my dreams. Tom, I’ve been exploring all those roads untaken and paths untraveled. And the biggest surprise is that I’m learning how to pull all these different realities together and actually bridge the gaps between them.”

 

“Are you still talking about dreams or some kind of multiverse, quantum mechanics thing? Is this some new theory you’re working on?”

 

Jake shrugged. “I’m not really sure. But I do know this much. I am married and have been for six years. I have a son who just turned two a week ago. And I haven’t lived in the States for over 15 years.”

 

Another waitress came by and said something Thomas couldn’t understand. Jake answered her in what sounded like Japanese before she went back to the kitchen.

 

Jake paused and looked outside. “Dreams are much more than they appear to be. In actuality, they are windows into other realities, and sometimes even doors. And if you know how, you can even walk through them.”

 

Hoping to salvage some of his lunch break, Thomas said, “Okay, look. I’m not sure what this is all about, but if you don’t live in America, please explain why you’re sitting with me in a coffee shop in Dallas.”

 

“Well, like I said, I can’t really explain it. And since we’re almost out of time, I’ll just go ahead and show you what I’m talking about.”

 

Jake gestured around the room.

 

“This isn’t Texas. It’s Tokyo.”

 

Everything shifted and changed. Now, instead of a policeman sitting nearby, there was an elderly Asian couple talking quietly in Japanese. Outside, the sun was shining, and cherry blossoms were blooming on the trees near the windows.

 

Stunned, Thomas said, “How the hell did you do that?”

 

“If I really were a physicist working on a supercollider, I might be able to answer that, but this version of me isn’t, so I can’t. But I wanted to tell you something before this dream is over.”

 

Jake reached over and shook his hand. “Thank you, Thomas. Thank you for being my best friend in every reality I’ve been to. Our friendship is the one thing that never changes, even if almost everything else does.”

 

“Jake, I don’t understand. Is this reality or just a dream?”

 

“I guess that all depends on your point of view. Well, time for me to go. I’ll be seeing you.”

 

As he got up to leave, he smiled, “Well, one version of me will, anyway. Please give him my regards.”

 

Thomas stood up and said, “Wait a minute…”

 

Suddenly, the buzzing sound of an alarm clock filled the room, and he opened his eyes.