The night is silent and dark. As I stirred, I felt the cold air brushing at my arms that peeked out of the blankets that lay mostly covering my body.

When had I opened the windows?

I thought that was odd, stirring again. I was half asleep, half awake. I was closing my eyes again when I saw it. Him.

It was the person who'd haunted my dreams ever since I could remember, ever since I remembered being in this body. The first night had been almost unbearable. Then it had continued, over and over again, leaving stronger emotions in their wake as the nights had passed.

Kyle.

He looked exactly as I had pictured from the memories and dreams. Black hair, tall and big – his features had a softness to them that you could only notice when you had known him long enough. And the eyes that pierced blue even in the dim moonlight.

I didn't think to do anything, not to scream, or get startled at all. This was obviously another dream, though it felt more real than any other I had had before.

He didn't speak. Meeting my gaze, he seemed puzzled about something for a second, then walked over to me in swift strides towards the bed. He leaned over, pulling me out from underneath the blankets and hugging me into his arms.

This feels nice, I thought. I've never felt him so close before.

I could smell him through his shirt, he smelled a little different than I remembered. Still the same distinct scent that he had, but also something stale and dusty, maybe the desert or some other faraway place.

He's taking me somewhere, I thought to myself. An adventurous dream I was having.

With me in his arms, Kyle jumped out the window of my second-story bedroom, landing perfectly on the yard outside. He had always been athletic. That's how I'd met him, or how Jodi had, back in the days before the invasion. I remembered it clearly as yesterday.

It's after most of the classes have been out, and the football field is scattered here and there with people warming up for the practice. I – Jodi – hunch over in one of the seats next to the entrance of the filed with a friend. Karen. She's trying to recruit me into the university's student paper. Trying to convince me that it'd be fun.

"See, you're going to meet so many hot guys this way," Karen is saying.

"I'm not interested in that," I tell her. But she isn't listening.

"Sure you are," she says. "You've got to get over Max, Jodi. He was a little piece of shit. He didn't deserve you."

"I don't want to talk about it." My track record with guys wasn't that great so far. I enjoyed being at university, but besides getting A's, there seemed to be a lack of skill when it came to men.

I sigh as I look down at the yellow legal pad that I've brought with me. It has a list of questions for the football team's quarterback, a guy named Kyle O'Shea.

"I worked really hard, you know, to land you this interview," Karen says. "And he's supposed to be a total hunk."

"Thanks," I say dryly. "But I'm just going to focus on the interview."

"Suit yourself," she says. "Oh, here he comes."

I look up from my legal pad, and I see a large figure approaching us. He is wearing the purple-and-green football uniform, all geared up. He is carrying his helmet, and I can see his face.

It's not a remarkably handsome face, his nose is slightly crooked, like he's been hit a lot before. I can almost sense why, he has a playful, almost devilish grin on his face that suggests the kind of personality that would get itself involved in a fight now and then. His hair and eyebrows are dark, and he has a deep, almost piercing blue set of eyes. They lock into mine.

I feel myself hold my breath.

"Afternoon, ladies," he says, closing in on me and Karen.

"Hi," Karen says, a giggle following her greeting. She's so obvious this way.

"I've met you before," this guy, who is apparently Kyle O'Shea, the quarterback I am supposed to be interviewing, says to Karen. "Who are you?" He asks me.

"I'm – I'm Jodi," I hear myself saying, a little shakenly. "Jodi McCormack."

"Hi, Jodi McCormack," Kyle says, grinning. "Nice to meet you."

I jump back to the present. Kyle was buckling me into shotgun, his movements hurried. I stayed completely still, waiting for him to get the buckles into place.

I wondered where he is taking me.

He rounded the car and got into the driver's seat next to me. He pulled the gear, and the car sprang to life. The dull mutter of the engine barely disrupted the silence of the suburban streets surrounding us. Nothing stirred in the corners, or from the house we just left.

I will tell Doris, my mother, about this dream tomorrow. She'll be sad for me that I am still dreaming about Kyle, but she'll want to know.

Kyle started driving out of the street, from the place where the car is parked, a block away from my house.

He doesn't say anything to me. This is odd for him. In all my dreams, we usually talk, or he is telling me a story, either that or we relive the many hours we had spent together before the invasion. Before he had disappeared.

We kept on driving. I thought we have almost reached the outskirts of the suburbs, when I began to realize that maybe, this isn't a dream. The wind blowing in my face, the dim lights of the few buildings that are still lit, seemed too real for this to be a dream. Should I start protesting now? But this is Kyle, and who else could I trust more than him?

"You're Kyle," I whisper, suddenly, surprising even myself.

He glanced at me. "Yeah," he responded, slowly. "Who are you?"

"Sunlight Passing Through the Ice," I told him.

"That's a mouthful." A low chuckle.

"Are you real?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't a dream," I said, timidly, wondering if he'll confirm.

"No," he responded, shaking his head slightly. "This isn't a dream. But I guess that's what you thought it was. That's why you didn't scream or anything."

I don't respond. I stared ahead the road, trying to make out the situation now. This wasn't a dream. But this man sitting next to me was Kyle, the person I've been so longing to see. How many years has it been, five, six? The time I had spent hoping for the Seekers to find Kyle seemed like a lifetime. It had been so long.

"Where have you been? Why have you come for me now?" I asked, careful to phrase my questions.

He didn't answer right away. He kept his eyes on the road ahead, not looking at me.

"I thought I had lost her," he finally said

"Who?"

"Jodi. The person who's in there with you."

I flinched. Jodi. That's who he'd come to find. Not me, not Sunlight Passing Through the Ice. I don't ask him what he means by in there with you. Part of me almost instinctively feels that I don't want to know what he means by that.

"I – I've missed you." I feel my voice shaking.

His head jerked towards me, and he looked surprised. "Uh, thanks," he said, awkwardly. After a moment, he said, "How did you know I was me?"

I hesitated. "You were always in my dreams," I said. "All the time. Especially in the beginning. I dreamt about you every day."

"Oh." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," he said, cautiously. "But I didn't know until recently that there was a way, to – to bring her back."

"Bring who back?"

"Jodi," Kyle said. His voice was sad.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I'll explain – or we can get Wanda to explain – when we get home."

"Who's Wanda?"

He smiled. "She's like you. Or maybe a bit different, but anyway, she'll help us." His expression changed a bit for a second. "After what I did to her… maybe she'll be conflicted or something, but I'm sure she'll help."

I didn't understand what he was saying, not all of it. But I didn't feel very scared, not now. Not with Kyle next to me. I wanted to reach over and take his hand, if it wasn't for the fact that he was driving and his hands were busy.

"Do we have to go far?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from his face and looking ahead at the road. We were definitely out of the suburbs now. There was nothing ahead except for clear, fathomless darkness.

"Not that far. But you should get some sleep. I woke you."

"I don't feel like sleeping," I said, but even as I said it I could feel drowsiness coming down on me. I had relaxed, having confirmed that this was indeed Kyle who had taken me. He wouldn't do anything to harm me, I knew that. He was the last person in the world who would. Even if he was still a human.

"Get some sleep," he said again.

I closed my eyes, not responding. I drifted off, slowly, sensing and hearing Kyle's slow breathing beside me. I knew I was safe.