Chapter 1

They say dreams from deceased loved ones can shield you from harm.

After my mom passed away, I dreamt of her three times.

The first time, she silently blocked me in my dream, refusing to let me go to work.

The next day, I spiked a high fever and couldn't go in. It was a twisted blessing in disguise; I dodged the massive fire at my company building.

The second time, Mom visited my dream again, stopping me from moving into the neighboring complex.

A week later, the arsonist was apprehended in that very complex.

Each time Mom appeared, her form grew a little more translucent.

Eventually, she stopped appearing in my dreams altogether.

Until ten years later, when I found a baby in a trash pile downstairs and brought him home.

That night, my almost transparent mom suddenly burst into my dream, her face contorted in pure terror. She shook me frantically, screaming with all her fading strength:

"Alex, wake up!!"

"Run!!!!"

I gasped, clutching the duvet, my body slick with sweat, a thick layer of beads on my forehead.

My wife, Chloe, stirred awake by my movements. Her voice was soft, sleepy.

"What's wrong, honey? Bad dream?"

I'd dreamt of my deceased mom again.

The last time I'd seen her in my dreams was ten years ago. She hadn't visited me for an entire decade.

Back in my hometown, there was an old belief that a relative's spirit, visiting in a dream, could ward off disaster.

I didn't used to believe it, not until I dreamt of my mom twice in a row.

The first time was right after I returned from studying abroad and had just started my new job.

In the dream, she silently blocked me, locked my bedroom door, hid my car keys, trying every way possible to stop me from going to work.

"Mom, stop messing around. I'll be late tomorrow."

But Mom shook her head. Unlike her usual self, she was adamant, refusing to let me go to the office.

I woke up with my head pounding, splitting open, my whole body burning hot.

The next day, my body stubbornly gave in to a high fever. I had to go to the hospital for an IV drip, so I called Mr. Harrison, my supervisor, to ask for time off.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Harrison, I think I caught a cold last night. I'm running a 102° fever."

Mr. Harrison's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Alex, taking a day off on your very first day? Your attitude... seriously?"

I humbly begged for the day off, then slammed the phone down in frustration.

As I lay there alone in the hospital, getting my IV drip, I thought about that bizarre dream from last night, and that strange old legend from my village when I was a kid.

*Dreams from deceased loved ones can ward off disaster.*

Even though my mom had left me a substantial inheritance, she never wanted me to be a slacker, living an aimless life.

I knew she wanted me to find work I truly loved.

Why would Mom try so hard to stop me from working in that dream?

After my IV drip finished at noon, my heart felt heavy.

At the subway station, I saw the train heading towards my company building, but I turned and boarded the one going in the opposite direction.

I quietly reassured myself, "Well, I've already asked for the day off. What's another half-day?"

I murmured, "What if the legend is true?"

That evening, as I was having hot pot alone at home, a news alert popped up on my phone, making my eyes widen in shock.

"Massive Fire at Financial Tower in City A: Hundreds of Casualties."

The burning building, spewing black smoke, was my company's office. The fire had just been extinguished.

And the fire started on *my* floor.

Currently, no one on that floor had survived!

I immediately opened SnapChat to call Sarah, another new hire like me, but there was no answer.

I went back to SnapChat and messaged Mr. Harrison:

"Sarcastic much? I've got money to burn, old man! I quit!"

Half an hour passed, no reply.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on my back, and my hair stood on end. My colleagues were all dead in that fire!

That meant if I had gone to work today, I'd probably be burned to ashes right now!