Vilya had liked to think that her constitution was stronger than most give her credit for. Very few things in her life had caused her to run, in fact, it had taken forty-six years for something to scare her away, and it had worked hard to force her out of the country she called home. That stubbornness mixed with her growing curiosity and Vilya intended to see where this all went. The likelihood that it could be as bad as the one thing that affected her so badly to break her resolve was low in her eyes.
"I am sure," she replied, returning his smile with one of his own. At the mention of drinking, Vilya chuckled. Drunkenness was never fashionable, but she was a casual drinker at best and understood how some news was better served with alcohol to cushion the blow.
Dreams that felt real. Lucid dreaming was a phenomenon that Vilya was familiar with, but the way that Neal seemed to talk about these dreams, they were more than just an overactive mind and an apt imagination. The concept that this world, this diner and the two of them could be fake, to take his own word, was more starling. The notion was enough to put a strange tightness in her chest, making it feel hard to breathe. The feeling was entirely foreign to her, but she did her best to react with grace.
"When the dreams begin, what happens to the person you are now?"