Day Dreams (TOP)

The rhythmic clack-clack of the train was a metronome for Elias’s thoughts. Outside, the gray suburbs of London blurred into a watercolor wash, but Elias wasn't seeing the rain-streaked glass. He was somewhere else entirely.

"Captain, the pressure is holding," Lyra’s voice echoed in his head. Day Dreams

Elias blinked, his fingers twitching as if still gripping the Solaris’s chrome helm. Daydreaming was his sanctuary, a way to escape difficult situations or the mundane repetition of his 9-to-5 life. Some might call it maladaptive daydreaming if it stole too many hours, but for Elias, it was a necessary bridge between who he was and who he wished to be —a version of himself that was brave, adventurous, and untethered. The rhythmic clack-clack of the train was a

The train lurched to a halt. The doors hissed open. The cold morning air rushed in, dissolving the rings of Saturn and the deck of the Solaris . Elias stepped onto the platform, adjusted his bag, and merged into the sea of commuters. He was back in the "real" world, but as he swiped his badge at the turnstile, he whispered a single word to the crew still lingering in the corners of his mind: What do my day dreams look like this mental health month? "Captain, the pressure is holding," Lyra’s voice echoed

"Next stop, Blackfriars," the intercom crackled, momentarily thinning the veil of his fantasy.