"Have you finally woken up too?"
The smoky voice penetrated the fog of his thoughts. He opened his eyes with difficulty, his body still feeling strangely sluggish. The dream still hung over him like a shadow.
Then he turned his head to the side.
It was the coachman.
E was sitting a few steps away on the buckboard, wrapped in a long, worn coat and a pipe dangling loosely from the corner of his mouth. Without letting go of the reins, he turned to him briefly.
His face was completely weather-beaten.
"Could have at least had a little chat with me," he growled, his voice sounding tired, as if the grumbling itself was mere habit. "You know how slow the carriage goes. And how far the journey is."
A soft snort accompanied his words.
The wheels rumbled over the bumpy path while the steady clatter of hooves echoed through the silence.
He blinked, trying to banish the sluggishness from his thoughts. His hand moved to his chest - to where the pain still seemed to echo.
The sky was only dimly lit by the dawn, a soft blue-grey that stretched across the endless expanse. The darkness receded only hesitantly, while the cold breath of night still lingered in the air.
He suppressed a tremor.
The icy morning air bit at his skin, creeping through the thin layers of his clothing. With a soft sigh, he pulled the coarse blanket tighter around his shoulders, trying to ward off the biting cold.
The coachman gave him a quick glance, took a puff on his pipe and snorted softly.
"Well, not an easy life, is it? But better than walking on your own two feet."
He remained silent. His gaze glided over the landscape, which slowly revealed itself in the first light of day.
The young man wiped his face, his tired fingers running through his tousled brown hair.
Sleep still hung heavy in his limbs, but it wasn't just tiredness that weighed him down. Images flickered before his inner eye - fleeting but vivid.
Flowers swaying in the wind.
A meadow that seemed to stretch endlessly.
And then - her.
The unknown figure that haunted him in his dreams.
The more he thought about it, the less strange it really seemed to him.
The white dress, the golden symbols - it was all familiar to him. It no longer felt like a mere vision, not a random appearance of his subconscious. It was already familiar to him, so it no longer seemed strange. It was no longer a strange figure that seemed to haunt him in his dreams. Instead, he had the feeling in his heart that he had known this person for a long time.
"Are you all right?" The coachman's voice was less gruff this time, with a faint hint of concern.
The horses snorted as they laboriously worked their way up the next hill, the harness creaking under the load.
After a brief hesitation, he added, more quietly, almost hesitantly: "You slept... fitfully. Was it a bad dream?"
"No . . . all good." he mumbled, shaking his head
The cart rumbled on. Behind him, the sun was finally rising, bringing the first warmth of the day.
Concerned, the coachman took his bag, which he had left beside him, and rummaged around in it for a while. Finally, he pulled out something wrapped in a plaid cloth and threw it back onto his lap.
"Here!" called the coachman, pointing to the bag. "You should eat something. You said you didn't get the chance this morning." A slight smile played around his lips as he pronounced the words with an almost fatherly tone.
He unwrapped it, and it was a piece of bread that he had thrown to him. He took it gratefully and hastily bit off a large piece.
"It will be a while before we reach the city," said the coachman with a quirky smile. "So you have plenty of time to relax."
The coachman's gruff voice snapped him out of his thoughts. When he looked up, his gaze met the old man's wry grin as he moved the pipe back and forth between his teeth as if it were a familiar, almost cherished toy.
The young man let his gaze glide over the slowly unfolding landscape again. How beautiful this country was, he thought. The rising sun bathed everything in a pale, golden light. Despite the cool air, there was a strange peacefulness about the scenery - a calm that penetrated deep into his heart.
He laughed softly as he loosened the reins a little. The young man leaned back a little, pulling the blanket tighter around him.
Time passed until they finally reached the outer walls of the city. He sank into his thoughts, the recurring dream tormented him. Each time it seemed to become more real, filled with details that had previously escaped him. An urgent feeling in his heart wouldn't let him go, but he couldn't grasp it. Deep in thought, he let his gaze wander over the passing landscape.