Dark of Hair

I have this recurring dream where I’m chasing after a girl, and when I finally catch up to her and place my hand on her shoulder, she turns around. Except it’s always a girl from my past, not the one I’m looking for. So I keep running until I see her again. I spin her around gently to face me and it’s another old lover with dark hair. They always wear the same expression; a sad smile that says your princess is in another castle. I keep running, through throngs of people on a street where there is no noise. One dark head of hair after another, always turning to me with the wrong sweet smile. The street gets brighter and brighter as the sun rises in the direction I’m running. Soon it’s too much light for me to see anyone in front of me. I trip and fall and wake up in my bed, the white pillow next to me radiating it’s vacancy in the light of a new day. I had this dream again a few nights ago. But when I woke up, I didn’t see white. I saw a girl with dark hair turned away from me. I touched her shoulder and as she turned to face me I threw my arm around her and pulled her close, closing my eyes and kissing her behind the ear. I didn’t need to look. She was right there. The morning light passed and I fell into a new dream.  One where I needn’t run any longer.