I finish chewing to speak. I did consider changing my mind when we had to go through all those dark, weird alleys. And the old man at the gate who shouted when he saw me didn’t help, but by then it was too late to stab Zaniel with my keys and make a run for it. I had already been spotted by the gorgeous maître d’, who looked safe enough for me to come in. So, I tell him the truth:

“I love this place. Didn’t think anything could replace Christon Café as my favourite restaurant. I mean, that tree in the courtyard! And the food! And the fact that they have stage karaoke …!” I throw up my arms at a loss for words. “This place is amazing! I’m so glad I didn’t stab you.”

He laughs as he looks down at his cup. “Me, too.”

“Shit. I’m sorry,” I sit upright. “I’ve creeped you out now, haven’t I? I tend to do that to people.”

“After all we’ve been through? Besides,” Zaniel lifts his ice cream spoon to his perfect, rosy smirk, “dark humour just happens to be one of my biggest turn-ons.”

Well, that shuts me up. I look away, as if it will hide my big-ass grin. Our waitress with great timing brings our sake. We fill each other’s cups, clink them together, and drink.

“Damn, Kamisawa-san,” I giggle. “You can really knock ’em back.”

He points to his nose. “Salaryman. It’s a job requirement.” We laugh as I pour him another and he drains it in one go. “Pick another song.” He hands me the menu tablet. I know just the tune for us. While I punch words into the search bar, he continues with our conversation. “So, as I was saying, we all dream the same dream. It just depends on how you look at dreams in general.”

“Yeah, you said that. So, you’re a lucid dreamer …”

“A dream walker. But, yes. You can call it that.”

“Right. You can walk into other people’s dreams and communicate with them … or so you claim.”

“Yup. But that’s not —”

“But that’s not the same as lucid dreaming.”

“Exactly. Being lucid means you know you’re dreaming. What I do is —”

“Different. Don’t worry, I got that part. But I still don’t get how this works. Okay, let me ask you a question. Let’s say, you can walk into my dream when I go to bed tonight …”

He grins shyly. “Mm-hmm …”

“But what if I go back to Canada? If you’re in Osaka, and I’m in Toronto —”