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Five people, two couples, one lonely male. This story takes place in Verona, Italy
where these four people have been experiencing strange occurrences at night. The
couples and the single individual do not know one another, but one instance creates an
invisible bond between them all. Each of them believes that they are the only ones
experiencing this phenomenon, but they are not alone.

What's happening to these five people may seem strange and unrealistic, but it's
very real. Perhaps you have heard of Romeo and Juliet? They are two Shakespearean
couples that fell in love, however circumstances kept them apart, and they ended up dead.
The five people all take these "visits" from Romeo and Juliet differently; however
believe that they are delivering some kind of message.

Couple #1
When I woke up in the morning I figured that I had too much wine, but then Tony
told me about this crazy dream that he had about Romeo and Juliet visiting him in the
middle of the night. I knew something strange was going on, because I happened to have
the same dream as well. It took me a bit to admit to Tony that I also had a dream about
Romeo and Juliet because I was afraid that he would just think I'm trying to be dramatic.
When I did, he figured it was just a coincidence and that we both must have seen
something on television that triggered the thought of the story.

We decided to shake it off. The following night, and the night after that, the same
things were happening. We knew this wasn't a coincidence, and the things that were
happening were actually happening. Why the hell were Romeo and Juliet showing up in
our dreams? I convinced Tony that we had to stay up and see what was happening at
night.

Around 3:30AM, after hours of watching re-runs of The Golden Girls and The
Crosby Show, we decided it was time to go to bed and stop being silly. After a few
minutes of lying down, we heard some ruckus in the room. We flipped the lights back on
and we were amazed to see two people standing in old English clothing, staring at us. The
four of us just looked at one another for a few moments. Weren't these things just made
up by some playwright? But how does anyone know if William Shakespeare really pulled
his characters out of nowhere…maybe they were based on real, legitimate people? I
finally spoke out. "Hello?" I asked, Juliet answered back "Hello, Maria." How in the
world did this girl know my name? "What exactly are you doing here?" I asked, "We're
hear to tell you something," Juliet said. The conversation went on, and we learned more
and more about why these two characters were visiting us.

Tony and I do not have the best relationship. We pick fights with each other a lot,
and we know how to press each other's buttons. Romeo and Juliet are magnets to love,
and where love is they follow. Especially in their hometown, they can feel it. They told
us that they know our love is strong, and that we should not chance losing one another to
petty fights. They explained how much they were in love, and they would be upset if they
saw a love so strong fall apart and have two people not be together. We took this strange
occurrence as some type of a blessing, and an eye opener. We decided that we must
cherish every moment together, and do not do anything that would risk us falling apart.
Tony and I are very much in love, and having this happen to us made our love stronger.

Couple #2

I woke up just before the sun was about to rise; I knew I had to get home before
my parents noticed that I was gone. I'm twenty-two, and I shouldn't have to worry about
sneaking around and getting caught by my parents, but this was a bit different. I'm not
supposed to be with Joseph, my parents hate him. But, they've never met him or ever
given him the chance. There is absolutely nothing wrong with him, he's just not from
around the area and my parents are afraid that I'm going to run off with him and never
come back. I kissed him goodbye, and headed home. I snuck in the house just before
everyone started to wake up. This whole situation is mentally exhausting, and I wish
there was something to make this easier. Night after night, the same routine went on. I
would sneak off and spend time with him at night; since that was the only time I could
see him with my busy work schedule during the day.

One morning, when I was heading back to my house, something very weird
happened. I got in my car and felt like there was something else in my car, perhaps in my
back seat. I grabbed a hold of the pepper spray I kept handy on my keychain, and flipped
on the car lights. In the backseat was sitting a girl, she was in ridiculous Elizabethan
England clothes. She was just sitting there, looking at me. I was confused. She almost
didn't look real; she looked like she seriously just jumped out of a textbook. I looked at
her closer, and I had memories of 9th grade and how we read a play and she looked like
the pictures from the book. She finally said hello to me, and I asked her what she was
doing, who she was, and told her I was going to call the police. I was nervous, confused,
a little entertained by her clothing, but overall scared for my life. "You can solve the
problem that you're having if you build up the courage to stand up for what you believe
in," the girl in my back seat said. Who is she to tell me inspirational quotes? "Who are
you, and why are you in my car?" I asked. She shared with me that she's the spirit of
Juliet, and it all came back to me. Romeo and Juliet, that couple from the old play who
wanted to be together but their families didn't get along and she was forbidden to be with
Romeo. I didn't know what to believe. It was early and I was still very tired. She
refreshed me on her story, and it was ridiculous how much it related to my life. She told
me that I couldn't sneak around and lie to my parents anymore, and that I should be
upfront with them and tells them what I want to do with my life. She explained that I'm
older than she was, and that I have somewhat of an upper hand because I could be
independent, but losing my family is something that scared me.

I wasn't sure what to believe when Juliet opened my car door, and walked away. I
felt like I was crazy, but the advice she gave me seemed helpful, so I decided that I was
going to take it as a lesson. I wanted to listen to her guidance and actually do what makes
me happy. He made me happy, and I know if my family would stop being so self-
centered and accepted him, everyone would be happy.

Joseph called me later that day. He said that he had something to tell me, and it
may seem absolutely absurd, but he thought it was something we had to talk about. He
told me about how he woke up to a random guy standing in his room, claiming he was
Romeo from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet play. I was shocked, but let him continue
with what he was saying. He told me that Romeo told him that he should take action and
do whatever he had to do in order to make my parents accept him and allow me to be
with him. He explained to Joseph his situation, and how Romeo and Juliet kept quiet
about their love. Their families were enemies, but he figured if they had tried to work out
some kind of deal, their story wouldn't have ended in a tragedy. I then told Joseph my
story, and he was amazed. We didn't know if we should believe what happened, but we
knew the advice we received was good, and that we should rethink our situation.
We still haven't discussed anything with my parents, but we are planning on
doing so very soon. Whether these visits were real, or just figments of our imagination,
we're not going to allow ourselves to be held back any longer.

The Bachelor

I've been single forever, and I don't believe that I'll ever find a significant other.
Every relationship I'm in fails, and I'm miserable. I can't find love anywhere, and my
family is becoming frustrated with me because I'm getting older and I'm not starting a
family.

I read a lot of romances, and I live vicariously through them. I imagine being in
love with my soul mate, and fighting for her safety. It may seem absurd, but I dream of
love by the books. This could be one of the reasons I'm not successful with women,
because I expect too much out of them and too much out of our relationship.

So one night I had a dream, at least I think it was a dream. One of my favorite
love stories is Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. I enjoy the story because they die for
what they believed in, and what they believed in was love. In my dream, Romeo and
Juliet appeared and warned me to step away from the ideas of love I have, and that I
should just trust that someday, everything would work out for me. I haven't spoken out
about this because I don't want people to think I'm crazy, but whether it was a dream or
not, I took that as a symbol of hope.

by Jessica Stuart