This must truly be a Valentine’s story to beat all the others. In the heat and chaos of World War I, a young Polish soldier known as Stanislaus Omensky kissed his fiancée, Merna, before leaving for war. “I will dream of you,” he said. Neither of them knew that Merna’s dream would end up saving Stanislaus’s life.

In October 1918, in the last days of the Great War, Merna had a terrible nightmare. She dreamed that Stanislaus was groping his way through a dark tunnel that ended in a jumbled mass of rocks and wood. She watched him set down a candle to throw his strength against the blockade, and she collapsed back, crying.

Merna had the same dream several times and harassed the authorities in her native Czernak to try to help her find Stanislaus. With many thousands of soldiers missing or dead, they had no time for her. In the summer of 1919 her dreams changed. She now she saw a castle on top of a hill, with a tower collapsed in a mass of stone and beams. As she got closer, she could hear a voice calling for help. Again, this dream came back to her night after night. She told whoever she could and was met with skepticism and ridicule.

Merna set out to travel through the countryside where Stanislaus’s regiment had last been seen. She was penniless, she lived only on the kindness of strangers, but she refused to give up on her fiancé and dream of her. The area was filled with many ruined castles, but none matched the tower from her nightmare.

Then, on April 25, 1920, he reached the top of a hill near Zlota and jumped for joy. The castle that overlooked the city was exactly the one in his dream. She ran into the city, dusty and screaming, and collapsed by the fountain, excited and exhausted. When she woke up, she told her story to the townspeople and ran off to dig into the castle rocks with her bare hands. Everyone in Zlota knew that the castle had been damaged in the war, but they didn’t know what to make of Merna’s story. Still, many townspeople soon came to her aid, removing debris and rocks from the base of the tower.

For two days they dug and then came to an open area under the rubble. From the doorway came the faint cries of a pale, ragged Stanislaus. He and Merna met. The Polish soldier had been saved by the power of love and the strength of Merna’s conviction in his dream.

Stanislaus’ side of the story was just as surprising. He had taken refuge in the castle during a fight and was buried when artillery hit the tower. He found candles, water, cheese, wine, and hundreds of rats, and lived in almost total darkness for two years.

The Polish Army investigated and found that all aspects of the couple’s story were true. Stanislaus was honorably discharged, and the two married and lived, we can assume, happily ever after.

“The secret is not to dream,” he whispered. “The secret is to wake up. Waking up is more difficult.” -Terry Pratchett