There are sometimes moments in works of fiction where the author needs to convey something to the reader without ambiguity. Let's say the situations around the characters get so weird that the author starts to worry that the reader will think it is all a dream. The author needs to convey an absolute truth to the reader saying it is not, getting past that hangup and moving further.
The way I see this most commonly done in fiction is with the mentor character. Gandalf always tells the absolute truth about the universe. Even if Bilbo Baggins meets Gandalf in a weird situation if Gandalf says this is not a dream, the reader will believe it's not a dream.
Another such devices I commonly see is using small children. If a small child likes a character they are not evil. It's that simple.
Now in my work I don't have a mentor or a small child available. What is another way I can signal the reader that something is absolutely true, and they do not need to worry about it?
Answer
@MarkBaker and @Cloudchaser are correct, in most situations you can just tell the reader: "It seemed like a dream, but it wasn't." However, what if you have a first-person narrator? Or a close third-person perspective, such that the narrator could conceivably either fooled, or lying? What then?
You might not realize it, but you can whisper the "Word of Truth" (note: TV Tropes) right into the characters' ears. Just signal it with a phrase like "somehow I knew...":
Somehow I knew it was not a dream...
Somehow I knew I could trust him...
Just don't overuse it, or betray the reader's faith in it.
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