A Mysterious Place

The grass beneath my bare feet is damp with the early morning dew. The sunrise is warm and gentle as the wind whirls around me, filling me with warmth and comfort. The trees on the edges of the grotto in which I stand are mystical and enchanting. I decide to sit down on the marble cut bench that sits next to a crystal clear pond. My hands gentle caress the flowers that bloom generously amongst the walls of stone that surround me. This place is sacred.

After some time of admiring my surroundings, I feel myself smile, my spirit is whole and repaired. Many months have I sat here and waited. For what? Well I’m not sure. I just know I’ve been waiting here. This place is a safe haven. Nobody can hurt me here. My eyes scan the perimeter. I am alone. I can feel the aura of my sanctuary around me. There is no immediate threat. As I remove myself from the bench, I walk around, scanning the smallest details.

Water trickles from a small hole in the wall, it refreshes the spring that I drink from, the crystal clear pond. The trees sway, a melody being exchanged between them as they billow in the wind. A small faerie flitters past me, but I dare not acknowledge her. I am too scared.

More things begin to walk in and out of my grotto. This place is no longer safe. I’m scared. Where did they come from? I was used to the occasional visitor that would come for some spring water on their journey, but that’s an old memory. I now live in a grotto that is becoming less enchanting, and more real.

The light of the sunrise is becoming a more fluorescent light. It gives off an annoying aura. It’s too bright. It’s too.. Disenchanting. The water from my spring is becoming thicker as the days pass. Is it even water anymore?? It doesn’t feel like it. The flowers have began to wilt, new ones rarely bloom anymore. The grass no longer feels soft and gentle, instead it feels stiff. The air has lost its comforting scent and is replaced with the scent of disinfectants. My body no longer feels light, yet it feels sore and abused. Where am I? I don’t want to open my eyes. I’m scared. Yet as I do open them, my dream disappears and I see the fluorescent light above my head. I am in a hospital, and my dream world was simply that… a dream.