THE DREAM

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*Dialing Sound*

- Hello?
- Man, my life sucks. My kids hate me, I’m pretty sure my wife is cheating on me, I lost my job. What did I do to deserve this?
- Damn, it’s not your week is it?
- …
- Hello?
- … (thud)

Song Starts

- Hello?
- …

*Water Flowing, dripping sounds*

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I woke up to the sound of flowing water, not knowing where I was. Everything was so quiet; the sound of the river was melodic. When I fully opened my eyes and saw around me, I found myself in the prettiest forest I’ve ever been. I truly believed I was in some kind of heaven, I had even forgotten about all of my problems for a while.

As I walked through the forest, I saw animals and trees. Some of them didn’t even seem real because of how beautiful and pretty they looked. I could feel it; the forest and its beauty was a rejuvenating experience, it just all seemed so perfect.

Some hours have passed and I found myself just sitting on the edge of a cliff. I turned around because I heard some sound. I saw a man standing in the distance, facing away from me. I went towards him, because maybe he knew what this place was.

I started walking through the woods and finally got to him. He seemed very old. I called him.

- “Hello?” I asked
- “…”
- “Hello, I don’t know where I am, can you help me?”
- “I have the answers you need”
- “I’m sorry?”
- “I have the solution to all your problems, in the real world.”
- “What? Please tell me where I am”
- “I brought you here to stay away from the real world, but now you have to go back.”
- “I don’t want to go back”
- “…”
- “I want to stay here”
- “You can’t”
- “Yes, I can!”

I angrily walked away from the man, since he didn’t answer my questions, and soon I would find myself regretting this.

I spent days in this world, just looking around the beautiful sceneries, but I noticed something strange. The first days everything would seem perfect, and everything seemed to coexist, but as time went on, some animals started fighting each other. After a couple of days I noticed some plants started dying. The nights would set earlier, and days would last less. There would be rain; I would hear thunder from far away.

I started to grow afraid so I went to look for the old man, maybe he knew what was happening. To my surprise, he was in the same place as before, sitting on a rock, so I ran towards him, desperate, but on my way I tripped, fell and passed out.

When I woke up, I felt heat, and heard the sound of burning wood. I opened my eyes slowly and saw my surroundings. The forest was on fire. Everything was dying; smoke was coming out of everywhere my eyes could set a look on. When I got up, I started to walk away, trying to get somewhere safe, but I heard this melody, from the distance, sounded like a piano.

I walked towards the depressing melody, a harmony that just didn’t do justice to what I was seeing. On top of a hill I saw the old man playing a piano. The sound of the river went along with it. This time it didn’t comfort me, it disturbed me. Then the melody just hit me with realization. I had denied the opportunity to be happy by someone who tried to help me, and now, I wouldn’t be able to be happy in either the real world or this one.