Dreamland

When given the choice to stay in a place where you can do anything, would you want to leave?

It was simple. The simplicity’s that started with it, showed the easiness to come. I closed my eyes, and there it was; that golden gilded door, coming from the darkness. I thought it was a dream, believed it so. Otherwise I might never have reached out and felt the brass on my palmy skin. And when the door opened, it was such light that flooded around me; I knew it had to be a dream. For the light was so beautiful, it’s encompass so wonderful. When the light cleared from my sight, and I saw around me the most beautiful array of everything. I stood in a field of green, a covering of flowers that stretched out like a blanket. It was what I had forever longed to be in. I bent, and felt the sappy dew of a flower reach out to me, the residue resting on my fingers. All this needed was company. Suddenly, I felt a hand in mine, and a child was there, pulling me along. Her small hand lead up to fair skin, a mass of fiery curls bouncing on her head. A blue frock flittered over her body, lace and curls alike. Another child had grabbed my other hand as I had looked at her. A small boy this time, dressed in garb alike. They pulled me along, high laughter mixing with mine.

A crest came and we rose with it, a village playing out beneath. And the houses, so lively in their master of colours. Each abode different from the next. I looked with eager eyes and so longed for one to be mine. The two children lead me keenly down the small hill, trailing me along to a building, standing near the village’s edge. A golden plate sat on the door, a name imprinted carefully on its body. My name. This house was mine.

“Welcome.” The children had disappeared, a wrought man standing beyond my back. Although his hair was greying, his skin was wrinkled, he was still beautiful. Just as the other people coming to stand around me were.

“Thank you.” Unsure of more than pleasantries, I had debated whether it was appropriate to comment on the beaming sun. A more pressing question came to mind however. “Is this still a dream?”

“Was it ever?”  My question came with a question.

“No.” I knew the answer, although it had not been said to me. It came to me as easily as the children had. “Where is this then?”

“Wherever you want it to be.”

My mind was becoming tedious with his speech, answers straight was what I wanted.

“I am sorry, I shall answer more frankly.” The old man had spoken, just as I had thought. “This is your place, it’s a place where you can do whatever you want, you make it how you wish.” His arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture, he stepped forward, coming to be only a few feet from mine.

I looked around at the smiling faces, their hanging anticipation. Everything around me was all I could ever had dreamed of. Everything was how I wanted it.

“What’s the catch?”

The old man chuckled, a light hearty chuckle as if a trivial question had been asked. “For this place to be yours, you have to be here always. Tis a little thing though, trivial really, no question…” I let him trail on with his drabble as my mind flicked over his answer.

To stay here, forever. To never return to my home, to the place where I had lived before. To leave it all; my family, my friends, my life. For this. For everything I ever wanted, for all I could ever ask for. Perfect happiness. My mind had been made.

“What do I have to do?”

They lead me to the crest, where the golden gilded door stood once more. Light surrounded its presence, the light that had encompassed me so before.

“All you have to do is lock the door.”

A golden key sat in the etched lock.

I knew what I wanted to do. I knew what I wanted. Happiness. My hand had reached for the key, the gold warm to the touch. With a last memory of goodbye flitting through my mind, I turned to key. A click had come, but it was not a blissful one. Darkness came to flood around me. The same darkness that had first presented me the door. I grabbed for something, anything, but felt nothing in my touch. I saw nothing but memories. I was falling, flying.

This was not what I had wanted. My place was never mine.

This had never been a dream, it had always been a reality. Always would be a reality. And I realised, that thought the choice had been given me, the decision had already been made. I was lost, never to be found.   

 

Author's Note

I’m curious to know what you think of what happened to the girl. I know what I had planned on happening, but I don’t think it could always be seen the way I see it.

Reviews

[SGCool]

I think this is a pretty solid piece. You have a very good handle on flow and pacing, and in a lot of places your prose is more like poetry (which is great). I also very much liked your imagery and use of minor details to come together to paint a larger picture; especially the description of the children.
There are a few things that should probably be fixed: in the sentence "The simplicity's that started it, showed the eagerness to come", you should use the plural "simplicities", and take that comma out of the sentence. That's pretty minor as far as errors go, though.
I think the story is a metaphor similar to the adage "all that glitters is not gold", where the girl found put herself into a situation that was too good to be true and ended up paying the price for it. All in all, very well done.

[Archia]

Thank you very much for reading. It is meant to be like a "all that glitters is not gold" situation.