Your Greatest Nightmare
“Where am I?” Jenny wondered as she walked down that hallway. She had never seen such place before, nor did she think it would exist; at least not anymore. This place seemed so ancient. The floor was simple stone, with a red carpet on the middle that went all the way across the hallway; the walls and the ceiling were made of stone bricks. It was adorned with particular carvings, things that went beyond imagination. These drawings were so difficult to describe, they looked like leaves; but they were not. They looked like branches; yet again, they were not.
Everything was lighted with torches.
Jenny followed the carpet, which seemed to be leading her to where she was supposed to go. The thought made her a bit nervous, since she didn’t really know where she was going to. She kept walking as she examined the place carefully, trying to find some sort of clue of where she was or how she got there. The fire and the fabric drove Jenny to a door. She stood before it. She took a deep breath and opened it. She was surprised, the door led to a park.
It was rather common sized, 538 square feet, more or less. There was a fountain in the middle that was as dry as the grass surrounding it. There were tall brick walls containing the yard; she was starting to feel trapped. “Everything is dead… clearly this place is older than what I thought.” She commented in a soft voice. She looked up at the sky; it was unnaturally glowing colors she never believed could be up there. It was creepy, yet somehow, beautiful. It was not an aurora borealis… The sky was actually green with an orange moon shinning in the middle. And it was not all, there were actual islands floating about! She was shocked.
Jenny removed her sight from the sky, and looked around the park. After a few steps, she found two new doors. The one on the left was so odd. It was big, not much in height, but more in width; black with very dark sapphires decorating it. It was a single entrance with two doors. It was so interesting. In the middle, joining both doors, there was a metallic demon’s head with huge, rounded horns coming from its forehead and a ring that came out of its mouth. She figured that must have been the handle. She stepped behind, to get a wider perspective of the door. It had a red glowing coming from inside. Jenny felt as if it was dragging her attention; as if she had to go in there.
The door on the right was simple. It was just like any other door. Small, brown; made of wood.
She decided she would explore the place that the door on the left beheld. If it was the wrong way, she’d just turn back. And so she entered. Unaware of what was yet to come.
The door shut close behind her. The message was clear: “You have made your choice. There is no turning back.”
To her surprise, Jenny was standing on a prairie with a thin stone path that traveled through it. Everything seemed quite peaceful; the night sky was so dark, with thousands of millions of stars shinning among the silver moon… A very soft breeze crossed the prairie, making her sigh softly, as she relaxed with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she glanced at her right and saw a graveyard. As curious as she has always been, she got closer just to take a look at the names that were engraved on the tombstones. Jenny was astonished when she read the first one, she looked at them all, and it was all the same. All the names of all her friends were there. In shock, Jenny stumbled backwards. Then she heard whispers. They soon turned into ghostly shapes that yelled at her in accents of anger: “How could you! You left us alone when we most needed you! And look at what it caused!” misty eyed she answered: “But… when did this happen? I--” Jenny was interrupted: “You were not even aware of this happening to us!? You filthy--!” Everything vanished all of the sudden. She pulled herself together and continued her journey.
Jenny moved forward, following the stone path, trying to focus in the task at hand: “I’ve got to get the hell out of here…before things get worse”, she thought. At a close, yet far distance, she saw him. She approached quietly, and saw the one person she loved the most, the one and only person she wanted; standing still with eyes that could’ve frozen the Eternal Fires themselves.
My lips parted slowly, she had to say something. He turned his sight to her. Jenny was silenced. He stared at her long enough to make her heart squeeze in pain. It did not take long for him to finally speak. With a nefarious tone, he said: “I don’t want you anymore”. Those words once again: I. Don’t. Want. You. Any. More. Jenny felt as if she was about to fall apart. Fortunately, he vanished. She kept on walking, with a single tear, brighter than a diamond, rolling down her cheek. “I feel I am getting somewhere…I just hope I am right” She said with a low voice.
Jenny had travelled 100 feet when she found herself standing in front of a very wide and tall mirror. At first, it was only her, her reflection. Suddenly, her friends’ and her lost love’s reflections appeared beside her own. They were smiling wide and lovingly. But they got darker and they fell apart, as if the mirror had been shattered; yet it had not.
Only she remained. The prairie wasn’t reflected. There was only darkness. “What does this mean?” Jenny said frustrated. “Take a close look. What do you see, other than yourself?” Her reflection spoke. She was dumbfounded, yet she couldn’t help but to answer: “Darkness, emptiness, solitude…silence.” Her reflection’s image started to crack, yet it did not fall apart. “I am you. I am your true self. I am your soul; your memories” Jenny’s lips parted, she wanted to speak, yet she was speechless. “I am also” it continued “the voice of reason that lives within you.” The cracks were mended instantaneously, the image was complete again. “And I have been trying to make you reason for a long time”. “About what?” she did not hesitate to ask, despite of the fact that she knew what it was talking about. “Some things lost can never be found; some mistakes never unmade. But it is easier to obsess with ‘what if’ and ‘what could have been’. These thoughts will eat away of you, if you let them. You have suffered enough, thinking that you could have done something. It’s time to leave that behind.” Jenny looked down. She knew it was right. She had known that for so long. Yet she never listened. The reflection sighed in frustration “look” Jenny rose her sight to it “this is your world, currently” her everyday life was there, with the images of her true friends. They were all smiling at her. “You are not alone. Your life is not all that bad. You are just making it seem that way.” It opened her eyes “I… was blinded by sorrow and regret….. I never saw… I never realized….. I am loved”. The reflection sighed in relief “Finally”, then grinned in satisfaction “Now that we are done stating the obvious I think it is time for you to wake up” Jenny was confused “Huh?”; it chuckled “You will understand.”
Jenny opened her eyes; she was lying on her bed. “A dream…Was it all just a dream? ...Well it makes sense.” she thought, and then chuckled. Jenny remembered what her conscience said in that dream “Some things lost can never be found; some mistakes never unmade… You have suffered enough thinking that you could have done something. It’s time to leave that behind.” And what she realized “I am loved”.
“I will let this rumble inside my head.”
Jenny felt a huge weight off of her heart. She was finally free of sorrow and despair.