The wind blew lightly on my skin. I felt a tingling in the pit of my stomach. Something was going to happen. I could sense it. I could sense an omen.

The hill’s edge was right in front of me, yet I was immobile. I tried to shift but it was as though Medusa had set me to stone; I was completely paralyzed.
Despite all this or maybe due to all this, I couldn’t help but admire my surroundings. It was a natural beauty, one we rarely see in this world of technology. Here nothing was corrupted by human influence. Here nothing had a hidden meaning; it was all clear. Wave after wave disturbed the water’s peace, causing small ripples to form. Rocks remained rigid, unaffected by the light currents. The grass caressing my bare feet continued to sway harmonically with the breeze. A cerulean hue filled the cloudless sky. And at arm’s length a small, pristine blossom hung, defying the laws of gravity I was so adamantly taught.
The blossom beckoned to me. It whispered a silent promise, of what I did not know. But there it was, awaiting my arrival. Then, as though Perseus had fulfilled his destiny, I was free.
The blossom remained. It was waiting. I carefully lifted my arm, reaching. Reaching further and reaching still. It was so close. It was waiting. My feet moved of their own accord, pushed by a Pandora-like curiosity, and I could finally touch it, feel it, smell it.
As soon as this jubilant feeling arose, it fell. My feet had betrayed me. The grassy hill was no longer beneath. Air was the only substance impeding my inevitable demise. The tingling in my stomach intensified as I felt the rush of the wind whip my face. The blossom disappeared from sight as I fell deeper and deeper.
It became clear to me then. Only I was out of place in this land. I was not meant to be here. It was too pristine, too unadulterated for a human to stay. I had seen a glimpse of paradise but it was gone.


I jolted up. A dream, it was just a dream. My bed was firmly beneath me, my room filled with an unnatural scent of perfume and air freshener. All was right in the world.