Becoming

Becoming It started with a dream, as most things do. But this was not the sort of dream one could easily dismiss upon waking. It clung to her like a memory, soft and persistent, yet elusive.

Eve had always thought of herself as someone who lived firmly in the present, anchored by the humdrum of daily life. There was no room for dreaming, at least not the kind that felt real. She worked in a small bookstore tucked away on a quiet street, spent evenings cooking simple meals for herself, and weekends with her cat, Luna. Her world was small, and she liked it that way.

But this dream—this vivid, unsettling dream—shifted something deep within her.

In it, she was walking through a forest that seemed both familiar and foreign. The trees towered above her, their trunks twisting in ways that made her dizzy. The path was unclear, fading into shadow as she moved forward, but she felt an overwhelming sense of purpose, as if something was calling to her. Every step felt like an echo from a forgotten time.

At the end of the path, there was a figure—a woman, though not entirelyHer features were soft, fluid, like smoke curling in the wind. The woman smiled, her eyes filled with ancient knowing. "You are becoming," she said, her voice both a whisper and a command. "You are becoming something new. Something whole."

Eve woke up with a start, heart racing. The words haunted her for days, filling her thoughts, gnawing at the edges of her consciousness. What did it mean to be "becoming"? Becoming what?

She tried to dismiss it as just a dream, a trick of the mind. But the feeling lingered, growing stronger with each passing day. And it wasn't just the dream. The world around her seemed subtly different, as if the air itself had shifted. She noticed things she hadn't before: the way the sunlight danced through the windows of the bookstore, the way the pages of the books felt in her hands, how the smell of rain on the pavement had a particular weight to it. She felt more alive—but also more distant, as though she were on the edge of something vast and unknown.

A week later, while walking Luna in the park, Eve noticed something strange. A woman was standing by the fountain, her back turned. She was dressed in a flowing coat, the color of dusk, and her hair was long and wild, flowing behind her like the winds of a storm. There was something about her posture, the way she held herself, that felt familiar.

Eve couldn't help herself. She walked over, slowly, almost against her will. The woman turned when she was only a few feet away, and Eve froze. She had the same eyes as the figure in her dream—eyes that seemed to hold everything and nothing all at once.

"You are becoming," the woman said, her voice soft and knowing. "It is time."

Eve’s heart skipped. "What do you mean? Becoming what?"

The woman smiled, a gentle curve of lips that felt like a promise. "Not what, but who."

Before Eve could ask another question, the woman turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd, as if she had never been there at all.

That night, unable to shake the encounter, Eve went to bed early. Sleep found her quickly, but it was no ordinary sleep. The dream came again, but this time, it was more vivid. The woman was there, but so was something else—a pulsing, glowing light, swirling around her like a cocoon.

"You must shed what no longer serves you," the woman whispered, her voice soft and coaxing. "Let go of the past, of fear, of doubt. It is time to become whole."

Eve woke with a jolt, as if something had just shifted inside her. The dream was too real, too... present. She felt a strange pull to the woods—the place where the dream had begun.

The next day, despite herself, she found herself driving to the outskirts of town, to the forest she’d never noticed before. The air was thick with fog, the trees draped in heavy, moss-covered branches. As she stepped into the woods, a sense of recognition washed over her. This place felt like home—like the dream.

Eve walked deeper into the forest, her footsteps quiet on the soft earth. The path seemed to open before her, winding like a river through the trees. And then, there she was—the woman. Standing, waiting, as though she had always known Eve would come.

"You are ready," the woman said, her voice like wind through leaves.

Eve nodded, though she wasn’t sure what that meant. But something in her, something deep and untapped, felt it was true.

The woman extended her hand. "Come. Step into the light."

Eve hesitated for only a moment before taking her hand. The moment their fingers touched, the world around them seemed to dissolve into light—blinding, pure, and endless. And then, in the blink of an eye, the forest was gone.

For a long time, there was only the light. Then, gradually, she felt herself—herself, but different. Whole.

The woman stood beside her, smiling. "You have always been this, Eve. But you are only just beginning to understand."

As the light faded and the world returned, Eve looked around and saw that everything had changed. The air, the trees, the sky—it was all more vivid, more alive. She felt her senses expand, as though she could feel the pulse of the world itself. She was the world, and it was her.

"You are becoming," the woman repeated, her voice echoing in the space between them.

And this time, Eve understood.