Are You Out There?

I woke up in a dream once, either mine or someone else's... I wonder if it was yours. I opened my eyes to see a breathtaking sky, pink and golden and endless. The blades of soft, green grass tickled my fingertips and my toes. I sat up to find myself in a field of dew sparkled flowers, and just beyond the horizon, a tall, glittering forest. I stood up and looked down at my bare feet. "How small," I whispered, and then noticed the same about my arms and hands as I stretched them out before me. I started walking toward the forest, and soon thereafter, I stepped in a small puddle. Startled, I withdrew my foot from the cool water, and watched as it calmed itself. I was shocked as my reflection revealed, not the grown woman I am now, but the small child I was so many years ago. "Wow," I whispered, and then "Wow!" again louder, as if the child's voice escaping from my lips would confirm that my body had indeed, somehow, reverted in time. Excitement took hold of me. I looked back to the horizon and like a streak of wind, I bolted for the forest ahead.

In an instant I was there, standing at the forest line, marveling at the giants that towered before me. I took a deep breath and stepped into the forest. Slowly, I walked deeper into the woods, and with every step I could feel the soft, moss floor beneath my feet. The air was still and quiet. Majestic oaks surrounded me, with tall, wide trunks that glittered in the light. Though the canopy of leaves was full and rich, rays of delicious, warm sun shone through, inviting me to go further. Soon, I could no longer see the opening behind me. "No turning back now," I whispered, and my journey continued.

After some time, I discovered a clearing, with one single, smaller tree at its center. Very different from the oaks, this tree had a skinny trunk, with low hanging branches that intertwined this way and that. "A climbing tree!" I shouted, and ran to it as fast as my little legs could take me. I reached above and grabbed hold of the first branch, but before I could begin my ascent, my heart leapt into my chest as I suddenly realized.... I was not alone.

"Hello," a voice said from behind me, and I was shocked to discover another little girl! She stood there smiling, with golden hair and striking, blue eyes, dressed in blue jean shorts and a white tee shirt, and little bare feet, just like mine. "You startled me!" I exclaimed. "I'm sorry," she said, still smiling, and then, "You wanna climb with me?" With a nod, I accepted, and we both began laughing wildly as we climbed higher and higher. We leapt across from branch to branch. We hung on them, swung on them, raced each other up and down, back and forth. We shook them over each other, giggling as water from the leaves sprinkled down upon us.

Finally, we sat side by side, our little feet dangling beneath us. "I'm having so much fun!" the little girl said. "Me too!" I replied. She put her arm around me like we were best friends and said "I wish we could come here and play every day." We both looked down at the ground below us in silence, as if contemplating some great, life lesson. After a few moments, I sighed and said, "Except this isn't real. This place. You. None of it is real. It's just a dream." I shook my head and continued. "I'm not even a little girl, I'm 30 years old." With urgency, she grabbed my hands and held them tightly in hers. She moved closer to me, her face very close to mine, and what she said next still gives me chills to this day.

"I'm dreaming," she whispered, "I'm real, I swear it, and I'm not a little girl either, I'm the same age as you."

For the remainder of the dream we repeated each other's name out loud. Over and over, I recited hers and she recited mine, both of us desperate to instill it in our memory. We swore we would find one another once we awoke, and then... it was over.

Our dreams seem so clear while we're dreaming them, but once we're awake, they become instantly fuzzy, like a distant, selective memory. This dream, however, remained so clear. Even now I remember with great detail the field, the puddle, the towering trees, the little girl. I remember our laughter, the branches we climbed, our little feet... everything but her name.

Of course, it could have been after all, just a clever dream. But then again, perhaps two worlds really did intertwine, and the little girl I met that night is out there somewhere. Maybe by some great, scheme of fate, she's reading this right now. One thing is certain though. Until I meet her, I'll always long for the truth, and I'll always be wondering... Are you out there?