Dreams or Reality? - BFF 246

The following is a fictional story I wrote in response of the BFF photo prompt for this week.  I hope you enjoy it.

     Diana awoke to find herself in the middle of a long hallway.  The floors were tiled in white and black.  She stood up, grabbed her best friend Bear, and made her way along it.  It seemed to stretch on forever.  The end of the hallway glowed with an inviting light.  She knew instinctively that she needed to find out what was at the end of the long hall.   She had no clue where she would end up but she was dying to find out.  In her excitement, she broke into a run.  Finally she came to the end where two doors stood side by side.

      How curious she thought.  Each door had a sign.  One was labeled “Dreams” and the other “Reality”.  A clock hung on the wall in between ticking in time with her heart beat.  She puzzled over which door to choose.  Certainly she could visit both, right?  If she visited both she could decide which world she preferred.  The question was which would she visit first and where would she decide to remain.  What did she dream her life to be?  She wished to be blissfully happy of course and married to none other than Prince Charming living in a big fairytale castle far, far away but what else did she dream?  Would she dream to be a famous movie star, talented artist, or a skilled surgeon?  In her dreams would she be filthy rich?  Certainly all those dreams would be preferable to what reality would hold in store for her.  Reality was an unknown and while it could hold happiness, it could also hold despair.  There would be no guarantees if she chose reality.  She started for the door of dreams, but a nagging sensation held her back.  Again she contemplated both doors.  What if her dreams took on a horrific twist and resembled a nightmare more than the happily ever after she had envisioned?  What if she went through the door of dreams and found herself in a twisted world where nothing made sense, much as Alice did when she fell down the rabbit hole.

 

      Diana moved closer to reality.  What did she really want in life?  Did she want the perfect fairy tale?  Well of course!  Everyone did!  Confused she stepped closer to the land of dreams only to be stopped by misgivings once again.  Did she really want to throw herself into a world where nothing ever made sense and things were never as they seemed?  Did she want to take the chance that what lied behind the door of dreams was the culmination of wishes and happiness instead of confusion and terror?

 

       Her mind made up she purposefully took the path to reality.  She chose to live her life as it came, enjoying each day and counting her blessings in each one instead of living with her head in the pink, fluffy clouds of dreamland.  She chose to accept that life wouldn’t be perfect; but that she would develop strength, courage, and wisdom the longer she remained in reality.  At least in reality, everything would eventually make sense  if only in hindsight.  The door of dreams beckoned like a forbidden fruit dangling enticingly in front of her.  No, she would not take it.  Look what happened to Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit!!   She would follow destiny’s path and learn the lessons in life she was meant to.  There was also that feeling of foreboding that overwhelmed her whenever she stepped closer to the land of dreams that scared her into believing that whichever door she chose was a final choice.  She feared she would never be able to return to the hall of decision once she crossed the threshold of either door.  The clock between the two doors chimed.

        She knew instinctively that her time to choose was running out.  A chill of terror crept up her spine as she raced for the door of reality, flung the door open and rushed inside.  The door slammed shut behind her and soon she was falling.  She landed in a heap in her very own bed drenched in sweat.  The overhead light illuminated as her mother rushed in and quickly gathered her in her arms.

 
    “Diana, are you all right?  You were crying out in your sleep!  Shhh, Mommy‘s here.  It was just a dream!” she said as she held Diana close and smoothed the curls on her sweaty brow.  Diana burrowed into the loving embrace of her Mother relieved she had chosen the door that led her home.