I watched the sun rise, and as it painted the land with exuberant colors I decided to go on a walk.

I walked down the spiral staircase that lead to the creaky back door, with which I opened gingerly in an attempt not to wake my snoozing parents.

The weather was not yet cold enough for a jacket, so instead I wore a t-shirt and shorts.

As I walked through the back yard towards the forest, I felt the dew on the tall grass rub against my legs, and as I savored the last bit of warmth from the newly risen sun, I stepped into the shadows of the forest and disappeared.

As I entered the forest I decided to take the way that I had gone by so many times before. While walking, I took in the beautiful scenery, which was much more breath taking now considering the golden leaves that the beginning of Fall had produced.

In the forest, it was much more cold. My shoes were cold and wet, and the occasional frigid water drip from above made me shiver all the more.

The forest canopy for the most part was entirely complete, except for the occasional gap that let a column of light hit the ground. It was in one of these columns that I saw a beautiful blue butterfly fluttering about. The butterfly looked magical, and quite frankly it looked as though it was something you would see in a cartoon. I was mesmerized, and I jumped at the chance to observe it further. Little did I know that it was this butterfly that would change my life forever.

I began to follow the insect with no inclination of where I was headed. I was lead astray by the beautiful being.

I followed the creature to an enormous brick wall. The wall was almost impossible to see because it was encased with a lining of plant growth that was so thick it would be hard to cut your way through. The wall seemed very old, but stood strong and was about 15 feet tall I guessed. I saw the butterfly travel through a small hole at the base of the wall, where it looked as if a few bricks had been knocked loose by father time.

At this point it dawned on me that I had been out for several hours, and at the risk of worrying my parents, I decided to turn back.

As I took a few steps in the homeward direction, my curiosity got a hold of me. It felt as if the wall, or whatever was inside that wall was mocking me. I could feel the wall’s interior heart beating, and I had to see what was on the other side.

I convinced my self that ten minutes on the other side of the wall wouldn’t hurt, and I went.

I went back to the wall and located the gap at the base. I lay down and slid myself feet first through the opening.

What I saw was what I expected. Trees, plants, and the bare necessities of a forest, but as I looked deeper into the wood I saw a clearing and some smoke.

I crept forward cautiously, I didn’t want to startle anyone who could have been building a fire, and I am almost sure that they would be wondering why I was intruding on their property.

When I reached a safe watching distance I peered at what seemed to be a makeshift hut. The hut seemed very elaborate, the branches were weaved together like a bird’s nest for the walls, and the roof was made of small pine branches. The roof had a small hole in it for the smoke to escape easily, and the door was a perfect half circle that even a large man could walk through with ease.

I couldn’t help but wonder who was inside. Did this man live here? Who is he? Why is there a huge brick wall surrounding his property? I mustered up some courage and decided to go check it out.

I walked up to the hut, and poked my head through the door. What I saw was a man with long gray hair and a long beard. His clothes were tattered, and the man looked as if thousands of years had weathered his skin. From his mouth, a long wooden pipe hung and perfect circles of smoke would exit his pipe every time he took a puff. His eyes were droopy as if he lacked sleep, and his ears were abnormally large, most likely giving him a heightened sense of hearing.

Before I had a chance to react the man began to ramble. He was rambling on, in and out of a foreign language. I could understand only some of what he was saying, but the words that left his mouth were branded into my memory for as long as I lived.

He said, “Child, I come from a land far away, a land where a minute is and hour and a day is a week. Where the rivers flow backwards, and the animals are distinguished by how many heads they have, where money has no standing in a society but powers do, and what I have for you is very special my boy. Oh yes, very special indeed. I come with many trinkets, gold from the King and Queen of Laurus, and magic powders from the prophets of the great desert. But for you, take this.”

He handed me an object that was wrapped inside a tattered brown cloth. I unraveled the cloth and inside was some sort of gem. He told me that the gem was good luck, and that it will bring good fortune to my family and I for the rest of our lives. I quickly stuffed the gem into my shorts pocket. I told the wise man thank you and asked him why he had come to this foreign place.

The man replied by raising his pipe and exclaiming a couple of words, that to this day confuse me. Ï came here for you.” As he said this, the hut began spinning violently and I blacked out.

I woke up to the sound of buzzing. This buzzing was very annoying and I wanted for it to stop very much so. I opened my eyes and realized that I was not in the old man’s hut in the woods anymore, but I was in a room. MY ROOM, and the buzzing was my alarm clock. I quickly realized that the whole instance was a dream, a very realistic dream.

I sulked for a short while, wondering why the dream had ended so quickly. It took me several minutes to analyze what had happened to me, but I got out of bed and began to change into my everyday clothes.

As I was changing, something fell out of my pocket. A red gem hit my wooden floor and bounced around. I realized that the gem that fell out of my pocket was very similar to the one that the wise old man gave me. I paused for a moment, thinking of the old man, and wondered if what happened to me was indeed a reality. I smiled, put the gem in my pants pocket and went on with my day.