As I searched for sleep, I couldn’t help but enjoy the comfort that surrounded me. The soft glow of the moon casting shadows throughout my room, the constant purr of Delilah The Cat snuggled at my side, and the thick, plush blankets cushioning my body. I felt safe. But you see, the thing about feeling safe, is that there is no guarantee that you are safe. So when I fell asleep that night, I had no idea that I would awake in a place that wasn’t my home. I had no idea that this place, might not even be on Earth.

When I did wake up, I instantly knew that I was somewhere far away. I felt cold, hard metal pressed against my back, and I realized that I must have been laying on some sort of table. I was utterly terrified. My heart was pumping in my ears, and when I tried to scream only silence escaped my lips. The air there smelt different, somehow- thicker. Upon opening my eyes, I saw pure blackness. For a moment, I thought I lost all sight. However, when my eyes adjusted, I was able to make sense of the shapes of a few objects around me. What looked to be a fridge was shoved in one shadowy corner of the room, a large, round rug lay flat on the floor, and... Is that a door? I wondered. It looked far too odd to be a door. It was tall and skinny, and through the darkness I could’ve sworn I saw a shimmer on one side of it. A shimmer that I was guessing- hoping- to be a doorknob.
I got up slowly, legs trembling. As I rose, something fell off the table and landed on the floor with a small thunk. I sank to the ground and patted my hands along the floor, feeling for this mysterious object. My hands grasped around something small and rectangular. A lighter. I was relieved and terrified all at once. Relieved that this lighter may be the key to my escape, yet terrified at what I might see by the light of the flame.
When I lit it, I was shocked to see that the walls surrounding me seemed to go up forever, despite the fact that they weren’t very wide. I was absolutely flabbergasted to see that each of these walls had hundreds of thousands of wooden drawers lined all up and down them. I just wanted to leave. I didn’t want any trouble, I had no idea where I was, or why I was there. I just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. So I tried the door.
I banged, I shoved, I pushed, I pulled, and I kicked, but no budge. I felt hopeless. It was locked, and I needed to find the key. I turned to the infinite drawers and pulled one open. A dozen keys were at my fingertips. I pulled open another drawer; more keys. I can assure you, that in that moment, I wanted to take one of those keys and stab myself through the heart with it. There was no way I could unlock the door with all of these various keys before me. It could take me days, if not, years, to find the right key. I glanced over at the fridge. The room was odd. There was the door, the fridge, the metal table, the drawers, and the rug.
Oh my god. How could I be so stupid? This is obviously a dream! I told myself. I felt so relieved. I was lucid dreaming. That was my only explanation, and I knew I must be right. I decided to play along. I mean, hey, how often does that happen? I took a peek in the fridge. Empty. I tugged the freezer section open. There was a large, red lever, glistening with ice crystals. I wasn’t hesitant at all to wrap my hands around it and draw it backwards. After all, I was safe at home in my bed. The lever creaked as it moved towards me. A long, thin string came down in the middle of the room. Attached to it was a key and a note. I laughed and went to pull the key off the string. A surge of electricity shot through my veins and paralyzed me for a split second. I was left trembling, hurt. The note fell to the floor. The paper looked old and was covered in ink blots. It read, in messy black ink, YOU’RE NOT DREAMING.
“No... This can’t be real. This isn’t happening. No, no, no-no-no-no...” I whispered to myself. I had no other choice. I grabbed the key. This time, it didn’t electrocute me. I hurried to the door. It took me a minute or so to finally get the key in the hole, for my hands were shaking violently, and I frequently dropped it. I took one deep breath before opening the door. I considered all the things that could be behind it; a murderer, a pack of hungry wolves, or maybe even the end of the world (Hey, at that point, I thought anything was possible). I slowly twisted the doorknob, and pulled it open.
It was not what I expected. The sky was light purple and there were stars everywhere, but it wasn’t nighttime. The grass was soft under my bare feet, unlike the grass on my lawn at home that slices at my skin. The air was warm, and there were all different colored bubbles floating throughout the area. One popped on my lips. It was a type of sweetness that I had not known on Earth. I took a step forward, leaving the dark room behind. I was mesmerized. I found a lake nearby. The water was as clear as a mirror and I was able to see my usual freckle-faced, black-haired self, with one noticeable difference- My eyes were green, when they had previously been brown. I smiled at my reflection. I would have never imagined falling for a place like this. I’d always thought I would be the kind of person who cared more about the simpler things. But there was something about this place that I couldn’t help falling in love with. I felt comfortable. I felt safe.