While people my age would read books that teaches them to be good leaders, or how to influence people, or maybe living in the now and conquering their anxieties, I read fantasy young adult books. And you know what else I am doing that they probably don’t? I daydream that I am a part of these books. And not like cosplaying in my mind as one of the characters, I daydream that I am my own individual character. You know that book about a trio in the wizarding world being hunted by someone who should not be named? I am the fourth friend, they become a quartet. There’s this other book where the protagonist was borne of a strong line of casters whose true nature gets revealed on their 16th birthday, whether they are of the dark or the light. I am the youngest born and the strongest caster. I’ve read so many fantasy books that sometimes I would combine them.
In my latest magical daydream, I am a princess. Borne of a human King, a descendant of Merlin, and the Queen of the Fae’s Winter Court. Growing up, I am not your usual princess. I am good with the bow and arrow. Can control the elements of nature: wind, earth, fire, water. And why stop there? Of course, I’m gorgeous with thick reddish-brown hair that cascades down my back, blue-green eyes that you can drown in, the perfect body, and a smile that can stop the earth’s rotation. I got it all! At least in my daydream.
However, in the real world, I am stuck in a boring nine to five job. My castle is a one-bedroom apartment in the part of town no one will be jealous of. And my superpower is I can fall asleep in any vehicle once it starts moving. So, you can’t really blame me for creating a world where things are so much better.
The good thing about where I work is we have regular team activities where we go out of town to relax and unwind. In one such excursion, we happened upon a small temple in one of our stopovers. Now, where I come from, there is a belief that says you can make a wish if it’s your first time visiting a temple. You know what I wished for? Not a promotion or a raise. Or a new car, a bigger house. No, not world peace, this is how I know I will never make it in any Q&A portion in a beauty pageant.
I wished that I could have the kind of life that I have in my daydreams. Doesn’t have to be the living in a castle or having amazing superpowers part. But the excitement, the thrill. Anything other than my mundane and boring life.
You know that saying “Be careful what you wish for”? I should have kept that in mind when I made that wish.
We got home the next day. After resting and listening to my favorite podcast, I decided to take a bath and get ready to sleep. I went to the linen closet to get fresh towels. But instead of a bunch of textiles, it opened to a dark tunnel. I was truly surprised but also very curious. So, I went in and the place looked familiar. Where have I seen this before?
The tunnel was wide with carved pillars flanking both sides. At the very end there was a white statue of a lady pouring liquid from a huge jar into a murky pond. There were ruins all around from what seemed to be smaller statues; dismembered arms here, a decapitated head there. As I came closer, I heard a hissing sound. It grew into a growl as a snout slowly emerged from behind the curtain of water. It was so huge that I was sure that it can swallow me in one go and I would be lost inside its thick and long body in a matter of minutes. You know what they say about feeling that fight or flight instinct when faced with danger? Oh, there was zero fight coming from me. It was flight all the way. I started running as fast as my legs can carry me back out into the hallway. The crocodile was catching up and I knew I had to do something. I ran down the stairs straight to the front door while grabbing my car keys. As I drove away, I looked back and saw the croc’s eyes staring out at me from my dark entryway.
I was already on the next town when I had to stop the car because my entire body started shaking. I cried for the next few hours until the shock slightly wore off from my system. And I sat there in silence, thinking and remembering. The reason that the place looked familiar was because it was part of one of my fantasy remakes. But in that daydream, I was able to beat the crocodile because of my superpowers.
And I also remembered that I just made a wish about having a semblance of life like that of my daydreams. But this is not what had in mind! I wanted the fun parts: exciting adventures finding magical artifacts, travelling to distant lands meeting interesting people, having tomes of knowledge that I can dig into.
What should I do? Do I call animal control and tell them a giant crocodile just came out from my linen cabinet that opened into some secret tunnel? Do I go home and check first, maybe some brave neighbor already got rid of it? What if my other daydream villains come out to avenge their defeat? I am so scared and confused, I don’t now what to do.