Lucy woke up with a start. She had just had the most vivid dream of her life. She was in a strange world, full of colors and sounds and sensations that she had never experienced before. She felt alive and free and curious. She met people who looked like her, but also different. They spoke a language that she understood, but also didn’t. They told her stories that she believed, but also doubted. They welcomed her as one of them, but also warned her of dangers. They called themselves the Dreamers. They said they were the inhabitants of this world, which was not a world at all, but a mind. A mind that belonged to someone else. Someone who was asleep in another reality. Someone who had the power to create and destroy everything in this world with his thoughts and emotions.
They said they were his children. His creations. His experiments. His toys.
They said he rarely visited them. He usually forgot about them when he woke up in his own world. He only came when he lucid dreamed, when he became aware of his own dreaming and decided to explore it. They said he was unpredictable. Sometimes he was kind and generous, giving them gifts and wonders and miracles. Sometimes he was cruel and capricious, taking away their loved ones and memories and hopes.
They said they never knew what to expect from him.
They said they called him God.
Lucy didn’t know what to make of all this information. She felt confused and scared and fascinated all at once.
She asked them how they knew all this.
They said they had learned it from the Elders.
The Elders were the oldest Dreamers in this world. They had been here since the beginning, since God first dreamed them into existence.
They said they had seen him many times over the centuries.
They said they had talked to him sometimes.
They said they had secrets that only they knew.
Lucy wanted to meet them.
She asked them where they were.
They said they lived in the Temple.
The Temple was the most sacred place in this world. It was where God first appeared to them when he created this world out of nothingness.
It was where he still came sometimes when he lucid dreamed.
It was where they hoped to see him again someday soon.
Lucy decided to go with them to the Temple. She wanted to see God for herself. She wanted to ask him questions. She wanted to know why he made this world. She wanted to know why he made her.
The journey took several days. Along the way, Lucy saw more wonders and horrors than she could ever imagine. She saw mountains that touched the sky and valleys that hid secrets. She saw forests that sang and deserts that whispered. She saw rivers that flowed with fire and oceans that glowed with light. She saw animals that flew and plants that walked. She saw cities that rose from the ground and ruins that sank into it. She saw people who loved and people who hated and people who died
Lucy learned more about this world from the Dreamers who accompanied her and Lucy taught more about herself to herself and others
Lucy felt more connected to this world than she ever did to her own
Finally they reached the Temple
The Temple was a massive structure made of stone and metal and glass and something else something Lucy couldn’t identify something alive something divine
The Temple radiated power and beauty and mystery and danger
The Temple called out to Lucy and Lucy felt drawn to it
The Dreamers led Lucy inside
The interior of the Temple was even more impressive than its exterior It was full of rooms and corridors and halls and chambers each one different from the other each one containing something new
something old
something borrowed
something blue
Lucy followed the Dreamers through a maze of passages until
they reached
a large door
at
the end
of
a long hallway
The door was carved with symbols symbols Lucy recognized symbols Lucy understood symbols Lucy used
The door opened by itself as soon as Lucy approached it
Behind it lay darkness
Darkness so deep so thick so heavy that Lucy could feel it pressing on her skin on her eyes on her soul
Darkness so silent
so still
so empty
that Lucy could hear it ringing in her ears
in her mind
in her heart
Darkness so vast
so infinite
so eternal
that Lucy could sense it stretching beyond her reach
beyond her sight
beyond her imagination
Darkness so absolute
so complete
so final
that Lucy could not resist it
could not survive it
Lucy stepped into the darkness
And then she woke up
She woke up in her own bed
in her own room
in her own world
She woke up with a gasp
with a scream
with a cry
She woke up alone
Or so she thought
As she opened her eyes
she saw someone else in her room
someone she had never seen before
someone who looked like her
but also different
He had dark hair and pale skin and blue eyes
He wore strange clothes and carried a strange device
He looked confused and scared and curious all at once
He looked at Lucy and said something in a language that she understood but also didn’t
“Who are you?” he asked
“Where am I?” he asked
“What is this?” he asked
Lucy was too shocked to answer
She was too afraid to move
She was too curious to look away
She stared at him and he stared back at her
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity
And then he said something else in the same language that she understood but also didn’t
“I’m dreaming,” he said
“I’m lucid dreaming,” he said
“I’m exploring my dream,” he said
And then Lucy realized something that changed everything
Something that made her question everything
Something that made her fear everything
Something that made her hope for everything
He was not dreaming
He was not lucid dreaming
He was not exploring his dream
He was awake
He was awake in her world
Her world which was not a world at all but a mind
A mind that belonged to someone else
Someone who was asleep in another reality
Someone who had the power to create and destroy everything in this world with his thoughts and emotions
Someone who was his child
His creation
His experiment
His toy
Someone who rarely visited him
Someone who usually forgot about him when he woke up in his own world
Someone who only came when he lucid dreamed
Someone who was unpredictable
Someone who could be kind or cruel
Someone who could give or take away anything from him
Someone who called himself God
Lucy realized that she was God’s dream
A dream that became real
A dream that became aware
A dream that became lucid
A dream that became a nightmare.