The parallel World

I woke up one morning to a completely different room than my own humble room. This room was immaculate. Red and gold decorated the walls and plush golden carpet covered the floor. The ceiling was at least eight feet high; four times my height. It was a bit overwhelming, so I left the room.

The hallway outside the room winded all around the top floor of the house. All one could see was the open staircase that swirled three flights down and the black walls that lined the hallway. I walked slowly, because I wasn't familiar with these surroundings. I got to the staircase and quietly descended. Once at the bottom, I could see a large living room to the right and a large dining room to the left.

I decided to check out the living room first. Sitting on the couch was my fiance and our dog. They both looked the same, but something was definitely off about them. I walked closer to my fiance and barely touched him. He vanished into a thin light mist and floated out the front door.

I leaned down to pet my dog, but he had vanished too. I didn't understand what was going on. I turned around and walked through the foyer, past the staircase and into the kitchen. I saw my stepdaughter making a sandwich on the counter. I walked up to her and asked her if she was okay, but she just walked past me like I wasn't even there.

I followed her out of the kitchen and out the kitchen screen door to the backyard. There was a huge pool with a hot tub in the right corner of the pool. I watched as my step daughter sat down on the patio table and began to eat her sandwich. I tried to talk to her, but she just kept eating quietly. I sat and watched her for a while and then decided to go back inside.

I walked through the kitchen and went behind the staircase, down the hallway that led to a parlor room. In the room was a bumper pool table and a large fireplace. There was a bar to the right side of the room and a poker table to the left side. I sat down at the poker table and looked around the room. I was trying to understand why my fiance and dog disappeared and why my step daughter couldn't see or hear me.

As I was sitting there, contemplating where I was and what was going on; my step sons walked in. They all sat down at the poker table as though they didn't even see me. It was bad enough I was in a house I didn't recognize, but to see people I loved not even know I was there disturbed me. I sat and watched them as they drank and played games. It was like I was in a movie I was never intended to be part of.

I got up and touched one of my step sons and he vanished into mist and floated up the stairs. That's when I began to think maybe I was on a whole other plane of existence. What else could explain this? I walked out the front door and saw a huge winding driveway. There was also a huge fountain in the front yard with a stone figure of a mermaid on it.

I thought not only is my family wealthy in this parallel world, but they were a bit eccentric too. In my original world, the boys all dressed like wanna be gangsters and listened to rap music. However, in this realm, they were dressed in fine suits and listened to classical orchestra music. Although I appreciated they were into better dressing and music here; they just didn't seem the same.

I walked down to the road from the mile long driveway. There was a huge wrought iron gate at the end. I went to open the gate and my hand passed right through it. I was slowly realizing I wasn't in a physical form in this world. It was slowly becoming clear what was going on here.

I walked through the gate and walked down the road. I got to a small town I recognized, but somehow didn't recognize at the same time. It looked like the town I had lived in for the past twenty years. However there was a green haze that seemed to cover the town. I continued walking, cautiously because I didn't know what to expect in this realm.

I walked up to the first gas station I saw and went inside. The clerk paid no attention to me at all. Other people seemed to walk right through me as I stood watching the hustle and bustle going on. I tried to yell out, but nothing came out of my mouth; not a single sound. This building was stranger than the huge house she was in before.

I left the gas station and kept walking down the sidewalk. I came upon a fast food restaurant and I went inside there. I was thinking eventually someone was going to see me. I stood at the counter and tried to get someone's attention. No one even so much as batted a eye at me.

I turned around and walked back outside. I kept walking down the street. People would ride their bikes right through me like I wasn't there or walk or run right through me. I was beginning to feel very lonely in this parallel world. I kept walking until I came to the town bridge that separated the east side of town from the west side of town.

I walked until I got to the top of the bridge and then sat down. I sat for what seemed like days, just watching the city come to life each morning and go to sleep each night. Finally, I got up and started walking down the east side of the bridge. I got to the bottom of the bridge and waited at the corner of the street. Cars passed by clueless to my presence. I turned north and went up eighth Street.

I got one block and saw where my old house used to be. In this parallel world, it was now a park. The neighborhood was much nicer as well. In my world, this was considered the ghetto of the town. I kept walking until I came to a nother bridge on G street.

The bridge looked horrible. It was covered in graffiti and looked like it was about to fall apart. The bridge in my world had just been updated; so this was yet another change. I decided to walk on the street next to the bridge. Dogs would bark at me, but their owners couldn't see me.

I kept walking until I got to sixteenth Street. I was now on the west side of town. I turned north and walked heading to what I thought was going to be the local neighborhood store. Instead, there was a large hotel with a small mini mall on the left side of the parking lot. Across the street was a country bar; not a gentlemans club like it was in my world.

I shook my head and kept walking along the highway right out of town. Suddenly, a black fog consumed me. I kept walking until I came upon a portal of bright light. I felt comfort and peace radiating from the portal. I chose to walk through it.

As I came through, I realized I was in the local hospital. I looked around and realized I was lying in a hospital bed. The whole thing had been a dream. I was relieved to see my fiance alive and well, sitting next to me, holding my hand. I looked around the room and saw my two daughters standing there with their husbands; with tears in their eyes.

They all came up to me one by one hugging me and telling me I had been asleep too long. I didn't understand what they were talking about. A doctor came in and introduced himself. He explained to me that I had been asleep for three months. I was shocked to hear what he was telling me; that parallel world seemed so real. It was unsettling, yet comforting at the same time to know I was only dreaming.