SLIDE

The first time, it was a gleam of gold. The next time, it was a fluffy field of cotton. And the subsequent time, polished metal adorned the boulevard as far as the eye could reach. Colors reflected off of the surfaces, and the surrounding was of dimensions improbable. It was beyond one’s wildest dreams. It betrayed imagination itself.

Gleam of gold

Mind-boggling, simply. They usually say if you work too much on something, it will leave you in a jumble. That’s why they invented breaks. I don’t believe in breaks. Neither do I believe in the human mind going disarray because it’s steadfast. The brightest minds thrive due to constancy.

However, it seems that I have been quite mistaken in both these theories. I had no doubt been sitting at the desk for hours together, trying to write an essay about myself – but how could I, when I didn’t know who I was – and now, the words seemed to float out of the page of the thick textbook. I took my bifocals off and blinked hard a few times. On opening my eyes again, howbeit, the words were still afloat. It was all pathetically bizarre. Grumbling, I stood up. The cabin was a mess.

I stopped myself. Cabin? I thought, confused. What was I doing in a cabin?

Just then, I tripped on something beneath my feet and fell down, hitting my head on the floor. My eyes watered. Where in the world was I? I heard a loud cry from afar, and then I was falling, falling into depths, and I was screaming, but nothing was coming out of my mouth. A muffled sound echoed all around me, but it wasn’t my voice. I felt like I was being stretched, and as I cascaded, the temperature rose by what felt like billions of degrees. I could see nothing as I tumbled through a compelling nothingness, this void of darkness, and then all went silent.

Bad dream, I thought, rubbing my back, eyes still closed. The tripping and falling through darkness, it couldn’t be real, I told myself.

Then, I opened my eyes to the biggest shock of my life. The shock presented itself in the form of a bright golden glare. I shut my eyes immediately. Where was I? A gleam of gold flashed again as I opened my eyes. This time, I sat up. The floor looked golden and watery as it reflected the glow around me. On looking down at myself, I noticed that I was adorned with jewelry, and all types of it, at that. Ten rings adorned my ten sleek fingers, and small golden chains ran down my hands to glistening golden bangles. My arms were shiny and long, glistening with a blazing glittery smoothness. My neck was choked by several big and small neckpieces, some golden and shimmering, others silvery and shimmering, and still others coppery and shimmering. I stood up, my knees trembling, and looked at myself on the golden walls. The icing on the cake, or rather, the icing on my head, was the golden tiara, dazzling with sunny magnificence. I clasped my mouth, feeling giddy.

After a few moments of understanding nothing whilst feeling claustrophobic among all the luster, I noticed a huge golden door. I rushed toward the door. On the surprisingly long journey to the door, I noticed several things. The walls on my right had old, glossy paintings of old people who looked like royalty. On the far right, there was a picture of someone who looked exactly like me, and that was when I realized that I, in fact, was royalty. Feeling unstable, I tottered forward on my glass slippers and noticed glimmering velvet furniture stacked with the most refulgent treasures.

Then suddenly, I heard a loud uproar on my left, and found myself looking outside through a large window, at a wonderful palace ground, with masses of people outside, yelling something that sounded like ‘Your Majesty!’, pointing at me.

I found myself experiencing a small transformation at that moment – I had, at many points of my dull life, found myself wishing that I could have been born as royalty, that perhaps then, everything would be handed to me on a…golden platter. But was this what I really wanted?

I stumbled and landed right outside the big golden door. As soon as I turned the knob, something hit me right on the face, and I found myself falling into a deep void of nothingness again. I passed out somewhere in the midst of my screaming.

Cotton world

I awoke this time, praying that everything was just a funny dream. Then, just when I thought I had already experienced the biggest shock of my life, I opened my eyes to an even greater shock. And a tickle in my nostril.

Sneezing, I stumbled onto my feet to find myself landlocked in a sea of white…white cotton? Sneezing again, I shuffled forward, feeling the soft cotton envelope me. The field was warm and lovely, and above me, the clouds looked like small fluffy clouds of happiness, floating on a plain blue sky.

This is a test, I felt a voice say inside of me. This is a test to find yourself.

Surprised, I tried to imagine what this feathery experience was supposed to mean to my life. I took a small cotton boll in my palm. Suddenly, a piece of information floated into my mind, like the small cotton fluffs floating around me.

‘When cotton is ready for harvest, it doesn’t wither like other crops. Instead, the cotton bolls burst open naturally, exposing the fibres inside.’

I became teary, because I also realized something else – the fluffy cloud of happiness, like the one in my hand, had always been a staple of childhood dreams – it was a symbol of whimsy and celebration.

But I was growing up now, trying to find myself, and just like the cotton, I was on the brink of harvest. So, I was not going to wither —just like these beautiful white cotton fluffs popping out and waiting to be harvested. I felt ready.

And as soon as I felt ready, I stumbled on a small plant and fell, this time, plunging headfirst into the muddy ground.

Metal dimension

I opened my eyes, ready for whatever shock was coming my way this time, but although I was feeling brave, the courage withered as soon as I had felt it. I was not ready for what I was witnessing.

Polished metal adorned the boulevard as far as the eye could reach. Colors reflected off of the surfaces, and the surrounding was of dimensions improbable. It was beyond one’s wildest dreams. It betrayed imagination itself.

Around me, there were millions of soldiers, and loud war cries filled the whole boulevard.

My eyes widened in awe. What was this wild abode of alloy?

I heard a boisterous clang when I got off the metal floor. Looking down at myself, I realized why. I was fitted with armor, and my head was inside a helmet, revealing only my eyes. My breastplate was tightly fitted and was made of thick grey metal. My greaves looked uncomfortable at first sight, like they were going to hinder my every step forward, but I stepped forward with surprising ease. And with every new step, I found new confidence in myself.

The war cries around me didn’t scare me anymore. I was a knight in shining armor, literally.

As I strode forward, head held high, I reflected. I was surprised that I could reflect, what with countless soldiers fighting each other on the metal courtyards. They were like society, constantly fighting itself into existence, trying to make everything seem like a big and a small deal at the very same time.

This boulevard could represent the mind itself, I told myself. Unbound, evolving, and stretching into dimensions beyond comprehension.

Just like how a mind expanded when it dared to dream beyond the ordinary, this place defied the expected and reshaped the very idea of reality.

This was a world where imagination didn’t just exist—it rebelled. It refused to conform. It was a world of raw potential, yet to be realized. And maybe, just maybe, it was waiting for ME to define what it becomes.

That’s when the raw truth blinded me, as a sword of a fellow soldier cut through my arm. Eyes watering in pain, I held on to the thought, the truth.

The truth, I smiled to myself through the pain, was that the world is just a figment of imagination…it is an ILLUSION. Illusions come and go, and sometimes we think they mean nothing. Sometimes, we’re not even lucky enough to experience these transformative illusions. Sometimes, illusions could also mean nothing.

The only thing that could make this illusion real was purpose and drive that we give to our lives. Like the drive I was feeling right now, to fight harder despite the pain, like the cotton boll waiting to explode into brilliance. And sometimes, what we think is the right thing will end up being quite the opposite – like my heady spiral down the golden world of royalty. The world where I thought I would have thrived – well, was the world where I felt most out of place.

But only experience teaches us. And like the knight, we grow. Like cotton, we open ourselves to the world. Like the princess, we learn.

And what teaches us all this? THE ILLUSION.