Anywhere but Here

SOMETIMES, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEYS LIE WITHIN ONE’S OWN IMAGINATION.

Once upon a time, in a land as ordinary as could be, there lived a girl who wished to escape the restraints of her life–a life she deemed to be mundane, at best.

She sat slumped in her tattered chair, head held in the palms of her hands. The girl yearned for excitement, adventure, and love, yet the seemingly endless tasks sprawled across her desk incited no such feelings. 2:29 am, the clock read. Its rhythmic ticks mocked the girl. Time–she did not have enough time to experience adventure or finish her assignment.

Her head clouded with frustration, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

She wanted to run. She longed to escape the suffocating routine of her daily life. She wished to be anywhere but here, the girl thought. As if in response to her train of thought, a book perched at the corner of the girl’s desk fluttered open, its pages emitting a faint golden light. “Come inside,” the book seemed to purr, its voice holding promise of everything she most desired–everything she felt she could not find in her own little world.

The girl stared in disbelief. Even after she rubbed her eyes and shook her head, the light persisted, beckoning her to pick up the book that she’d failed to remember even sat on her desk. When was the last time she’d picked up a book? When was the last time she’d risked a glance away from her laptop? “Run away with me,” the book said.

It was 2:32 am. She was going insane, she was convinced of it.

Despite her conviction, the girl found herself picking up the novel, its light soon encircling her body. With a deep exhale that held equal parts intrigue as it did defeat, she shut her eyes and was immediately greeted by a light breeze, pushing away the locks of hair that stuck to her cheeks.

Hesitantly, the girl opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. The book remained in her hands, yet she no longer sat in her bedroom. Instead, a towering castle sat at the end of a winding pathway covered in words–– words from the novel she held, the girl quickly realized. She couldn’t even begin to recall the number of times she’d read through the story. She couldn’t even reminisce on the last time she’d opened its cover. Dragons, faeries, and wizards that looked remarkably familiar, as if she’d dreamt about them in the past, roamed the streets. They waved at her, inviting her to join them wherever they were headed. The sky danced with picture-perfect clouds that grazed the spires of the shimmering building in front of her–the glass castle that the girl had spent countless years wishing she could roam the halls of.

Leading the crowd, in the distance, was a petite woman whose deep caramel skin glowed in the sunlight. The train of her emerald green gown swept the cobblestone behind her as she strode toward the castle. A princess–she was the princess, the girl realized. A princess, who was soon to be a queen. It was coronation day A light tap on her shoulder broke the girl from her trance. She turned to find an elderly gentleman donned in what she could only assume was royal attire, smiling at her, his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Will you be attending the princess’s coronation ceremony today, madam?” His voice was kind, exactly as she’d imagined it to be many moons ago. “I forgot about this place,” the girl mumbled to herself more than the man, a small smile on her lips. A scaled creature perched adjacent to the walkway swayed its tail, as if saying, “Welcome”. The girl laughed–truly laughed. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d heard such a sound escape her lips.

She swore she could feel the golden dust that encompassed the book caress her arm in response, like it too felt the same joy in escaping into a world that was not one’s own. “Do try to keep us in your heart, lady,” the man said. “And please, visit us again soon.” The girl found herself nodding, too stunned to form words. As the man departed to join the masses in their march toward the castle, the girl’s eyes closed to bask in the happiness that warmed her core.

When they opened, she found herself back in the messy interior of her childhood bedroom, sitting in her too-stiff chair. Even then, her beautiful smile lingered. The clock ticked once more. 3:30 am.

The girl’s smile simply grew. The golden light within the book flared in response, then dimmed into darkness.

Once upon a time, in a land as ordinary as could be, there lived a girl who realized that there was value in the ordinary and in a momentary escape. For her, that realization made all the difference.