Dreams of Perfection

Awakening to Reality

Claire opened her eyes. For a moment, everything was quiet. The soft whisper of the outside world filtered through the window, and the familiar smell of her bedroom surrounded her. She blinked slowly, the sleepiness still lingering. But as her mind began to clear, the reality hit her hard.

The dream world was gone. Her father—alive and laughing—was gone. That perfect, comforting place where everything made sense, where her family was whole, had gone.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but Claire wiped them away quickly. She had known this moment would come. She knew, deep down, she knew that the dream wouldn't last forever. But knowing didn't make the pain any less painful. 

Sitting up in bed, Claire looked around her room. It was cluttered, with books and clothes scattered on the floor, half-finished projects left forgotten. The real world. It was messy, chaotic, and far from perfect. But it was real. And she was finally awake.

For a long time, she sat there in silence, letting the truth settle in. Her father was gone. Not just in the dream, but in real life too. He had been gone for a while now, and Claire had been hiding from that pain, retreating into a dream world where she could pretend.

But the dream world wasn't real. As much as she had wanted it to be, it wasn't. And staying there would only trap her in a place that didn't exist.

With a deep breath, Claire swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Her body felt heavy. But she moved forward anyway, taking slow steps toward the window. She pushed the curtains aside, letting the sunlight flood the room.

Outside, life was going on as usual. Cars passed by, people walked their dogs, and the world kept turning. It felt strange. It is like she had been stuck, clinging to a dream, while everything else continued to change.

But now she was awake. And even though the pain of her father's absence was still there, Claire felt something else stirring inside her—a sense of clarity. The world outside wasn't perfect. Her life wasn't perfect. But that was okay. 

She thought about her family, the people still here with her in the real world. Her mother, who had been doing her best to hold everything together after her father's death. Her older brother, who is busy with his own little family. Her older sister is also still trying to recover. They were still here. They were still real. And they needed her as much as she needed them.

Claire wiped away the last of her tears, taking another deep breath. She wasn't ready to face everything just yet. The grief, the pain—it was all still too painful. But she knew she had to start somewhere. She couldn't keep pretending that everything was fine. 
Taking out her cell phone from the table beside her bed, Claire scrolled through her contacts, looking for her mother's number. 

She tapped on her mother's name and pressed the call button. The phone rang for a few moments before her mother's voice picked up on the other end.

"Hello, Claire?" her mother answered, her voice light and familiar.

"Hi, Ma. Where are you right now?" Claire asked, her voice a little shaky, though she tried to keep it steady.

"I'm at the market. Why? Is something wrong?" her mother replied, a hint of concern creeping into her tone.

Claire paused, unsure of why she had called in the first place. "No, nothing's wrong. I just... wanted to know where you were."

Her mother let out a soft laugh. "That's all? You sounded a little off, Claire. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Claire said quickly, though the lump in her throat hadn't disappeared. "I just woke up, that's all."

"Ah, that explains it. You still sound half-asleep!" her mother teased. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

"No, not yet. I just woke up," Claire admitted, glancing around her room, which was still a mess from the day before.

"Well, that's no good!" her mother said with a chuckle. "You should eat something soon. "Go grab some breakfast nearby."

Claire smiled at the thought of her mother fussing over her. It brought her a little comfort.

"Oke, Mam. After this, I'm going out to get some food," Claire said softly.

"Good girl," her mother replied warmly. "Alright then, I'm heading to the market now."

"Oke. Drive safe, Mam."

As the call ended, Claire stared at her phone for a moment. But at least she had spoken to her mother, and that small connection to the real world gave her a sense of security. Slowly, she got out of bed, heading to the bathroom, before heading out to grab some breakfast.

                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, as she lay in bed, Claire felt a small sense of peace. It wasn't the perfect happiness like she had experienced in the dream world, but it was real. The grief, the loss, the love—it was all real.

And maybe, just maybe, that was enough.

As she drifted off to sleep, Claire knew that the road ahead would be difficult. There would be days where the pain felt unbearable, where the loss of her father weighed too heavily on her heart. But there would also be days filled with joy, with laughter, with moments of healing.

Because life, with all its imperfections, was worth living. And Claire was trying to be ready to live it.

                                                                END