Scattered Dreams & Dragonflies

Emerald mist and mirrors

I opened my eyes to the sight of my surroundings covered in a thick fog. Shades of white engulfed me as I attempted to look around aimlessly. Beneath me, the clear wooden texture of the floor adorned my bare feet. Despite the lack of visibility around me, I took steps forward, gently grazing the smooth, yet warm floor. Without a clear idea of where I was or what I would find, my feet moved onwards, as if carried by an untrustworthy sense of security. Soon, the fog around me started to dissipate, revealing my surroundings.

I was greeted by the image of a spacious wooden deck of what seemed to be a cruise ship. To my side, now that the fog had separated, I could see in the distance, all the way to the end of the deck. The same wooden pattern adorned the entire floor, extending to the cruise ship's guardrails. The fog had left my side, but I could see its thickness obscuring any sight or visibility past the guardrails of the boat. In that moment, the vastness of the space, as well as its emptiness, felt confining to me. I could feel a sudden tightness in my chest increase as I looked around once more.

Desperately, I continued to move further away from the guardrails, deeper into the main deck of the empty cruise ship. As I moved, I found myself going down a small set of stairs. I remember my feeling at the time; I wished not to be alone. I remember the surreal feeling of loneliness. I felt present and conscious, so much so that I could feel the thickness of the fog in the air, the humidity of it, painting an eerie sensation imprinted in my mind. At the time, I truly believed I was alone and that I had no options for escape. My crippling anxiety came to a sudden halt as I was greeted by the image of a pool once I finished my descent down the stairs.

The pool was rather big, as pools usually are. It was divided into two parts: the rectangular water-filled hole was split, with a smaller section representing a Jacuzzi and the other the main swimming area. Next to the pool were two of my closest friends. One of them I had known since I was little; we studied together most of our time growing up. The other I met at university. Both eventually got married and are building a beautiful life together. This information is true and real in my world, and it was no different in the place I found myself at the time. I could remember seeing their faces clearly, so much so that I was overjoyed and relieved to see them as soon as I did. The emptiness and eeriness around them seemed to no longer affect me. However, without acknowledging my existence, both unhesitatingly jumped into the pool next to them.

After jumping into the pool, both swam to the side and, leaning into it, started to talk amongst themselves. I was at a distance that you could consider substantial, but a few feet separated me from their location—so much so that if you didn't look in my direction, you could very well miss my presence. The weather, with its constant humidity and fogginess, even if less at the time, still proved to be a nuisance. Knowing this, I didn't think much of the situation and began to approach them to say hi.

Now closer, I could see my feet as they dangled near the pool's reddish brick-like coping texture. Another step closer and I would fall inside the pool. Even in this proximity, I noticed my existence was not acknowledged by my good friends; instead, they continued to talk amongst themselves. In a situation like this, it would be a good idea to call on them—maybe that way they would finally notice my presence, as it is not common to be so invested in a person, a thing, or a conversation that you might become numb to your surroundings. It was my intent to do so, but before I could call to them, my attention was caught by the pool's appearance, specifically the water. Looking in the direction of my friends as well as the surrounding water, I noticed the lack of movement in it. There were no subtle waves, no rippling of the tension inside the currents that flowed due to their movement. Instead, it felt more like they were swimming in a mirror, as the lack of movement in the crystal-like water showed my reflection as clear and effortlessly as a clean reflection.

In contrast, I saw the other side of the pool, the area you might consider to be the Jacuzzi. I could see the steam from the water slightly spreading into the air as I walked along the brick-like coping of the pool. As I got closer, I could feel the increasing heat emanating from the water. This, however, was not the most alarming and unusual part of the Jacuzzi. I quickly noticed the water had a different color in it. The water, amidst its protruding heat, carried a rather opaque and dusky green, reminiscent of dirt and moss. Amongst its dirty coloring, I could see it teeming with life. The pressure of the constantly moving jets of the Jacuzzi catapulted small dark worm-like creatures, moving slowly at the mercy of the current, slowly being pushed up, only to reach a certain point and be pulled downward again. Aside from the constantly working current of the jets, there was what seemed like a fish, constantly spinning in the middle of the Jacuzzi. A constant vortex-like pressure, unlike anything else in the space, made it constantly spin around its axis. I could see the dark coloring of the fish, bathed in a forest green-like glow. With every spin, the shine on its scales became more and more noticeable. Whether my friends knew this was next door, I do not know. Was the fish alive? I could not tell as well. All I could tell you is that, even amidst the heat emanating from the seemingly dead-like water, I kneeled down to touch it only to find it insanely cold—cold enough that it had woken me up. And just like that, it was yet another day starting off.