The Escalator

She couldn't feel her body, so she knew she must be dreaming. She looked down at her feet, wiggled her toes...nothing. It was as though her feet weren't even on solid ground, and she smiled radiantly. I'm floating on a cloud...she thought...what a surreal feeling! She wasn't afraid so much as confused...how did she get here in this strangely beautiful place? She got the feeling she was not alone, but there was no one else in sight. A soft ray of light penetrated the veil ahead of her, and she no more had to think about moving toward it than she was there. The ray of light turned out to be a golden escalator rising up through the cloud. Though she felt disconnected from her physical body, her mind was focused and clear, and she knew what she had to do next. At least it's going up...she thought nervously...and stepped on.

As in all dreams, time seemed to have no meaning. One second she was putting her unfeeling feet onto the slow moving escalator, and the next she was standing before the most beautifully carved antique wooden door she'd ever seen. Again, as if a gentle unseen hand was guiding her, she opened the door and stepped over the threshold. She was in blackness for a moment...like being in an underground cavern with your eyes open, but not being able to see. Then a voice whispered...open your eyes...and what she saw took her breath away. No words could describe the absolute perfection of the garden she was standing in. Suddenly she was very aware, her senses heightened, no longer disconnected. She felt peace and joy beyond anything she had ever known. She walked the grounds taking in all that she could, and when she spied a wrought iron bench smack dab in the center of this paradise, she sat.

The feeling of being alone, but not really alone, began to take on a whole new meaning for her when she saw someone standing in the forest just off the footpath at the edge of the garden. She knew who he was even before he stepped out of the shadows and into the brilliant sunlight. His face seemed to be the brilliance, and she bowed her head and wept. She didn't hear Him approach, but she saw His sandals through her tears and felt His hand on her shoulder. It was then that she raised her head and looked into the eyes of her Savior. They sat together on that bench for what seemed to be a very long time in "dream" time...then she turned to him and asked...what am I supposed to do? He placed His loving hand on the side of her cheek and said only two words...just be. It was then she knew her time was up, she had to go. They got up, shared an embrace and a smile and she watched sadly as He walked back into the forest. She wanted so much to stay in that place forever, but something inside her knew she'd be back one day.

Time went into fast forward, and in a flash, she was back through the garden, the cavernous blackness, over the threshold, down the escalator, and falling through the cloud. With a start, she opened her eyes and was right back where she'd started...in her room, laying on her bed. She looked at the clock on the nightstand...scarcely twenty minutes had passed though she felt like she'd been gone much longer. From that day forward...she never spent another moment in fear...never wasted a moment on worry...and lived and loved with all of her heart and soul. She knew the dream was special. It remained as vivid in her mind as the day she dreamt it, for all the years of her life. One night as she drifted off into a deep sleep, she felt the serenity of knowing...and off in the distance she saw a shining ray of light...she whispered...my escalator, and smiled radiantly.