You will stay

“There’s no way, is there?! I…I’m not actually here, am I?”

After this shock set in I fell to my knees. Yes, I did want to leave all the stress behind me - but not like this! Panic took over my mind. “What should I do? This still has to be a dream right?” I tried to remember what happened last night. “Can you even fall asleep in a dream? There was this movie once where they explored layers of dreams” I shake my head. “No, no, that is just a movie. Can I somehow figure out what is happening here?” I look around frantically, trying to find anything that looks familiar, but to no avail. Granted the whole meadow looked familiar, but that was only due to seeing it in my dream.

“Right, calm down…think…” I tried to calm my mind to get a more objective perspective to what happened to me. “It doesn’t help to panic. First, let me make sure that everything is okay with myself.” In contrast to the first time I patted myself down to see if I was actually in this place, this time I checked for any injuries or obvious changes. To my surprise, there was nothing unusual. Actually there being nothing wrong with me turned out to be something wrong in itself. I was still wearing everything I had on while sitting at my computer.

A black T-Shirt, blue jeans, grey socks. I checked and even my underwear was still there. They all seemed no worse for wear. “Okay, so far so good… Well not really, but as good as it could get in this situation.” I take off my socks and put them in my pocket. It sucks to be transported to a different place, but it would suck more to be transported to a different place and have to wear wet socks. After that I make my way down to the running water, hoping to get a glimpse of my face.

The water is extremely clear, almost seeming unnatural. As such it is hard to get a good reflection. Thankfully some clouds offer a background to see my face. “Same old, huh?” It seems as if at least most of my larger features stayed intact. Most detail gets lost in the ripples across the stream’s surface. I cannot stop myself from running my fingers across my cheek and watching the reflection “So it’s really me… here… in this place.” I slowly raise my head and try to take in my surroundings for the first time.

The forest clearing looks like it is nestled into a mountain valley formed by the gurgling river. Around me are trees, making it hard to see beyond them to ascertain if there are more mountains flanking the river. The ones I can see and where its source probably lies are quite high, topped with snow and glaciers, their meltwater flowing at my feet. If I were to go anywhere, it would need to be away from the mountains.

The forest looks like primarily deciduous trees, with a few evergreens sprinkled in. However the trees are nothing like those at home, which makes finding my location by the type of vegetation impossible. The grass at my feet glows with a saturated green, the conditions here seemingly perfect for this type of grass. But still, there are no features which could help me find out where I currently am.

The temperature feels nice, considering the mountainous terrain, it must either be summer here, or I am in a warm climate. However I don’t know how cold it will get at night. Thankfully right now the weather seems stable, only a few fluffy clouds visible in the sky.

I sit down on the riverbank, letting my feet dangle over the water. The occasional splash hits them, the water being cool but refreshing. I begin to think to myself “If there is anyone out here, they’ll probably be further downstream. But that means braving the forest, with what knows which kind of animals living there. I think my best bet right now is staying here, getting my bearings.” I stand up, my hand at my chin, still pondering “But there’s also no telling what will come here at night…” I raise both of my hands to my head and ruffle my hair. “DAMN IT” I yell out, both frustrated at my situation and myself, for being so indecisive.

“I guess this is life coming back at me for not finding that job, huh.” Feeling as if there are higher powers at work, cackling to themselves for forcing me to finally make a decision on my own. But I was not going to give in to those higher powers yet. “Screw you”, I murmur under my breath, as I scan the riverbed for a flat stone. Having found one that fit my needs, I picked it up. “You see this?”, I look up to the sky, trying to taunt whatever entity sent me here, “this will make my decisions for me! That’s right, I’ll still go with the flow, even if it is determined by chance!”

With that I throw the stone in the air, using it like a coin toss. I watch with bated breath, the noises seemingly becoming quieter around me. While the outcome is left to chance, this is the first time I made, no had to make such a big choice on my own. The stone came down unceremoniously and hit the grass with a muted thud.

It was decided by chance: You will stay here.