It was the night before our wedding day. I was just out of bed when I heard a knock on my door. I opened it and there he stood, in his black suit. His face looked as if it had been carved from stone, and he didn't say a word to me or smile at all. He just said, "Come with me."
So I followed him down the stairs, through the hall, out the front door, and into the street. The moon was full that night and shone brightly as day. There were people everywhere, but they all seemed so far away. We walked for hours, past houses and stores until we came to a field where he stopped.
He took off his coat and put it around me, then led me to the edge of the wood.
"Look," he said.
I turned around, and there was nothing behind us. Just the fields and trees, and the road that ran by. But when I looked back, there he stood again, in his black suit, and his face like stone.
He reached out and touched my cheek. Then he said, "Don't be afraid. This is only an illusion."
He showed me a stairway made of stone, leading up to another world. He said that this was how I'd come to find him, and then he kissed me on the mouth.
It wasn't real, you see. Not really. It was only an illusion. When I woke up, he wasn't there. But the next morning, I saw him waiting for me, on the steps of the church, wearing his Sunday best. I told myself that it was just a dream, but I knew that it could come to pass.
I wore my white dress, and he held the ring. Our eyes met, and then he smiled at me. He led me down the aisle of the church, and we stood before the priest and the guests.
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The minister asked if I loved him, and I said yes, I did. They laughed and said that was good enough because I would always love him.
Afterward, I looked at him, my handsome groom, and I thought:
I am going to spend the rest of my life with him. I have nothing to worry about. I might have dreamt of something but it's not real. It must have been something I ate the previous night. That's why I had that funny dream. The most important is that I am here. And I am about to be bonded in holy matrimony to my handsome groom.
He was tall and strong. His hair was dark and wavy, and his eyes were gray. He was a doctor who worked at the hospital. He was kind and smart. He was gentle and patient, too. He never raised his voice to me. He was quiet and calm. He didn't tell me what to do. He just listened. He treated me like a queen. He respected me. He was gentle and kind. He was smart and thoughtful. He was always there for me. I felt safe and protected. I felt happy and secure.
That's why I accepted to be his bride and soon the mother of his children. But that dream disturbed me still. Where does the stairway lead? What is the second world that he spoke of? Is it somewhere inside of me? Or is it something outside of me, beyond this world?
I couldn't stop thinking about it. I kept seeing the staircase in my mind, Walking up and up, until I reach the top.
After our wedding, he had a surprise waiting for me. It turned out the staircase wasn't an illusion. I didn't know where I was going, or what I'll find when I get there. All I knew is that he gently led me up the stairway until we reached the top.
There was a room there, and he opened the door. I stepped inside, and there a beautiful lady stood, standing by a window, looking out. She turned around, and I could see the smile on her face.
She looked so familiar. I knew I had seen her somewhere before. I asked him, "Who is she?" He smiled and said, "She is my mother." I felt relieved, and he said, "You don't need to be afraid. She will always love you."
I wanted to go home, but he took me to the bedside. He lay me down on the mattress, and he covered me with the blankets. He said yet again, "This is only an illusion."
He kissed me, and then he left. I stayed in that room, lying in the bed, watching the sunrise from the horizon. I waited for him to return, but he never came back. I went to the window, and I looked outside. I saw him standing there, dressed in black. He was smiling at me, and he waved at me. Then he turned and walked away.
I didn't know why all of this was happening, but a few hours later I discovered I had been married to the prince of the Marine world. I ended up living in his palace until he became king. We had two children together, a son and a daughter. They both look like their father, both have his dark hair and eyes. My son is the heir to the throne, while my daughter is the princess.
We live in a kingdom far away from home, far from the sea, where no one knows of our whereabouts. I have lived there for many years now, and I have learned to cope with the loneliness. I am still a stranger in a foreign land, but I've come to accept it.
