Seeking Love In A Dream
657 Words
"Have you ever wondered about a person's smile? Have you ever imagined how they laugh? I believe that one day, we will smile together."
She added the final sentence and closed another page. Taking her empty coffee cup, she walked to the kitchen. She gathered the dishes. Today was just the same as yesterday for her. Loneliness no longer felt strange.
She got ready, put on her shoes, and stepped outside. With every step, she encountered people laughing or joking with each other. To live life with such love, to be happy, or to always want more... To her, everything was always the same. The only thing that ever felt different was human smiles. The more she looked at people's faces, the more she lost her sense of reality.
She wandered for a while longer. When she felt she had gotten enough fresh air, she returned home and lay down in bed. Lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, she thought. Who was the person whose smile she truly wanted to see? She found every person intriguing, yet she didn't know who was the one whose smile genuinely made her happy.
Was it her mother? No, she had no mother.
Her father? No, her father was a monster.
A friend? No, she had no need for someone wandering around in a black cat mask.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
By 3:00 AM, her eyes were still wide open. Her thoughts had become an endless loop. She raised her hands and watched them. She could feel the flow of blood traveling from her fingertips down to her arms. She had no idea how long she stayed like that. The last thing she remembered was lowering her arms slowly as sleep finally took her.
She suddenly found herself in the middle of a desert. The scorching heat burned against her skin. She couldn't understand what was happening. She began walking through the desert. The heat and exhaustion had dried her lips. She felt as though all the energy had been drained from her body. Just as she was about to collapse to the ground, she saw a rabbit. The animal sat still, as if it had been waiting for her. She felt a spark of happiness at finding something alive.
As soon as she approached, the rabbit started moving forward. Without question, she followed. She felt as if something was pulling her toward it.
After a while, she stopped to rest. When she stopped, so did the rabbit. It turned back and looked at her. Once she was ready, the rabbit continued moving, making sure she was still following. This strange chase lasted for about half an hour.
When they reached the end of the path, she couldn't believe her eyes. The desert suddenly stopped in a perfectly straight line, and beyond it stretched endless greenery. Tall pine trees stood everywhere. She couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. The rabbit disappeared into a hole among the tree roots. The magical atmosphere of the forest completely enveloped her. She couldn’t stop smiling.
As she wandered, she discovered a lake. Climbing up a hill, she jumped into the water.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes. She felt as if she had just woken from the most peaceful sleep of her life. Stretching as the morning sun shone through the window, she walked to the sink to wash her face.
When she looked into the mirror, she saw something she had never noticed before. And in that moment, she understood.
She couldn't remember ever smiling so genuinely.
She finally faced the truth she had never realized. The person whose smile she had longed to see was herself.
She should have understood it earlier—if a person smiles, the whole world becomes more beautiful.
At that moment, she made a decision. She didn't need to see someone else's smile.
All she needed was to be happy and smile for herself.
- Writer
