Heavenly Flower

“What if you slept? And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed? And what if, in your dreams, you went to heaven and plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?” These very words once uttered by the great British poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge reverberated loudly throughout Nick’s head. It was earlier in the day during one of his English 101 classes that the class read the famous poem by Coleridge entitled Kubla Khan. In the text book, on the page before the poem, was written this seemingly ridiculous quote. Most of the class brushed it off as another byproduct of one of Coleridge’s’ opium-induced dreams. Nick did not quite agree. “Coleridge wasn’t so crazy in thinking that it might be possible to bring an object with us back from the dream world,” said Nick during the class discussion. The classroom fell silent, everyone with an expression of utter disbelief, as if they had just heard the craziest thing ever. Even the professor shot a glance at Nick that spoke in large volumes what he thought of this idea. “Great”, thought Nick, “now the entire class thinks I’m one of those whackos from the loony bin.”
         It was now late at night. Nick had just finished up reading the homework assignment for English class. While flipping through the pages, he stumbled upon that same Coleridge quote about dreams. Reading over it again, he allowed his mind to fully take it in. “What if I was able to bring that flower back into reality with me?” Nick thought. “I could prove my professor and all my classmates wrong. Then they would be the ones who are the fools.” Nick finally closed the book and climbed into his bed since all this reading and thinking made him exhausted.
         When Nick awoke, he didn’t know what time it was. The clock by his bedside was flashing the red, digital numbers 12:00, the result likely due to a power outage. He remembered that quote he read last night, about the heavenly flower from one’s dreams. Nick quickly looked at his hand, as if he would find a flower he brought back with him from his dreams inside it. “What the fuck!!!” shouted Nick in amazement. His hand looked all distorted and fuzzy like, with fingers varying in different lengths. Startled, he jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed by throwing on a t-shirt and an old pair of jeans. Nick proceeded to open his bedroom door, but when he went to turn the handle, his hand went right through the door. Now truly frightened, he pulled his hand out and collected his thoughts. “What’s happening to me? Why is my hand able to go through a door?” It suddenly dawned on him, he was dreaming. A wave of excitement swept over him, like a kid on Christmas morning. Since this was a dream, Nick realized he could do anything. He again put his hand through the door, which felt not like a hard, wooden surface but instead soft as a sponge. Suddenly a thought popped into Nick’s mind. “Since I’m in a dream, I can find that flower!” He quickly ran outside his house to begin his search for the flower from heaven.
         The outside world did not at all resemble what it looked like in real life. Where houses and trees should have been, there instead was a vast open field that seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see. Patches of many different, brilliantly colored hues of green grass lay along the entire landscape. And in the distance, Nick could faintly make out what looked like a mountain that seemed to stretch up towards the heavens. “How am I possibly gonna be able to reach the top? It will take me forever just to walk to get to that mountain. And even if I do somehow make it to the top, how do I know that the flower is even up there?” As if someone had read his thoughts, a voice spoke to him. “The flower which you seek is indeed at the top of that mountain.” Nick turned around to see where the voice came from. There, standing in front of him, was the most beautiful girl he ever saw. She had long, flowing black hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Her eyes were a brownish hue, like two small crystal clear brown marbles. She smiled a little, revealing her perfect white teeth. Her body was shaped like an hour glass, making her look great in the simple black dress that she wore. “Who are you? And where did you come from,” asked Nick in total puzzlement.
         “I am your spirit guide. Nick, I am here to help guide you on your path to the flower,” said the girl.
         “How, how do you know my name,” stammered Nick.
         “I know everything about you. After all, you were the one who created me. Just like you created this field we are standing in, and that mountain up ahead. Everything in this dream is a creation of your mind.”
         ‘But I have never seen you, or anything else in this dream before.”
         “None of that matters. You’re on a journey now, and I am here to help you acquire that flower.” You were right; you won’t be able to reach the top of the mountain by foot. Your only hope is to fly.”
         “Fly? Are you serious? How the hell am I supposed to fly?”
         “You know how.” These were the last words she left Nick with before vanishing before his very eyes.
He could not believe it, his so called spirit guide’s only piece of advice was to fly. “Yea, right,” he thought to himself. “All I gotta do is fly up that huge mountain, and then I’ll get that flower.” Nick jumped up, as if to show the girl that flying was not possible. “See,” he said out loud. “I can’t fly. So much for your great advice.” Nick looked down, and to his amazement, saw that his feet weren’t touching the ground! He couldn’t believe it, he was actually flying. He began to rise higher, feeling the cool breeze of the air against his body. It was one of the greatest feelings Nick ever experienced. He began to fly towards the mountain, which seemed to go on and on forever. When Nick finally reached the top, he gazed upon the flower in awe. A brilliant golden light shined down, engulfing the entire summit of the mountain. There, alone in the middle of the summit, stood the flower. It was white, like the pearls found on a necklace. Its petals were arranged in a perfect fashion, each of equal length and size. A majestic emerald green colored stem protruded from the flower, connecting it to the ground. Nick knelt down beside the flower, gently touching it. It looked so perfect flowing in the wind that he did not want to take it. However, Nick did not come this far to leave empty handed. So, he plucked the flower out of the ground. Holding this flower in his hand, he felt relieved that his journey was finally over.
The alarm clock went off as it usually does every morning at 8. Nick slowly opened his eyes, wishing he could sleep just a little bit longer. He started to fully wake up when he remembered the dream he had last night. “Did I bring the flower back with me,” he thought. That familiar feeling of the flower was present in his hand, the same hand he used to hold the flower in his dream. Slowly bringing his hand out from under the covers, Nick looked to see what was in his hand. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Disappointed, he got out of bed and got dressed. He couldn’t help but think to himself, “what if you slept? And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed? And what if, in your dreams, you went to heaven and plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?”