Overwhelming rays of sunlight pierced through my bare, unprotected skin. My travel-tired legs shook miserably, barely enduring my heavy, unmanageable body. Suffocatingly humid air surrounding me hindered my ability to inhale and exhale.
Literal torrents of sweat dripped down my chin, leaving traces on the green ground where I walked past. Intolerant of the devastating circumstances, I hastened to an irregularly shaped dome labelled ‘Cloud Forest’ in my ultimate optimism, unaware of the beauteous secrets it concealed.
What an oasis in a desert it was! It was my tactile senses that were the first to grasp the new environment. The tremendous, tranquillizing whoosh of the wind embraced my entire body. My wholly desiccated skin cells were brought back to life with a slight treatment of the moisture; my weary face was filled with serenity and gleefulness; and my lips, once lifeless and dull, were dyed with the ruby-red colour of blood.
The bitter yet refreshing scent of the air unequivocally depicted the presence of nature. It was the smell of the trees, the smell of the leaves, the smell of life. The ear-splitting sound of the water crashing against the ground finally distracted my manipulated mind, already preoccupied with the aromatic scent of the dome.
At last, my sight recovered from the dizziness in coping with the sudden change in atmosphere. ‘Majestic’ was the only word to illustrate the jaw-dropping scenery of the Cloud Forest. Nature was no longer confined to its cliché like connotation. It unorthodoxly harmonized with human influences: neither the jovial tourists nor the zealous conversations ever impaired the absolute unison of the scene.
Impulsively heading toward the origin of the thunderous sound, I reached the waterfall: such a colossal figure it was. Sudden ambivalence perplexed my brain. The ruthless army of water dominated the surrounding as its tremendous downpour soaked me from head to toe.
I was petrified of the waterfall, was humiliated by my helplessness as I was a mere ant in such a giant’s point of view, and was dumbfounded by the unthinkable authority of nature. Simultaneously, though, I was an infant protected by Mother Nature. As long as the waterfall stood on behalf of my identity, I did not have to suffer in the merciless desert outside the dome.
A sudden bump on my back shook me out of my groggy thoughts. It was a child, looking no older than a typical primary schooler. She uttered a quick ‘excuse me’ and ran towards her parents, who were ready to hug their daughter with affection. An inevitable wave of nostalgia swept over me for some reason. Was it a reminder of my childhood experience? Was I a girl, so innocent and optimistic, a few years ago?
“I think you dropped this.” A stranger whispered, handing me a piece of paper.
I flinched in surprise, and realising that it was no big deal, I abruptly grabbed the piece of paper and left the place, embarrassed. Though I did not turn back, it was self-evident that he was staggered with my behaviour. I let out a sigh of relief and slowly unfolded the paper that was bent once or twice. It was a map of the dome, revealing the location of each attraction. The strange thought that passed through my brain while I stared emptily at the map was that I never remembered myself holding it for this whole time. A peculiar misconception it was.
I then spent about two hours exploring the dome as the map guided me. Starting from the Secret Garden, I went up higher and higher, past the Treetop Walk, past the Cloud Walk, and eventually to the Lost World where I could see the entire outline of the dome.
Each particular area, though not even a few meters apart from one another, boasted its unique characteristics: be it scent, sound, or sight. Although I was astonished by the mood of each area, the bizarre impression of familiarity did not wear off my mind. Leaving behind this leery emotion, I walked down past the scenery that I just saw earlier.
In a blink of an eye, I found myself hesitating to exit the dome, which had been protecting me from the menacing sunlight outside. Then the unthinkable happened. Something pushed my back, and I drifted towards the outside world. Before I could even think of turning back and saying something to the person who pushed me, the warm, thick air greeted my return with a gentle hug. It was simply different from before; neither the sunlight was violently attacking my skin, nor the suffocating layers of air seized my throat.
This time, I wanted to thank whoever gave me the courage to take a step forward. However, when I turned back, the dome was nowhere to be seen. It was then that I finally realised that the dome was a mere mirage. Instead, when I turned back to the front, I saw a dome — not a mirage — a real dome. Puzzle pieces started to come together. I never went inside the dome in the first place. It was an illusion, an illusion that enabled my ability to take another step forward. I then walked towards the dome, though, this time, slowly and elegantly.
By: Seungbin Lee
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