The Reflection

I woke up. My head felt heavy and I was sweating. I tried to stand up but I couldn’t. My legs had gone numb. But I wasn’t surprised. It happened all the time. I have this nightmare every now and then, but when I wake up I can’t remember what it was about. Well, I don’t over think about it, because I don’t really have the time. I live quite a busy life. I live with my dad and little sister in a village far away from the city. We moved here when my mother died. If I remember correctly, it was about five or six years ago. I still remember my mother’s face. I was ten when she died, and my sister was still a baby so she doesn’t have any recollection of her. But the weirdest thing is that my father doesn’t want to talk about my mother. He doesn’t want us to mention anything about her and most importantly, he doesn’t want us to ask any questions about her. Well, that’s probably the only thing that bothers me, but generally, I can say that I have a really good life. We used to live in the city because my mother loved the city, but I prefer living in a village. I like that I can be closer to nature, without the noise of the city. I’m really glad that we moved here.  

           I looked at the time and it was already 7:30. I was going to be late for school! I quickly went to have a shower and get dressed. I headed downstairs and saw my sister waiting for me.

“You woke up late again brother.” She said while laughing.

“Sorry Emma. It won’t happen again.” I said and then I hugged her.

Dad had already left for work before us, so we just left the house and went directly to school. To be honest, I find school really boring and I can’t say that my grades are great, but dad doesn’t really mind. Well, actually except from the fact that I don’t like school, I don’t have any hobbies because I can’t find anything that I like to do. But it’s not a big deal anyway.

           After I finished with my classes, I went to pick up my sister and then we headed home together. Dad was waiting for us to have lunch. We ate together and then, I went to my bedroom to do my homework. Next thing I remember is waking up in a room. I looked around and realized it wasn’t my room. I tried to get up but my legs had gone numb again. Suddenly, a girl came inside.

“Oh, I see you have woken up already.”

“E-exactly who are you?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I should introduce myself then. My name is Catrin. And I suppose you are Adan. ”

“Ye-yes. Where am I, and where is my family?” “How come do you know my name?”

“Don’t worry about your family. They are still sleeping. You are in another world. In your world it’s night right now, but here it’s already morning.”

“Another world?”

“Yes, welcome in Imiran.”

“Imiran? And what am I doing here?”

“Ok, so Imiran is a world just like the world you live in, but this world is dark. The plants are no longer alive here. The sun is not shining and rain is not falling. People are always in pain and they never smile.”

“Why is that?”

“Nature has left us. We were selfish and careless, so Mother Nature punished us. We didn’t appreciate the goods of nature, and we didn’t take care of the plants and the animals that lived here. Now we can’t grow any plants here. We can’t look at the sun anymore. We don’t hear the rain falling while hitting the ground. But we cannot convince Mother Nature to forgive us, so once a year, a person from your world comes here and asks forgiveness from her.”

“But why? I don’t think I understand.”

“In order to live normally again, a person, with a pure heart, from your world must come every year and ask for forgiveness. That rule was made by Mother Nature. She said that if a person other than us cares about us and our world, things can change. If only a person actually cares, there is hope for us to change. Your mother was actually that kind of person. She used to come here to ask for forgiveness but when she died, nobody came here to save us. That is why we are like that. And you are our only hope. You are like her.”

“My mother?”

“Yes. Your mother was a good person and really cared for us, so she came here once a year to ask for forgiveness from Mother Nature. That’s why we respected nature ever since then, but that still couldn’t change the fact that we once didn’t care about nature.”

“So, that is why I am here?”

“Yes. We need you to save our world and make it beautiful once again.”

“Ok, I will help you.”

The girl didn’t say anything and took me outside. Then she showed me a path.

“Follow the path and it will lead you to Mother Nature.” She said.

I followed the path and about an hour later I saw a big rock. A woman was sitting on top of the rock and was singing a beautiful song.

“Excuse me.” I said.

She turned around, and I saw a beautiful woman with blue eyes and long black hair looking at me.

“Hello. Can I help you?”

“Yes. I would like to apologize on behalf of the people that live in this world.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I know that these people were wrong and did not respect nature. They should take care of it and protect it, but they were selfish. I think they’ve learned their lesson though, so I am asking you to forgive them. And I can guarantee that they will take care of nature and live peacefully.”

“I see. If you can guarantee that, then there is no reason not to trust you. I will accept your apology.”

“Thank you so much.” I said and started walking again to go back.

“But you know-“she said.

I stopped walking and turned around.

“You really look like your mother. She was a nice person like you too. She cared for other people and for nature. She understood the meaning of this world, and I think you will understand too. Spread the message! Respect your home!”

I didn’t say anything. I smiled at her, turned around and started walking again.

           Suddenly I woke up again, but this time I was in my room. Was it a dream? I don’t think so. This time I remembered. It wasn’t a nightmare and my head didn’t feel heavy. My legs hadn’t gone numb and I wasn’t sweating. It was real after all. But then I thought:

Now I think I understand. It didn’t matter who would apologize. Actually the whole thing with the apology wasn’t what Mother Nature cared about the most. What she wanted was a person. She tried to show to people that even if they don’t cherish what they have, there will be consequences. And she tried to show that one person is enough. That if one person cares to save the nature and the people, then something can change. All it takes is one person to care.

 Then I got up and had a shower. When I went outside I saw my sister waiting for me.

“Are you ok brother? You look upset.”

“I am fine. Let’s go, otherwise we are going to be late for school.”

But then I thought. Emma had the right to know what a nice person our mother was.

“Hey Emma, do you want to hear a tale about mum?”

“About mum? Really?”

“Yes. I’ll tell you about mum. She was a really good person, exactly like you. And she had many friends that loved her…”