…at last I thought I had found the right way out of the closing mall as I emerged into the open air, and instead surprised to find a wooden staircase leading down over a hill and into a forested area. Curious, I took the stairs and was astonished to find that they led right to the edge of a body of water.
The sea, in fact.
Though it was obscured, mostly, by low-hanging branches and leaves, crouching down I could see that the water came right up to the forest’s edge, that it bordered me on two sides. And what was more, the water looked velvety soft, almost like a gel — was filled with glittering particles and lit a pale gold in the light of the setting sun. It was utterly mysterious and beautiful. I tried to take a picture with my phone when the seawater brushed against my toes.
I had taken hardly a breath when the water engulfed my ankles.
The tide was coming in, and fast.
I scrambled to get back up the stairs, and could see a few people on the stairs coming toward me startle at the rush of water following at my heels. We abandoned the stairs entirely and dashed to the right — inland. There was a commotion over there, a battle, it seemed, and —
I woke up.