1 A Wish Come True?

"I'm tired, tired of being beat, tired of competing who care so much more than I do, I want to be somewhere else. I want to be someone else. I've grown to become a misanthrope, nothing of significant detriment has ever torn me down, but after being naive enough to be used, by my friends, and some of the people I love, I started to hate humanity. At least, the humanity that exists on this earth.. God, if you exist, please let me start anew somewhere else... "

After making that heart-wrenching confession that I'm sure has you all in tears, I fell asleep. When I woke up however, my wish to God became a reality.

I woke up on a hill under a tree, a large expanse of grass and more trees went as far as the eye could see. To my right I saw a gravel pathway leading up to a large castle-looking structure. It was a beautiful city that's structures defied reason due to the time period, unless the woman I was looking at was a weirdo who decided she'd ride a wagon there, it was likely a time similar to the 15th century.

I decided I'd approach the woman on the wagon. I wasn't about to think twice, this whole experience seemed to good to be true and I wasn't about to let it all go by sitting around thinking about the day before.

"You, on the wagon! Where are you headed, what's that city called?" I yelled toward her to get her attention.

"Are you daft? The city is called Vesta." She responded hesitantly.

That was all I needed to hear, I started running toward the city. Ignoring the voice of the woman behind me I ran as fast as I could. I noticed something weird about the way I ran though. I was more athletic and coordinated. I could run a lot faster than I could just a day ago. I couldn't help but smile. It was like a dream come true.

Due to the size of the city, I had a faint feeling that magic existed in this world if that was the case, this world was everything I ever could've dreamed of.

After a few minutes of running I approached the gates to see a line of people attempting to get in. The wagons/carriages were processed on the right and the singular people were processed on the left.

I got in the line and waited, only to hear a guard say

"Identification please, if you can't identify yourself please leave."

Disappointment enveloped me, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. I decided I'd check the perimeter of the city, and I'd come to be glad that I did.

I figured that that they'd have their sewage drain out somewhere, and I was right. After a couple hours of running to check the perimeter, I found what appeared to be a drainage pipe. I entered, the overwhelming smell bringing tears to my eyes. I pulled my shirt over my nose and pushed forward. The slush under my boots made disgusting sounds as the pipe got darker and darker. Eventually I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I climbed out of the pipe to immediately see a nearby woman look directly at me. She screamed as I ran from the pipe as quickly as possible.

The size of the city was huge, being inside was incomparable to being on the outside. Seeing the walls and even running around them for hours didn't compare to the amazing sight.

"Seeing as how the city is so large, I doubt that guards will immediately show up to expel me. As long as I can change my clothes, at the very least my pants, I should be fine." I thought to myself as I walked amongst the cobbled roads.

I looked up to see clotheslines above my head I chuckled because of the odd convenience.

At least I thought it was convenient, but climbing ten feet to get a pair of pants is not fun. Oh, and coming down? That's even worse…

With my new getup, I thought about seeking a shop to make a purchase of some historical books, maps and the like but the thought that I had no money occurred.

"There's many ways to make money in a city as as large as this" I thought

"I'll make the money in no time" I thought

I thought wrong

Suddenly the sunlight flew by, and it was cold and dark. I tried hopping from in to in, but none of them would take me since I had nothing to pay them. I decided to lie in an alleyway to get some sleep. My mind couldn't help but wander though. I wondered if my being here had a purpose. I wondered if I'd get anywhere.

I dreamt of my life back home, I remembered my natural talent. The remarkably high scores that I got on my tests in college, my 4.9 GPA. I dreamt that I was competing with people who were infinitely better than me. No matter what scores I got or how hard I was trying there was always someone who was better, so what was the point in competing in a contest you could never win?