Blue+World,+Mudmee

My mother was long gone. I only had hazy memories of her when I was a tiny child, but one was that she loved to read.

One day, I was strolling through the rows of bookshelves in my favorite bookstore when everything went blue. The whole world was turned into a deep royal blue in a blink of an eye, and I was submerged in it’s magic. I couldn’t see the books on the shelves or the nice owner of the shop by the counter. I couldn’t move or speak or hear anything. It was as if I was just frozen it a mist of blue. I could smell the faint hint of jasmine. I inhaled it deeply and slowly let out my breath. It calmed me down for some reason, and I found that I could move around again.

Suddenly, beside me, a tall man appeared. He had a moustache and a top hat. Before I could say anything, a small plump woman walked up to my other side. I should have been surprised, but I wasn’t. For some reason, I knew the man and woman would not harm me. We walked in silence down what was once the aisle between two bookshelves. I didn’t mind the whole strange situation, but I also wanted to get out of it. The man progressed from the slow walk, and speeded ahead stopped the two of us. He waved his hand around, and some of the blue mist cleared away, revealing a wall. I decided that this was the time to start asking questions.

“Hey, umm, excuse me? Mister…” I started.

“Smith,” he answered me.

“Hello Mister Smith, could you please tell me where we are exactly. I mean I know that we are in the bookstore but…”

“No, we aren’t,” he cut me off, “we are in the Blue World where anything can happen.”

After he said that, he gave me a mysterious smile and walked through the wall, just like that. The woman followed him. I stared at the wall in disbelief.

//This isn’t possible//, I thought. I hesitantly put my hand on the wall. It was solid. I looked around for a clue on how the Mr. Smith and the woman walked through the wall. It wasn’t possible. It defied logic. //This was all just a hallucination//. For all I knew the two mysterious people could have just been illusions, just pieces of my imagination. But somehow I knew. I knew that it was all real. Despite the fact, I couldn’t bring myself to to believe in this Blue World. I refused to let it wash over me and show me what could happen in the mist. I was resisting the pull of magic. I couldn’t leave behind the world of “reality”.

I built up a wall of resistance around me, and the mist started to thin. It was rolling away, and sights of the bookstore were returning. I concentrated harder, and the mist began to move away slightly faster. Before the last wisp of mist disappeared, the face of someone I knew but couldn’t recognize appeared. Her face was a light cheerful blue, and was so similar to mine, but aged a few years. She smiled at me and began to fade away.

I had to know who this woman was, so I gave way to the lull of magic, and found my place in the Blue World again. This time there were walls everywhere, and as I spun around in a circle, I noticed the woman’s hair flying behind her as she turned a corner, running.

“Wait!” I exclaimed.

If she heard me, she ignored me. Before I could stop myself, I began sprinting towards her. We twisted and turned, deeper into the labyrinth, she would turn a corner, and then so would I. If we kept running like this, I would never catch her. She simply was impossible to catch at this rate. Then I remembered Mr. Smith and the lady. It was probably possible to see through these walls if I tired.

I stopped running, and imagined myself looking through the walls. They became invisible, and I could see the woman on the other side. If I could believe it I could do it. I envisioned myself next to her, and I was immediately there. She stopped and turned to look at me. She had a grin from ear to ear and she embraced me in a long hug. Suddenly it hit me.

“Hi, mom.”