MidReal Story
Echoes of the Unseen
Scenario: A boy steps into his unconscious mind
Create my version of this story
Elliot James
the boy exploring his unconscious, alone, short dark hair, introspective and curious
Mara Linwood
a guide within Elliot's mind, related to Elliot as a guide, flowing silver hair, wise and enigmatic
Theo Grant
a memory fragment in Elliot's mind, acquaintance of Mara, youthful appearance, playful and mischievous
I step into the dream portal and find myself in a dark room.
The only light comes from a small window on the far wall.
I walk over to it and look outside.
The sun is shining, and I can see the tops of trees swaying in the breeze.
I turn around and see a door on the opposite wall.
I walk over to it and open it, revealing a long hallway.
I step inside and close the door behind me.
The hallway is dark, but I can see a faint light at the other end.
I start walking towards it, my footsteps echoing off the walls.
As I get closer, I can hear voices coming from the other side of the door at the end of the hallway.
I reach out and open it, stepping into a large room with high ceilings.
There are no windows, but there are several doors lining the walls.
In the center of the room is a large table with several chairs around it.
Sitting at one of the chairs is a girl with flowing silver hair.
“Who are you?”
I ask, looking at the girl.
“I should ask you the same,” she says, her voice soft and melodic.
“It’s not often that I have visitors in this place.”
I look around the room, taking in the strange, shifting colors.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in your mind,” she says, her eyes locking onto mine.
“You’re dreaming, aren’t you?”
“How do you know that?”
She smiles, a strange, enigmatic expression on her face.
“Because I’m a part of your mind,” she says.
“My name is Mara Linwood, and I’m here to help you.”
The girl stands up and walks over to me.
She’s tall and slender, with flowing silver hair that seems to glow in the strange light.
Her eyes are a deep, piercing violet, and they seem to see right through me.
“What do you mean you’re here to help me?”
I ask, taking a step back.
“I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Mara smiles again and puts a hand on my arm.
“It’s all right,” she says.
“I know this is confusing for you, but I’m here to guide you through your mind.
To help you make sense of things.”
She takes my hand and leads me over to the table.
“Sit down,” she says.
“I’ll explain everything.”
I nod and sit down at the table, watching as Mara takes a seat across from me.
She folds her hands in front of her and looks at me with those intense violet eyes.
“As I said before, my name is Mara Linwood,” she begins.
“I’m a guide within your mind, here to assist you on your journey.”
“My journey through my mind?”
“Yes,” she says with a nod.
“You see, what you’ve stumbled upon here is the threshold of your unconscious mind.”
“What do you mean by unconscious mind?”
I ask, feeling a shiver run down my spine.
“I mean that you are currently dreaming, but not in the way that most people dream,” Mara explains.
“When people dream, they’re usually wandering through their thoughts and memories without any real control or purpose.
But you’re different.
You’ve entered into a state of lucid dreaming, where you have the power to explore and interact with your unconscious mind as if it were a physical place.”
I sit there for a moment, trying to process everything she just told me.
“So you’re saying that I’m actually in my unconscious mind right now?”
“Yes,” she replies with a nod.
“This place is where your reality and your imagination intersect.
It is the source of everything that makes up who you are.”
“It sounds… incredible,” I say, looking around at the shifting colors.
“It is,” she says with a small smile.
“But it can also be quite dangerous if you’re not careful.”
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“I’ll explain more later,” Mara says with a wave of her hand.
“For now, I want you to relax and enjoy yourself.
I watch her for a moment, mesmerized by her presence as well as the shifting colors that seem to radiate from her.
“It’s all right, Elliot,” Mara says, her smile widening a bit.
“You can look at me all you want.I don’t mind.”
I feel my cheeks flush a little, but I can’t help it.
She’s just so… captivating in a way that I can’t quite explain.
“I can see the questions forming behind your eyes,” Mara says, tilting her head slightly to the side.
“But I’d like to finish explaining things first, if that’s all right with you.”
“Oh, yeah,” I say, quickly nodding my head.
“Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize,” Mara says, waving her hand again as if to dismiss the notion.
“Now, where was I?
Oh, yes… I’m sure you’re wondering why I look the way I do.”
“Well, yeah,” I reply with a nod.
“Most girls don’t have silver hair or violet eyes, do they?”
“No, they don’t,” Mara says with a small giggle.
“But I’m not most girls, am I?
“No, I suppose not,” I admit.
“So why do you look like this?”
“Well, your mind created this form for me as a projection of its deepest desires and fears,” she explains.
“It thought that if I looked like this, it would be easier for you to accept my presence within your subconscious.”
“You’re inside my subconscious?”
“No, not really,” Mara says, shaking her head slightly.
“But your subconscious is aware of my existence, and it has projected this form of me as a guide for you as you journey through your mind.”
I furrow my brow for a moment as I try to process what she just told me.
“But if you’re not really here, then how are you able to talk to me like this?”
I ask, watching as she shifts in her seat and crosses her legs under the table again.
“It’s… difficult to explain,” Mara admits with a small frown.
“But don’t worry about it for now.You have more important things to concern yourself with.”
“Like what?” I ask, feeling a little nervous.
“Like what dangers I may encounter in my own mind?”
Mara says, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looks at me.
“You caught on to that quickly, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah,” I reply with a small smile.
“Isn’t that one of the most important things I need to be aware of?”
“Yes, it is,” she says with a small nod.
“And I’m glad to see that you understand that.But don’t worry too much about it.
Most of what lurks within this place won’t really pose any harm to you.
But there are some things… some things that are not so kind, shall we say.
Shadows of your past, demons of your psyche…
They will not be as forgiving or merciful as I am.”
My eyes widen in shock as I listen to her words.
“So what do I do if I encounter them?”
“You must face them,” Mara says, her tone darkening slightly as she speaks.
“But be careful…
They are not to be underestimated.”
An odd sensation washed over me as I grappled with the realization that we are not truly alone in our own heads.
I had never really thought about it before, but Mara’s words were making me realize how true they were.
Our own consciousness is a foreign territory, inhabited by entities that are not us.
And this knowledge was making me feel uneasy, to say the least.
I mean, when we think about something, who is doing the thinking?
When we look inward and examine our own thoughts and feelings, whose perspective are we looking through?
It was a strange notion to consider, and one that I wasn’t sure I was ready to grapple with just yet.
But as I stood there, pondering the nature of my own subconscious mind, a warm hand reached out and rested on my shoulder, gently pulling my attention away from my thoughts.
I turned to see Mara standing behind me, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of sorrow and hope.
“You’re not alone in this, Elliot,” she says softly, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“You have me to guide you through this journey.
And while I may not be able to protect you from everything that might arise along the way, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you come out of this safely and intact.
I promise to stand by your side no matter what happens.
But remember, this is your mind.
You are the one who must confront the things that lurk within it.
I can help you along the way, but ultimately it is up to you to make your way through this labyrinth and come out on the other side.
Do you understand?”
I nodded slowly, feeling a sense of determination welling up inside me.
“Good,” Mara says with a small smile.
“Then let us begin.”As she spoke, the world around us began to fade away, and soon all that was left was the two of us standing alone in the void.
She held out her hand to me, and after a moment’s hesitation, I reached out and took it.
I took a deep breath as I stared out into the darkness before me.
I couldn’t see anything around me, and yet I could feel the presence of something lurking just beyond my vision.
I shivered slightly as Mara’s hand squeezed mine gently, offering me a comforting smile as she turned to face me.
“Are you ready for this?”
she asked softly.
I nodded slowly.
“Okay then,” she says with a small smile.
“Just remember to stay close to me.
I will guide you through this journey and keep you safe.
But remember, it is up to you to face whatever may arise along the way.
Do not let fear cloud your judgment.
Stay strong and focused.”
As she spoke, a warm light began to emanate from her body, slowly pushing back the darkness and revealing a strange landscape stretching out before us.
It was a sight that should have terrified me, but for some reason…
I felt strangely at peace.
There was something oddly comforting about her presence, even as something about the situation felt…off.
“Mara…” I began, my voice trailing off as I struggled to find the right words.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at me with those deep, violet eyes of hers.
There was a strange look on her face, almost as if she knew exactly what I was thinking, yet couldn’t quite bring herself to say it.
For a moment, she stood there silently, just watching me as if waiting for something to happen.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke.
“You’re dreaming, Elliot,” she said softly.
My heart skipped a beat at her words.
It was a simple statement, but one that carried a profound weight behind it.
It was something that should have been impossible, and yet here we were.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was the only explanation that made any sense.
After all, how could this be real?
How could Mara be standing before me now when it had only been minutes since I saw her disappear right in front of my very eyes?
How could all of this be happening right now?
Was it even possible?
The more questions I asked, the more I realized that I had no answers.
But one thing I did know for certain.
I needed to find out.
“Is this a dream?”
I asked tentatively.
Mara’s expression turned thoughtful as she considered my question.
Then, after a moment’s pause, she shook her head slowly.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted.
“But then again, it’s hard to say for sure what is a dream and what isn’t.
After all, how do you know if you’re really awake?
How do you know if all that you see and feel is real?
How can you be certain that you’re not just lost in another layer of your own mind?”
Her words sent a chill down my spine.
I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out.
The truth was that I didn’t know what to say.
And honestly, I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to answer that question.
“All that I can tell you is this,” Mara continued.
“If this is a dream, then it is unlike any dream that you have ever experienced before.
But then again, it may not be so far from the truth.
After all, dreams are nothing more than manifestations of your own thoughts and feelings.
They are reflections of who you are and what you desire.
And in that sense, they are not so different from your reality.
They are merely another layer of your own consciousness.
Another part of who you are.”
“But then shouldn’t my consciousness be able to make sense of all of this?”
I asked in confusion.
“Shouldn’t it be able to explain everything to me?”
Mara’s expression turned thoughtful as she considered my words.
“I suppose it depends on how you define ‘sense’ and ‘make sense’,” she said slowly.
“And whether or not those definitions truly matter in the grand scheme of things.
After all, isn’t it possible that there are some things in this world that are beyond our understanding?
That there are some things that we will never be able to fully comprehend?”
