Last night, I had a strange dream. A searching dream, a deeply desired dream… yet a strange one.
I found myself in the midst of boundless pink cotton fields. Pink, like sweet candies. I even wondered in my dream whether this was cotton candy or a real, blooming plant. It felt as if this cotton were made of sugar. A sweet, addictive sugar that glowed softly under the sun’s rays. It was as if some pink spider had spent the entire day spinning its web, weaving it into this delicate cloud—tinged with soft pink hues that make you want… that make you crave.
To taste not just this cotton, but to taste life itself. To devour this life! To experience it with all your senses! Until your very tongue grows numb from overindulging in that pink cotton sugar. And yet, the moment you touched the pink cloud of cotton, it scattered into the air like a dandelion. It’s fine, delicate pink fibers drifted upward toward the sky, like a scene from an enchanted film about some distant kingdom where elves still live.
And the endless blue sky became sprinkled with tiny pink specks, sparkling like little diamonds.
The field of pink cotton stretched beyond measure, like a vast pink ocean. The horizon itself seemed to be woven from delicate rose-colored fluff, and to my eyes it was endless… as if the future itself were endless, as if there were no end at all.
You walked through the field, yet it felt as though you were flying; as though your feet never touched the earth, but instead stepped upon fine clouds that made you bounce ever so lightly. The ground was not cold and hard, not heavy and somber like in human earthly life, but light and ethereal… like the immortal human soul.
And in that very moment… I froze.
– “God, am I dead? Could this be Heaven? God, am I in Paradise?” – I asked myself.
– “You are not…” replied a strange voice from above—warm, metallic, and carrying the faintest trace of boredom.
I stood still. I looked around, knowing deep down that something wasn’t right! I was either dreaming or losing my mind.
– “Mmm… then where am I?” – I asked.
– “Exactly where you chose to be,” the voice replied. “You have determined the place of our meeting!”
Hmm… I wondered… I don’t particularly like cotton, I don’t wear much pink, and I have no idea why I am here. “And who are you?” I asked… “Are you God?”
– “Let’s just say I embody your conception of God! So, why have you summoned me here?” the voice asked.
– “I haven’t summoned you at all, O Ruler of the Pink Cotton Fields,” I replied ironically. Suddenly, everything began to shake… the irony within me vanished instantly, replaced by fear and surprise. Apparently, I shouldn’t have trifled with the voice. I’ve always had a dull sense of humor.
– “Look inside yourself and tell me: why have you summoned me here?” the voice said again.
I fell silent once more and reflected inwards, while gently touching a pink ball of cotton atop one of the plants. Then, I felt a chill—a silence. The pink ball scattered into tiny fibers, and thousands of questions and emotions surged within my soul. The lightness vanished; the ground beneath my feet turned cold and hard, heavy and somber as it is in our earthly human life. The cotton no longer shimmered… the cotton was just cotton. There was no sweetness, no enchantment. I began to cry…
“Yes… Now I know why I summoned you… I want to turn back time! I want a different life, one without so much pain and loneliness. I wish I had never been born! It’s cold here. The pink cotton is just cotton, God… just cotton…
I want to turn back time. I want a different family—one filled with love and respect, not hatred and endless arguments. A family that could have given me warmth… a beautiful life. I don’t want the childhood I had… I want a new one…
I want to turn back time. I want to go back to the love I once had—and never let us part. I want to hold him, to kiss him. I want everything to be as it once was. I want to tell him that I love him… that I never forgot him… that I miss him.
I want to turn back time! I didn’t want this education… I just didn’t know who I was, and I studied something I shouldn’t have.
I want to turn back time! I want a new experience, a new chance—this one was a total failure! I no longer feel, I no longer have hope, I no longer taste the sweetness of life!
I want to turn back time! I want to change everything! I want to turn back time…
That is why I am here… That is why I called you.”
“Are you finished with the dramatic monologue?” the voice asked with a hint of a smile, as the lightness and sweetness began to wash over my soul once again. “Life is a complex thing,” the voice continued. “It isn’t always cotton candy. Life is vibrant, filled with all the emotions, feelings, and events you came here to experience and to create. Everyone has a path and a painting they must build and transform.
Every stalk of cotton here was created by the emotions in your soul. Every single blossom in this boundless pink field pushed through the hard earth; it managed to grow and yield this exquisite pink cotton that enchants your eyes now—all thanks to you! If there had been no tears, there would have been no one to water the cotton. If there had been no pain and ruin, there would have been no one to plow the soil so the seeds could sprout. Do you know how many empty fields I have seen… Do you know? There is nothing sadder than an empty field…You should be proud of yourself!
This celestial pink field is your soul! The cotton has bloomed. It is finally time to enjoy the beauty and the sweetness of the harvest you have raised… Stop dreaming of a better past; start dreaming and building a better future. Every soul has its own path, its own field to nurture, to shape, and to bring to life.”
– “Stop dreaming of a better past?” I wondered in my dream. “But I don’t want a better past—I want a new beginning!” I didn’t quite like the answer the voice from above gave me. “And who chose the fields anyway? I’m not sure I agree with this order and this choice!” I began to argue, more assertively now…
The voice repeated:
– “Stop dreaming of a better past…” The cotton would not have grown without the tears, the failures, and the pain. It is time to gather the harvest! It is time to decide what to do with the cotton! That depends on you, on your own free will. Cotton is a symbol of purity, patience, and fertility, and these pink hues are symbols of love, tenderness, happiness, and peace… Use them, and through your wisdom, reshape the future.”
– “But is this the grand logic of the Universe?” I continued to protest…
And just as things were getting heated, I suddenly opened my eyes. I had been dreaming. The pink fields were just a dream. I sighed with relief. I paused to reflect, repeating the words of the metallic voice from my sleep:
Stop dreaming of a better past. Start creating your future…
