I am dreaming. There is a woman. She is short and middle-aged, with slightly unkempt, dark, curly hair trailing down her back. The expression on her face looks tired and weary; she is lonely and unhappy. She sits on the edge of a couch in a tiny, somewhat untidy room. She sighs. She makes no other noise, but small tears stream down the sides of her face, flowing overtop barely dried tear tracks, presumably from moments before. She stays sitting for a moment longer, and then busies herself by making tea. She closes her eyes and sips the tea, and I realize that this woman is me. As soon as this realization strikes me, I am no longer watching from afar, but through the woman’s, through my, own eyes. The scene changes. All I can see is an unframed photo of a very attractive couple. The male is tall and handsome with dark hair and a long nose. His wife is beautiful; she has long blonde waves that nearly reach her waist, and pretty blue eyes. They both have bright, white, perfect smiles. The woman who is me sobs quietly to herself. The promise of what her life was going to be had been shattered; she feels the pain and frustration of her most important dream falling to pieces. There had never been another moment in her life that seemed as unfair as this did. The scene changes. The woman is alone and it is dark. The stars are bright, and she is standing at the edge of a lake. She screams in frustration and sobs into the night sky, as if she’s asking it to release her. After a short while, she falls on her knees, still sobbing and screaming, the screaming becoming shriller as she loses control. After what could have been hours, she collapses on the soft grass, spent. The scene changes. She is writing a letter to her father and sister. She struggles constantly, unable to put her feelings into words. She eventually gives up, as she does with everything, and finishes it without being satisfied. She doesn’t cry this time. The scene changes. I am no longer looking through my own, older eyes; I again watch from afar. The soft grass is green, and there are a few clouds in the sky, some of which are partially covering the sun. All of the faces wear the same expression, which is to say, no expression. They are neither sad nor happy. There are only a few people present: the handsome man from the photo, my elderly father, my still naïve sister, a very freckled Michelle, a bearded Omar, and a very intelligent-looking Garrett. As I look closer, I find very faint emotions on each of their faces, as if there were only a hint of feeling. Ena looks slightly confused. Omar looks slightly disbelieving. Michelle looks slightly annoyed. The handsome man is barely frowning. Garrett looks unsurprised. My father is the only one with tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. The scene changes; there is nothing. I wake up.