"Home" by Aria, from Aria

Samantha climbs out of bed and sits by the window that leads to a bustling street. The hectic rhythm of life outside fascinates her, but she doesn't long to become its active participant. The human world has become a place as unfamiliar as it is frightening. She thinks that perhaps she was never meant to belong here, and panic laces through her, leaving doubts in its wake.

She looks around the room, small and colorless, almost stark in its simplicity. She measures it by paces only four in width and six in length. And suddenly, she remembers the smooth walls of her other room with no windows. She could never find its invisible door, as many hours as she spent crawling on her knees and probing the flexible but tight material the name of which she'd never learned.

It could have been a cage, but she preferred to think of it as home.

Claustrophobia is an old friend, and before it has a chance to take hold and make her scream in terror, Samantha pulls a tight shield of control over her emotions and lets her surroundings blur. It's an old trick that she learned many years ago. Before too long, the walls of the room disintegrate, the metal chair beside her bed sprouts roots and turns into a tree, and the glass of water on the end table pours blue freshness into a gentle stream.

This is her secret room, her true asylum, where she knows she will always find refuge and peace, no matter what happens in the real world. In fact, she is certain at times that the garden, stretching out for an acre inside her imagination, is the only corporal reality she knows.

Here, Samantha feels protected, warm, and always safe. Here, summer never comes to an end, and flowers never shed their petals. No one can ever infringe on this territory, and no one can change it but herself.

Only once did she walk the full length of the green acre, wondering what she would find at its end. She now knows that there stands a long gray wall, a silent giant zealously guarding this safe haven. Samantha remembers stopping short, confused and certain that she'd never envisioned a wall as part of her secret garden.

One day, she promises herself. One day she will go back to find the wall and try to look over to the other side.

But for now, she is content with the way things are.

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