I awoke with a sharp pain in my back. Something was wrong. I wasn’t laying down on my bed, but sitting up in what seemed like a very uncomfortable chair. I opened my eyes. At first I thought I was still dreaming. I was sitting in an airport, right by the entrance, next to the ticket counters. But it wasn’t the Seattle-Tacoma airport, which I was so familiar with. The floor was beautiful white marble, and the ticket counters were engraved and gilded mahogany. It would have looked like a bank, except for everyone in the lines had suitcases. I stood up from my chair, which was actually more of a marble throne. I was still in my pajamas. I noticed that other people were in very odd clothing too, from a clown costume to a loincloth. What was this place?

I decided I would leave. I walked over to the doors. When I was just about to push one open, a security guard appeared out of nowhere. “I’m sorry, miss, but you can’t go this way,” he said, holding my wrist.

“Why not?” I said, surprised. I tried to shake his hand off, but it wouldn’t budge.

“You are not allowed to go this way,” he repeated.

“Which way am I supposed to go then?” I demanded.

“The only way out is through,” he said, pointing to the ticket counter.

“What? But I don’t--” I started to say. He gently pushed me away from the doors. I let him. Then, seeing he wasn’t going to help me any further, I got in line.

It took about half an hour before it was my turn. The lady behind the counter barely looked at me. “Name?” she asked.

“Um, Rosalinda Cessna,” I said nervously. “I don’t--”

“Well, it looks like we have one ticket here for Fantasyland. Is that right?” she asked, looking at me for the first time.

“What?” I asked, gaping.

“One ticket for Fantasyland. Is that correct?” she snapped, impatient.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I said.

“Oh, you must be an inexperienced traveler. You got in the wrong line, hun,” she said. She pointed to the line next to us. It looked no different from ours, except, like me, no one there had a suitcase. “I usually don’t take you guys, but it isn’t very busy today, so, I can answer your questions,” she said.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“This is the Transdimensional World Airport. This is where you go to get to different worlds.”

It took me a minute to absorb this information. “Wait…kind of like the woods to get to Narnia?” I asked.

“Yes, I’ve heard it described like that.”

“So how do people get here?” I asked.

“Well, most of the people come here when they die. From here they decide where they are going to go. For the people that believe in Heaven and Hell, they come here and it is decided which they will go to. For the people that believe in reincarnation, they are sent to another body. The people that don’t believe in any life after death are sent to the Room of Waiting. It is getting unfortunately crowded these days. There are talks of renovation. Trust me, you’re lucky you aren’t going in there,” the woman said.

“Wait, I’m not dead, right?” I said, going into a panic.

“No, of course not. I said you were going to Fantasyland, didn’t I? You don’t have to die to come here. Some people are granted a free trip, like winning a scholarship or something.”

“So what did I do to win?” I asked.

“Let’s see…” She looked on her computer. “It looks like you have read, to date, approximately one million words of fantasy, as well as eating, drinking, and breathing fantasy. Apparently that is enough to win you a free Fantasyland vacation.”

“Umm, if I go to…Fantasyland, how am I supposed to come back?”

“Oh, you’ll come back. Eventually. Usually you just have to finish a quest or something.”

I couldn’t believe it. This is what I always dreamed of. I might as well have gone to Heaven. But why, then, was I longing to go back to my bed and sleep?

“So, along with your ticket, it came with this box of things,” she said, pulling out a small chest. “When you are ready, just go through to Terminal C, Gate 6. Have a nice flight, and thank you for choosing Transdimensional airlines. Next!”