“Lily, I have all your contact numbers,” her office manager, Clara said to her. “You really should get home now.”

Lily was pacing her office. “I can’t believe I’m taking a leave of absence,” she said. “I’ve never done that.”

“Maybe that’s why you need to,” Clara said.

It was fine. It would be fine. Clara had been with her for years and knew all the ins and outs of the business. She could trust her to run it for a while.

“Just a few months,” Lily said. “Then I’ll be back.” She paced some more. “Should I take a look at the Gruber account sketches first? You know how finicky they are—”

“—Lily,” Clara said firmly, “I know. It really will be fine.”

“Okay,” Lily said as she stopped pacing. “Keep me posted.”

“I don’t think that’s how a sabbatical works,” Clara smiled at her in a comforting way.

“Well if emergencies come up,” Lily said nervously.

“Okay, in emergencies,” Clara agreed. “Then we’ll call you.” Clara looked at the clock on the wall. Nine p.m. “Want me to walk you out?”

“Okay,” Lily said absent-mindedly. She was carrying her purse and day planner and a few other things from her desk. They walked downstairs and out to the street.

“Look at me. I feel like I’m leaving forever,” Lily said. She had her daily desk calender of poems, her favorite mug. She looked forlorn.

“It’s still your business, Lily.” Clara gave her a hug, then let her go. “Just get some rest. Recharge. Then come back to us. Okay?”

“Okay,” Lily said again. “Temporary. Okay.” She smiled at Clara. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Clara said as she watched Lily get into her sleek maroon car. She waved as Lily shut the door and drove away.

Lily drove home very nervously. She was almost afraid to go in. Afraid to be alone. What would Sarah think if she called her and asked her to spend the night? At either of their houses. That would be ridiculous. They were grown ups. She hadn’t told anyone the reason for her leave of absence, just that she’d needed one. She’d had an appointment with a psychiatrist earlier that day. She’d called around until she’d found one who could see her today.

Ellie Carpenter. She had a good ad in the phone book, she looked friendly in her photo. She was the third therapist she’d tried to get an appointment with. She supposed she could have gotten in sooner with anyone if she had announced she was having suicidal feelings, but she was too embarrassed.

She couldn’t understand why this was happening. Her life was good. She thought. Now suddenly she was immersed in a fantasy world? And right after she’d moved into her dream home finally? It made no sense. This should be a happy time. Oh, except for the lack of a husband and babies. Could that be the stress driving her to this?

Dr. Carpenter had recommended the leave of absence. She agreed with Lily that it was probably brought on by stress. She said the dreams would probably subside once she relaxed and took stock of her life, etc. She offered her antidepressants and sleeping pills. She had declined both. She certainly didn’t need help falling asleep. It’s just what happened after she fell asleep that freaked her out. Except for the fact that it was wonderful. But if a dream world made her not want to be in the real world anymore, then it was a bad dream world.

She parked carefully in her driveway and sat in her car. Maybe she’d go in, have some hot chocolate, some popcorn, watch old movies all night long. She would have to sleep eventually, though.

Maybe she should just have a baby on her own. Maybe she should just answer a personals ad, or write one. If it was stressing her out to the point of this, maybe it was time to take action on her goals.

She got out of the car and slowly walked into the house. She set her things down on the little table and walked up the stairs. She took a deep breath and sat down on the comfy couch and turned on the TV. She started surfing the channels for a movie she liked. She would just keep herself occupied for a while, avoid the whole matter. Maybe she should have taken the sleeping pills. Maybe they would make her sleep so deeply she wouldn’t dream.

She watched TV for hours. She eventually put on her pajamas. She had the hot cocoa, the popcorn, had some dinner. She even had a little coffee around 2 a.m. Not that it helped. The last time she remembered reading the clock it had said 3:12. The next thing she knew she was opening her eyes in the world. In Alinora.

It was daytime. She was in a cabin, with honey brown wood. Polished smooth walls. She was lying on what felt like a fluffy featherbed, or something like it. Cream-colored sheets and blankets. She was fully clothed. Wearing blue today. Renaissance dress. Dark blue skirt, lighter blue bodice, pale blue sleeves and collar. Her hair was pulled back and curly. Every day here was like a wish. She wanted to look like a princess and so she did.

She got up from the bed and wandered through the cabin. It was a nice sized one. Had what looked like a modern bathroom and kitchen. More modern than Renaissance or frontier times anyway. But plain, matching the cabin. Everything was clean and bright too. The living room was part of the same big L-shaped room as the kitchen, a dining table separated the two. A door to outside opened just then, into the living room. Caleb stood in the doorway.

“You found the house,” he said, smiling at her.

She smiled back. “Yes,” she said. “Who does it belong to?”

“Us,” he said as he came in and put his arms around her.

“Us?” she asked. “Really?”

“Really,” he said, leaning down to kiss her gently.

He pulled away to look down into her eyes some more.

“But how?” she asked amazed.

“It’s this world,” he said, looking around. “It has a way of giving you just what you need when you need it.”

“That’s amazing,” she said, looking at all the simple wooden furniture with dark solid colored cushions in the living room.

He smiled down at her again, “There’s more,” he said. He kissed her quickly on the mouth, then took her by the hand and led her out the door. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt today, and brown pants. They even matched each other in this world.

They stepped outside and she was in awe. There was a beautifully manicured garden outside their cabin. With wildflowers arranged in groups that blended together just right, colors and sizes matching. Short flowers in front, with a stone path weaving between them. Taller flowering shrubs and even trees further back. It was all beautiful.

He led her through the garden on the path just wide enough for two. At the end of the winding path was a trellis with beautiful vines winding around it. They walked under the arch and were in the beautiful wild of the forest once more.

“It’s too perfect,” she said, taking his hands and looking up at him.

“You worry too much,” he said, smiling a little as he leaned down to kiss her again. He put his arms around her and held her close.

She kissed him back, and let him pick her up and carry her back down the garden path to the house, to the bed, where he laid her down and carefully removed her pretty blue dress so he could make love to her again. With the smell of flowers in the air, gentle wind in the trees, birds chirping far away. She let him take her away to ecstasy again, then she wrapped herself around him, all tangled up with him, and fell asleep with him, holding him close, in their bed. In a world that was too perfect to be real.

Then she woke up in reality. She had somehow fallen to the floor from the couch. Her right arm hurt a little. Late morning light was streaming through the living room window and news people on TV were talking loudly about the latest cholesterol medications.

“Oh, reality,” she muttered, blocking the sun from her eyes with her hand, “How thou dost suck.”

* * *