At one point of my life, I became so uninterested in everything that nothing could thrill me or pique my curiosity and nothing intriguing existed. The banality of everyday stuffs; waking up each morning in the same bed, under the same roof, within the same four walls, and, most importantly, with the same amount of energy (actually no energy). Every lunch tasted no different, road to office had no alternatives, the faces and their mentalities were the same, the route to back home was the same, and every night, the same posters adorned the four walls of the same bed. No matter how many people I called each day, we almost always had the similar phone conversations with frustrations and problems everyone had in their lives. Tell me now, what existed that could excite me in life?

“And one evening, I rode my scooter out alone. I didn’t know where I was heading, and suddenly I come across a small pool and stopped by. I left my scooter parked beside the road and took a seat beneath a camphor tree to observe ducks paddling on the water as night came into play. In the west, the sun was sinking and reflected over the pool water. I didn’t want to take away my eyes from the astonishing sight and let go of the wonderful feeling that filled my heart.

Tall, graceful oak trees were swaying slightly with the easterly wind, making rhythmic movements. Perhaps the leaves were putting a little makeup with the roadside dust. Maybe that was the reason why they looked a little more beautiful? The sound those ducks were making with the water enchanted me. Additionally, the scent of the breeze was just as alluring.”

What’s happening? Was I brought to a new planet where everything was fresh and new? However, the reality was that there was nothing truly unusual that I had not observed or encountered before.

So? I was flabbergasted to realize that it was indeed my own bed and neither an alien planet nor a strange new location. The only difference was that I had just entered a brand-new fictional world. Whatever you read in “” came from a novel that I started reading a while ago. Damn. I couldn’t believe that happened. Is that the power of a book, to put it briefly?

We all share the same 24 hours a day. Despite carrying different stories, we share the same origin. We, humans, have abundance of everything, and each one of us have the ability to overcome any obstacle in this world. However, we continue to imprison ourselves to the rigid confines of our belief and mindsets despite having access to anything and everything. Imagine how tough it must be for people who are physically confined within a room’s four walls. And as you and I discovered, even when we are leaving a terrible reality, a book can truly transport us to a beautiful parallel world.