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I dreamed.

I do not know how long I dreamed, or what came before.
The dream was my world and I was content within it.

And as I dreamed, a voice spoke to me and said:

Once I dreamed I was a butterfly.
I knew I was a butterfly and did not know I was a person.
Suddenly I awoke, and there I was, visibly a woman.
I do not know whether I was then a woman dreaming I was a butterfly,
Or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming that I am a woman.

I turned to ask the woman what she meant by this,
But saw only my own reflection in a moonlit pool.

As I gazed upon the image, I was struck by how this was me and yet not me.
While my hands were old and wizened, hers were young and smooth.
While my skin was dark and rough, hers was fair and soft.
Yet in her eyes I saw myself, or rather who I would be had I been born another.

Curious, I reached down to touch the shimmering surface.
It was then that I realized I was looking up through the pool,
As she gazed down upon me from the world above.

Once again she spoke:

You are that which I would be but cannot.
You follow a path I dare not follow.
You live a life that I shall not lead, for I have chosen another.
You are one facet of my soul, among many.
Each with their own purpose, will, and spirit.
It is said that life is not a problem to be solved,
But a reality to be experienced.
This is truer for you than you know or can imagine.

With this, a cloud passed over the moon and the dream began to fade into darkness.

I am awakening.

-- inspired by Chuang Tzu