Paradise-seeking

There exists a land with unspeakable beauty. It is almost sentient in its purity and because of this, few dare to speak of it for fear that it may not appear the next time it is searched for. It all begins with one's favorite forest, and allowing yourself to become completely lost in it.

Begin by entering your forest of choice and looking for any part of the forest you have never fully explored. Find something unfamiliar, then keep going until nothing is familiar. When you try to go back, you'll find that everything is unfamiliar now. Even if you went completely straight from the path, you will not find your way back. Instead, you will find the woods around you beginning to change. As you walk along, regardless of the time of year, you will find everything to be lush and green. Everywhere you look, flowers, moss and fungi will be growing in droves. Even the deadest of stumps will be covered in a soft blanket of green moss, a vine of flowers snaking about it and even a mushroom or two growing from it. If you look carefully, you may even see a trail of flowers growing from one area to another, being led by an indiscernible ball of bright opalescent light.

Finally, the sounds will change. You'll be able to hear running water before long. Follow that sound and you will find a stream coming up from underground, with tiny fish with rainbow scales swimming in it and water so clear you can see straight to the bottom, no matter how deep it gets as you travel. As you follow the stream, you'll find the forest come to a gradual stop, a wall of roses barring it and a secret door within that wall. All who try to avoid the door by climbing the wall tend to find themselves right at the very beginning: the entrance to their favorite forest. If you decide to look for a bit, though, you'll find the silver key which opens the door. I won't give you any hints. If you open that door, you'll find that place beyond beauty, beyond purity. A place of another world.

The area is an outcropping of a cliff with a pillar made of polished white marble. Who polishes it is anyone's guess, but on this pillar is a garden with small animals, brightly coloured insects and more flowers than you could dream of. Small, well-trimmed trees with tiny lemons catch the light like citrines. You can hear the sound of water, and if you look just beyond this garden, there is a waterfall cascading down the green, tree-covered cliff face into a pool below, the waterfall creating a rainbow in its wake. The pool is fairly large and deep, with purple waterlilies and a number of colourful pebbles at the bottom. Rumor has it that one could find gemstones in that pool, but I've never looked. A few fish swim here, some turtles and frogs as well, and on a moonlit night one could see a pair of swans, one black and one white, bathing in the light and in the water. Indeed, on nights lampposts seem to grow from the ground and light the entire place.

Finally, if your heart is pure and you truly want to see what lies beyond, you will see a door behind the waterfall. This one doesn't require a key. All you need to do is open it.