Her parents were out of town on a business trip. Ayla wasn't sure what they were doing. Her parents were the mysterious type.
Ayla sighed as she flipped through the channels on her TV. There was nothing on.
"Figures. There's at least 150 channels, and nothing decent on. Just my luck!" Ayla turned the TV off and went to her room.
As she lay down on her bed, listening to a Celtic CD, Ayla began to drift off. She glanced at the clock and saw it was 6:45. Soon she was fast asleep.
Ayla opened her eyes. The most beautiful place she had ever seen lay in front of her.
Clean, sapphire blue water stretched almost as far as the eye could see. In the distance, there was a small island. Ayla caught a glimpse of five gray dolphins leaping out of the water in sync. It looked like it was planned and choreographed. She lay on soft, unpolluted sand. Pink seashells were scattered over the beach. Behind her was a forest of towering trees with rich, green grass surrounding the trunks of the trees. Around the edge of the forest were flowers that Ayla had never seen before. They were heart-shaped, and pink. The sky was a mixture of purple, blue, pink, red, orange, and yellow. It all blended to make a purple-reddish color. The sky was cloudless.
Ayla brushed her curly reddish-brown hair out of her big green eyes. She unfolded her long legs and stood up.
"Whoa... How did I get here?" Ayla wondered out loud.
"You are on the planet Manuhine. This is a dream, in a sense. We brought you here after you fell asleep. You probably had a dream about a bright light. That was just us connecting with you. Do you have any questions?" The voice was incredibly loud.
Ayla hesitated. Please tell me I'm hearing things, please tell me I'm hearing things... "Umm... well... Yes. What on earth am I doing on the planet... what'd you say it's name was again?"
"Manuhine. You've been here before." Ayla tried to figure out where the voice was coming from.
Ayla laughed nervously. "Are you sure you've got the right person?"
"Very certain."
"Ok, well then... can you tell me why I've been here before? And when?" Ayla stared down the beach at some butterflies.
"Do you remember when you were in the second grade? You wrote a letter to Santa Claus asking him to take you to another planet. You were obsessed with aliens, and other life in the universe. We brought you here in a dream. You don't remember now, obviously, but you remembered it the morning after. When you woke up you told everybody about how you had gone to another world. No one believed you, so you gave up hope. If I'm correct, you haven't been interested in other worlds since then." The voice sounded like it was smiling.
"Man, you're good! I do remember vaguely about that dream. It was so vivid. But it looked different." Ayla was amazed that she actually was on another planet... if this wasn't a dream. After all, the voice said she had been taken in a dream. Maybe this was all just a weird coincidence. Maybe it was her subconscious remembering the dream from her childhood for some reason. Whatever the reason, Ayla didn't care. It was beautiful here.
"Do you have any further questions?"
"Yeah, what's your name?" Ayla asked.
"In English, my name is Clio. There are nine rulers here. We are actually the Greek muses. I am the muse of history. My sisters' names are Calliope, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania." Clio's voice was still incredibly loud.
"Oh. So since your name is Clio, you're a female, right?" Ayla guessed.
"Yes, I am. Would you mind if I showed myself to you? It's rather annoying talking to you while I'm invisible." Clio sounded slightly frustrated.
"Sure, go ahead." Ayla nodded.
Clio was silent again. After a minute or two, the air to the right of Ayla started to look like there was gasoline in the air, because the air began getting waves in it. A figure slowly formed. A woman about five and a half feet tall, maybe more, stood where the wavy air had been. She had pale white skin, light blue eyes, and silver hair. She wore an outfit similar to what a gypsy would wear. She had baggy silk pants that were light blue with a sequined waist and a brassiere with sequins on it to match. She was barefoot.
"Hello. I am Clio." Clio kissed Ayla's cheeks in welcome.
"Hi. I'm Ayla. ...But I guess you knew that." Ayla blushed a little.
"Yes, my child. So, how do you like it here?" Clio gestured around her. "We have made it very beautiful since your last visit, have we not?"
"Yes, you certainly have. But why exactly am I here?" Ayla asked apologetically.
"Oh dear! I nearly forgot. It's quite simple, really. When we brought you here when you were a child, we told you of a... what's the word you use? Oh, yes. A ball of sorts. It is celebrating an old annual contest from ancient Greece. It was held at Thespiae back then. People gathered in a contest of singing and playing. It is held every four years. This is the year of the festival. Four years ago, we called on you to attend, but you were full of disbelief. We were unable to bring you here. You had been here four years before that, but you had just missed the festival. You were very upset, so we promised to bring you back. Here you are!" Clio smiled.
"Wow. But... what do I wear? When is it?" Ayla asked nervously.
"We have a dress for you. It's similar to a prom dress, with a few alterations. You'll like it. If you don't, we can make a new one. Come with me, child." Clio took Ayla's hand and suddenly they were in a large room. There were a few other women around. Scattered around the room on racks were several stunning dresses. Clio led Ayla to a dress rack on the far right wall. On it was a lavender dress. It was ankle length, and form fitting. The dress had spaghetti straps made of fabric that was cut to look like flowers. The trim had small roses around it. Thin strings criss-crossed the back.
Ayla gasped. "This is spectacular!"
"Try it on!" Clio insisted, laughing.
Ayla tried it on, and it fit like a dream.
"You plan on wearing this to the festival, my child?" Clio asked.
"Yes! It's stunning." Ayla stared at herself in the mirror.
"Very well."
Later that night, Clio took Ayla to the ball. It was in an enormous room. There were chandeliers on the ceiling, magnificent paintings on the walls, and a grand staircase. The women and men were dressed elegantly.
This is what I've always wanted! It's like a dream. Ayla was in a state of pure bliss. She danced with many handsome men, and had the best champagne she had ever tasted in her life. Ayla didn't ever want to leave. There was singing and dancing and acting, all in honor of the muses.
Clio came over to Ayla during one of the performances. "Why don't you perform? I know you have an exquisite voice."
"I couldn't!" Ayla protested.
"You can. Here's your chance." Clio nudged Ayla up on stage. She stood in front of all the people, her heart pounding.
Suddenly, the words came to her. She began singing an old tale of Odysseus, when he was stranded at Calypso's island. When she finished, the room was silent. Suddenly everyone began clapping. Clio and her sister Euterpe, the muse of music, rushed on stage to hug Ayla.
"You did marvelously!" Euterpe exclaimed.
"Thank you." Ayla blushed.
"I think it's clear who the winner is." Clio smiled and gestured towards Ayla.
Everyone began clapping again.
"Thank you so much!" Ayla was astounded. Clio placed a wreath of flowers on her head.
When the ball was over, Clio and Ayla returned to the beach. "Thank you once again. I'll never forget this."
"I'm afraid you will, my child. When you go back to Earth, this will all be a dream. I do hope you don't forget it as a dream, though." Clio looked at Ayla sadly.
"I will remember, I promise. Thank you!" Ayla hugged Clio.
"You're welcome, child. Good bye." Clio waved to Ayla.
Ayla waved back. "Good bye!"
Ayla woke up and rubbed her forehead. That was such a cool dream. She looked at the clock, and saw that it said 6:45, the time that she had fallen asleep. Ayla went immediately to her journal and quickly jotted it down. Maybe I can make this into a story, Ayla thought with a smile.
The End!