I awoke to find myself lying in bed in a room that I didn't remember seeing before, yet it was still familiar. The walls were a friendly yellow, and the curtains were blowing inward on the breeze. There was a canopy over the bed, and the bedspread was an ivory color, matching the satin sheets.
Suddenly, the room dissolved around me and I found myself in the clearing of a forest. The trees were just putting on their last glory before winter. Flame-colored orange, crimson, even some burnt sienna, surrounded me. Right in front of me lay a path covered by more leaves.
It appeared to be well-traveled and it was easy to follow. In fact, it was wide enough for several people to walk side-by-side along it and still have room to maneuver.
I decided to follow the path to see where it led. After what seemed a few hours of enchanting sights, the path ended on a wide strip of sand. Betond that, there was a blue expanse as far as I could see. I ran toward it and the waves lapped over my feet. Bending down, I scooped a handful and drank. It was warm and...salty? I spat it out. I realized that I must have come to the ocean, and I stood up and gazed out to the horizon.
The bridge that had appeared stretched endlessly over the water. As I walked, dolphins and other strange creatures followed me, never leaving the water. I reached the end of the bridge decades later, and saw that the path continued. There was a goblet sitting on a table by the start of the path. Puzzled, I picked it up and was startled as a drop of water splashed out onto my hand. I tasted it. Oh, it was so sweet! The cup itself shone with an inner light, glowing with no other adornment. I turned it this way an that to discover the source of the glow, but I couldn't find it. Pleased with the cup and the liquid it contained, I drained it. Oddly enough, the glow vanished. I decided to keep it to study later.
I continued on my way down the path, carrying the cup. I didn't watch where I was going until I stepped on something hard in the otherwise softness of the path. It was a key. It too glowed with an inner light and I picked it up. Again, the glow vanished, leaving a dull gold. It was a skeleton key, and I wondered about the door that the key would fit.