I am standing in a large atrium. This place is enormous, as the ceiling is many floors up. Too many floors to count. To my left is a spiraling staircase that is winding around the atrium all the way up to the top floor. I do not see anyone, there is a hubbub of activity about the place. I start exploring the mansion. Each room offers something different to do, from Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, video games, movies, countless books, and food. Everyone I care about is there, doing all these various activities. And I want to do it all.
Suddenly, a flash of red, in stark contrast to the cream-colored walls, catches my eye. Curiosity sends me in pursuit of the color, much to the protest of those I am with. I catch a better glimpse when I enter the next room. The flash of red is a person in a red cape that has a bit of sparkle to it. Something draws me toward this mysterious figure and I give chase, rarely glimpsing more than a flash of red as the person disappears around a corner or through a doorway. Sometimes, the figure is just down a hallway. Sometimes, passing a balcony on a different floor. Sometimes, going down a flight of stairs.
My first good look at this person is when he stops to look out over a balcony that is a couple of floors up. As he is gazes at the activity below, he throws back the hood. It's not a he! It's a she! Yet, something about her seems familiar...
I have been chasing her for what seems to be an eternity. Yet I do not know the reason for my pursuit. Is it love? No. that cannot be it. I do not know her. Not anymore. But what else could explain this. It is not infatuation. I have been infatuated with many people in the past, and this feels different. But why am I pursuing her? Why does this red like roses fill my dreams?