Sxerks
The Monster in the House

With a poignant story, To the Moon explores the premise of two doctors completing a patient's final wish before his passing. The dream started off in the game; I laid on the floor face down as the screen fades into pitch blackness. Not too long into the game, I found myself inside the accompany of a ghostly figure lurking beneath the shadows. I barely made out who he or she was; I barely opened my eyes.

"Don't worry, Sxerks. The doctors will be here shortly." Those were the words of a carer of mine, Lily. Lily was originally a babysitter, but ever since the passing of my girlfriend, she had cared for me. Like, a girlfriend would. Suddenly, I felt extremely ill. She had pulled me upstairs, and into bed, where she sat by my side. Soon enough, the doctors arrive. They examined that the illness was terminal, and that I had two days to live.

Lily felt devastated. Her hands were covered in tears streaming down her soothing face. The doctors comforted Lily, and asked whether I had any last wishes. She replied that I've always wanted to travel to the moon. I've always had the curiosity of what the moon was like. Ever since the passing of my girlfriend, I promised myself that I would see her again in the moon. After all, her last words were: "We'll meet again soon..."

Each night, I found myself with someone. She may not be physically there, but spiritually, she's with me. Each night, she would write on the blackboard what she wanted me to do. One night, it was "We'll meet in the moon"; the next night, it was "You're not alone". But tonight was different, she wasn't there. She wasn't by my side when I needed it the most; when I felt terminally ill.

The doctors agreed to take me to the moon. Traversing back through all of my nostalgic memories, I often found myself pondering and contemplating about what I've experienced during my life. Soon enough, the most tragic and hardest memory they've come across was when I was in my late childhood years. It was a misty morning of 2009, my family and I travelled to the vet to pick up my dog who was extremely ill. As soon as we walked into the room, the vet, depressed as she was, broke the depressing news. Her face broke into dejection, as she delivered the news. Our dog was terminally ill, and was taken out of its misery.

The family broke into tears, but they're not as affected as I am. I stood there, frozen, because I didn't believe the news. Or, at least, I didn't want to believe the news. I slowly walked to the draped curtains, and saw my dog lying on the bench. I tried to talk to the dog, but to no avail. I wanted the final say before we left in disconsolate.

Soon enough, the doctors manage to find a way to take me to the moon. I hopped into the rocket ship and waited. The rocket took off; the stars were beautiful close up, and guess who was waiting on the moon? My girlfriend. I had kept my promise and saw my girlfriend, as the heart monitor came to a final dead line.

So, if you guys are unaware of this game, Journey is an amazing immersive game. You play as a red robed figure in the midst of a desert. What's striking, however, is that there are no words to read off of; the only communication that you have is with a buddy randomly joining your server. You don't know who (s)he is; you don't know whether or not you've played with them before. And yet, it's so captivating. The music pounds your ears, but in the best way possible as you fly, slide, and jump your way around the vast open world that Journey has to offer.

My dream started off how it normally would; I would be immersed straight into the game. No distractions, it was just full-on exploration as I flew across the gleaming sand, climb on awe-inspiring mountains, and slid across the mountaintops. The fact that I could experience this in a first-person like view was just one of the most amazing dreams I've ever had.

What's even more surprising was that I was abruptly interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming my way. I didn't comprehend what that was until the second I looked over my shoulder to find a mysterious robed-like figure staring right back at me over at the mountaintops. I walked over to it cautiously, as it glissaded past the fluorescent sands. As soon as it stopped, I understood it was another person in my dreams. I investigated it, because I didn't know the gender of this robed figure, and attempted to talk to it. The robed figure didn't respond, rather it lead the way to one of the most genuine and most captivating scenery I could imagine. Across the mountaintops stood one of the most beautiful topography I could even begin to describe.

To my right stood a riverside, trees were swaying over the top of the river as the reflection subtly faded away. Clouds slowly faded in and out of the shot, as the winds were blowing away softer than silk. There was a waterfall not too far to the rivers, and the sound of water tingling away into the rivers was enough for this experience to be one I'll always remember as the "most beautiful thing ever".

To my left stood obscured mountains faded through the tough mist of fading clouds. Look below the mountains, and you'll find a village right to a lake. My jaws dropped at the very sight of this, as the blowing of sand suddenly interrupted the sheer amazing scenery I could ever dream up. I walked back down the slope, to find that the red robed figure was looking away into the clouds. The red robed figure appeared to float upwards and eventually fade into the air.

This was one of the best experiences that I could ever dream of, and will always be one of the best immersive dreams of one of my most favourite video games.