“Will I ever reach Tomorrow?”

Reya pulled on the straps of her backpack nervously. The wind whistling in her ears, she squinted as she looked ahead, as if perhaps clearer vision might change what lay ahead. A vast ex- panse of white stretched before her, with only two black lines running parallel to each other to indi cate that a path was etched upon this endless blank canvas. The sky above her was trapped in an eternal night, and it was in this sea of black and white that Reya now found herself looking for a land that she’d only ever heard stories of.

They said Tomorrow was a land full of colour, something that Reya couldn’t even imagine. Having lived in the monotone world of Today all her life, Reya couldn’t believe that Tomorrow had Blue, Yellow, Red - the Possibilities and Joys that she’d only heard of in myths. Possibilities, Joys, Dreams - all the mythical creatures of Tomorrow - were things Reya had only fantasized about. They said the path to Tomorrow lay beyond the edge of Today, and that’s where Reya stood now, snapping out of her trance. Sharply inhaling, Reya squared her jaw, and with one determined step, she began her journey.

It seemed like she’d been walking for ages when a loud sound rang through the air, making her jump. She stayed rooted to the spot, her eyes frantically searching for the source of the sound. She felt a tap on her shoulder. Her heart in her mouth, she slowly turned to meet the glowing dark eyes of what seemed to be...a little girl? Confused, Reya opened her mouth to ask the girl who she was when the child spoke first. “I’m sorry miss, but I’m very hungry. There is a mango tree down this path, but I’m too short to climb it. Can you help me?” Stunned, Reya turned back to look at the path ahead of her, when, much to her surprise, she saw the path fork into two right before her. Sure enough, one of the newly formed paths had a tree that she could just about make out in the distance. Reya glanced down at the little thing waiting for her reply. What should she do?

On one hand, Reya couldn’t help but feel suspicious. A little girl appears from nowhere and suddenly the road forks into two? Which path was she meant to follow? What if the path without the tree was the one that led to Tomorrow? What if...Her thoughts were interrupted by a little tug on her shirt. “Ma’am, will you help me?” Reya sighed. It’s not like she knew which path was right. She might as well help the little girl. “Yes, I will. Come.”

A few scratches later, Reya sat down beside the little girl and watched her devour the grey fruit with relish. Smiling a little, she reached for her own bag when a sparkle caught her eye. On the stark white landscape, only disturbed by the two black lines of the path and (now) a great black tree, the smallest things were noticeable. Reya noticed a little gem by the tree, glowing in a colour she had never seen before. A beautiful, deep, hypnotizing colour, one that a Possibility in Tomorrow was supposed to be - Blue. With a small gasp, Reya bent down to pick it up - and no sooner did her fingers graze its smooth surface, did the tree and the girl vanish.

Reya yelped and sprang back. She didn’t understand what was happening, and she was petrified. She felt a strong urge to turn around and walk back to where she started. But legend said that once one embarks on the journey to Tomorrow, there is no turning back. One must straighten his back and keep walking. So, with a trembling hand, a last look cast behind her shoulder, Reya picked up the gem, and kept walking.

It wasn’t much later that she encountered a similar fork in the road. This time, it was spurred on by an old man who wouldn’t let her walk down the left path unless she gave him bandages. Reya could see a familiar sparkle down the left road. She bit her lip, her eyebrows knitting together as the lines on her forehead deepened. She did have bandages. Did she really need them? Perhaps the better question would be, did she really need the gem? She had no idea what they meant anyway. However, no matter how hard Reya tried to convince herself that she should just forget it, the desire that had been recently kindled in her heart upon the sight of the previous gem refused to be tamped down. She wanted to see colours. Her hand went protectively to her bag pocket, where the glowing sapphire orb had been carefully kept. And right next to it, was a roll of crepe bandaging.

She knew that it would be dangerous to travel without anything to help her if she got hurt, yet Reya found herself depositing her white bandages in the wrinkled hands of the old man. He bowed as she nodded and walked down the left path, her steps quickening at the sight of another gem. This one was glowing with life, a hue that shone with vibrancy and vitality. Green. The colour of Growth, a rare creature of Tomorrow. As she picked it up, a shiver ran down her spine. Imagine seeing a Growth.

A quick peep behind was enough to tell her that the old man had disappeared, just as the little girl had. Hoisting her backpack a little higher, Reya tightened her ponytail. I must keep walking. Ever so often, a new fork presented itself. One came with a bustling old woman who insisted on Reya coming and eating something in her magically-appeared grey cottage located along a right fork of the path. Reya hadn’t been able to resist and found a fiery, glowing ember-like gem near her fireplace. Her eyes couldn’t get enough of the warmth of its colour. At another fork, a burly fellow asked her for her food if she wanted to use the right path. The left one had dangerous crevices that might suddenly appear. Not willing to part with her resources just for an easy way out, Reya braved the obstacles in her way and earned a gem that might have been a broken piece of Tomorrow’s Sun, such was its shine. Yellow, the most famous Joy. All she could think about was the four gems in her bag, and how majestic they looked, twinkling against the backdrop of Today.

That being said, her optimism and excitement soon began to wear thin. There were too many mysteriously-appearing forks and the weight of the gems in her bag and the decisions that she kept making was pulling her down. She had possibly walked miles by now and Tomorrow was nowhere in site. She didn’t know the right way to go and it didn’t take long for the doubts to start creeping into her mind. What if she’d made the wrong choice somewhere? What if all her choices so far had been wrong? How was she supposed to know the right way to go? The likelihood of her picking the right path each time seemed so very small. With a huff, she sat down in the middle of the path, the obsidian sky above staring down at her. She couldn’t go on further. 

A tear rolling down her face, she opened her bag and removed all the gems she’d collected so far. She knew their colours by linking them to the descriptions of the most famous creatures of Tomorrow that she’d read about. Red, the legendary Ambition. Blue, the renowned Possibility. It was their names that she’d assigned to the gems. Along with these two, she gazed upon Green, Yellow, Purple and Orange. Would she ever get to see them? Would she ever reach Tomorrow? The tear fell onto Yellow, making it shine brighter. And Green shine brighter. And Red. And Purple...

All the gems exploded into pure light, and Reya covered her face to shield it from their in- tensity. When she could no longer feel the warmth on her hand, she slowly lowered it and gasped. She scrambled onto her feet and started rubbing her eyes, her mind unable to believe what she was seeing. An explosion of colour awaited her, a rainbow arching across the sky and colourful lights and buildings greeting her. She looked behind - there was no path in the middle of nowhere. There was only colour, for she was in Tomorrow.

A short woman made her way to Reya. “Welcome to your Tomorrow, dear!” She smiled. “H-how did I f-find it correctly?” Reya stuttered. “Well, it’s not like it’s difficult,” said the strange woman with a twinkle in her eye. Reya’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” “My dear, you don’t find Tomorrow. You make it.” Her eyes widened. “What?” The lady took a deep breath, a small smile creeping onto her face. “Tomorrow exists at the ends of all those forked paths. The choices you make determine what Tomorrow you’ll reach - what this land will hold for you. There is no right or wrong path. There’s just you, and your choices, and what you make of them.” By then, a small crowd had gathered around them, all dressed in brightly-coloured clothes. Reya looked at them, still processing what she had just heard. But it was starting to make sense now. And as she looked at the people around her, the lights and the buildings around her, a picture of a Growth fluttering in the distance, she couldn’t help but feel happy. It seemed as if her Tomorrow would be a bright one. Just then, a glowing neon sight caught her eye.

The Home of Possibilities, Joys, Hopes, Dreams - Welcome to Tomorrow.