I saw something unusual in my meditation today. I was suspended in an alternate reality, floating still in perfect pressure of a viscous body of water. I opened my eyes. Shafts of bright light shon down upon me, warming my lifted face in the body-temperature cocoon. I was looking up at the murky surface of the water. I could vaguely see beyond it a green blur, distorted by slow ripples. I felt the pressure of the liquid on my whole body, but the constriction was akin to rolling myself up in a thick duvet and similar to the heaviness of a deep sleep; not cumbersome but comforting. I couldn't breathe, but somehow I didn't need to.

I closed my eyes so I could feel the warmth on the entirety of my skin. When I opened them again, I noticed twin lily pads, giant silhouettes casting a shadow beyond me into the obscured depths below. Curious, I watched through the almost motionless lens of the water's membrane as a swell of orange began to emerge, and soon enough, the vivid orange petals began to bloom before my eyes, light piercing the translucent and delicate velvet feathers to glow like the amber sap of a weeping tree. A second flower sprouted and flourished, and like the buds, I found my curiosity grew too. The fluorescing feeling quickly went from a tickle to insatiable, and for the first time I moved my dormant limbs, gliding my hands like wings to draw me up through the water. I wanted to see the vibrant flowers from a different perspective- the surface.

My head burst into the air, and a number of things happened which I didn't expect.

My upper body felt so light, free and able to stretch, my shoulders flexing and my arms balancing me on the surface, my long hair stuck to my head and , and I could feel the water rushing from my head back into the main body, a weight on my hair. I took in deep, gasping breaths, which was utterly perplexing, as I didn't have that need before. I had to scrunch my eyes shut but couldn't resist opening them again and again. The bright light was almost overwhelming, hot to the skin and warm to the heart. I was next to the bank. The blades of grass were thick and tall, emerald green and luscious, the flowers were colourful and stirred a welling happiness into the calm within me. Their blithesome scent wafted over me, pungent and exhilarating. Trees watched over me from the other side of the pond I realised I was basking in. The earth of the bank was a rich mahogany.

My senses overwhelmed, I ducked back under, and was greeted with the sound of the beating of my heart. At first, my body was confused- it wanted to breathe, but didn't need to; it wanted to swim, but hand no destination.

I breached the surface a few times more, but the feelings were so moving I concluded it was most comfortable to stay where I was, but to cast my gaze upwards, where the light could shine on me and the darkness below was so out of mind and far away it may never have been there at all. My heart beat slowed, my urge to breathe stilled, and my tranquillity returned. But something was wrong. For after my sip, I had thirst.