[ WP ] You live in two different universes . Each time you go to sleep in one , you wake up in the other . Now that it 's your 18th birthday , you must choose one .

In my favorite life, I lived in a castle. Not a dreary actual-fortification kind of castle with arrow slits for windows, but a beautiful, honest-to-God fairytale castle with brightly-painted towers and stained glass windows. Every morning I would wake up in my room at the top of one of those towers. The sunlight would fall on my face in many-colored patterns, and the smell of freshly-baked sweetcakes would greet me from my bedside table. There was always a set of clothes laid out at the foot of the bed. 
 
 The castle and the countryside were mine to explore. Some days, I wandered through the castle, knowing the layout by heart and yet somehow always finding new rooms containing new wonders, even though I had wandered the castle's halls on thousands of other days. Other days, I explored the countryside. Rolling green hills seemed to go on infinitely beneath an always-perfect blue sky. Streams flowed down those hills into shady groves of trees. 
 
 But eventually, the sun would begin to wane, and I would begin to grow tired. I became apprehensive as the lengthening shadows of the trees or the furniture seemed to want to reach out and grab me. But I knew that I would always be safe in my tower room, so I would go there, and eventually fall asleep in my bed. 
 
 In my not-so-favorite life, I lived in the other castle. At least, I assumed it was a castle. The dungeon of a castle, to be specific. The walls were not stone, like my real home, but a drab off-white plaster of some kind. The single door was made of dully-reflective metal, with a thick window that contained a crosshatched wire. The door was strong; I could never open it. I wore simple clothes of the same off-white color as the walls. 
 
 It was always dark in this castle, and that scared me. There was one window in my room, at least, and I could look out without having to leave the safety of my bed. The window overlooked a lake; I would watch the water for hours. The water would move in predictable, orderly patterns, and I would slowly become less afraid. Sometimes it was clear and I could see the stars, which always made me happy. Sometimes, it was cloudy, and I could n't see anything. Those nights were long. Sometimes, it would storm, and rain and wind would slam into my window, and I would curl up tighter in my bed and cry and wish I could just fall asleep and go back home. 
 
 On nights when I could see, after hours of looking out the window, the horizon would begin to lighten and I would stretch and strain against my tiredness to stay awake, and almost stay awake long enough to see the sun, but inevitably, I fell asleep and returned to my tower room. 
 
 Still other nights, maybe one in five, I would have a visitor. A face would appear in the crosshatched window, watch me for a minute, then the door would open. The man would walk in and spin around my room's one chair to face me and sit down. He always wore loosely fitting blue clothes and carried a stack of papers. I would never move from my curled-up position on my bed, and he would always smile at me, as if waiting for something. 
 
 `` I've been thinking about what you told me about the tower,'' he said, his voice low and steady. `` You told me that it's better there because it's always light, right?'' 
 
 I nodded. 
 
 `` And it's always dark here?'' He asked, looking into my eyes. 
 
 I hunched down more and nodded again. Tonight was a clear night, and the stars were out, and the sky was beginning to get lighter, and I wished he would just go away. Maybe this time I could stay awake, if I really tried. 
 
 He sighed. `` You know, I've told you before that you would eventually have to choose. That choice is entirely up to you to make. But I have one question for you, my friend.'' 
 
 He paused until I looked up at his face again. 
 
 `` Would you rather stay in a place where you are always afraid of the night? Or would you rather stay in a place where you are always looking forward to the dawn?'' 

