Those whimsical gardens are not just in real life & literature

steeped by samia no.37 | 02.26.25
there are places of wonder so close by us, yet so far away. but I’m sure some version of you is experiencing them.

When Alice finds the tiny gold key in the dark hallway of doors, her hope flickers. But it’s short lived. The locks and doors are of different proportions, until she stumbles upon a curtain with a small door behind it. To her delight, the key fits. When the door opens, she sees a passage way that looks into the most magnificent garden. She gasps with delight. Alice glimpses “beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains.” She yearns to go there. One problem, though, her head doesn’t fit through the doorway.

It’s not certain whether this is a garden Alice will encounter later on in her spiraling, nonsensical visit to Wonderland. The tea party with the Mad Hatter, for instance, or the Queen’s garden with the painted roses. We do know it makes Alice feel something: a longing to be part of a space that’s beautiful, radiant, and peaceful. To get out of the dark and dreary hallway. To venture into the garden right before her eyes, but she can’t actually go there. It’s right out of her reach. And she kind of royally fks it up by growing too tall and shedding a pool of tears. Relatable.

This twistedly saccharine scene, much like the rest of Alice in Wonderland, occasionally floats into my mind. It’s sticky. And so perfectly captures that sentiment of yearning for something enticing or wondrous that seems close enough but is actually miles away. Like, that screen-grab of Squidward looking outside his window at SpongeBob and Patrick having fun, lol. A popular meme to capture, let’s say, semester system college kids getting out of school for summer vacation a month earlier than quarter system college kids.

If I think about it through this lens, I see so many of these gardens in my mind, in my dreams, online, and in real life.

These modes of existence seem to blur a little as I get older, spurred by my 20’s spent in the pandemic. And even before that: the daydreaming, the voracious reading, the romance novel writing in a notebook passed around to friends.

It occurred to me, and probably to longtime Steeped readers too, that a lot of my blog posts touch on yearning for adventure and intrigue, while seeking it in my everyday life. Plus, a healthy dose of nostalgia. There’s some pretty good, cinematic lore in the Samia vault to uncover someday, though.

But this time, I wanted to tell you about a dream — much like the Alice in Wonderland garden — that floats into my mind in the most deliciously whimsical way.

An entry straight from my dream journal, January 2024:

  • I was coming home from the library on the bus. Ran into friends from college and sat with them on the bus. It looked like we were going down [redacted street] near [redacted]. We were chatting away, and suddenly an hour had passed and I was far away from home on this cute lil island, at a train station. The train station was beautiful, overlooking the water and a cool, translucent sculpture that looked like seashells. I remember thinking I should take a picture to show the family.
  • I’m worried about whether to call Abu because I’m like a 3 hour drive away. The station was big and grand. I was in a panic because I had to figure out what bus was heading back [home] on Google Maps and book a ticket and the sun was starting to set. The map of this island almost looks whimsical and Animal Cross-y with a mix of island and water. Reminded me of how Foster City looks on Google Maps [image below].
  • An older train station employee said he can help me and tells me to come over to the booking area. I look around for him but can’t find him and loop around over and over to find him. The sun is setting further. I end up going to the first floor and ask around for him in the office area. Almost museum or old movie theater-like with red carpet, gold accents, framed posters, old photos, and maps. And he is there and he is like, “I’ve been waiting for you!!” he is typing away trying to book a ticket. I feel a sinking feeling; I’m afraid he’s going to say that the last bus back home already left. I think that’s when I woke up.

— S.A.

🔗 Steep On This:

💫 Catch Up:  

01.12.25 | Read this when you feel like: Adventure is out of your reach

STEEPED BY SAMIA #36: Is my word of the year “Adventure” or is it actually “Freedom”?

💌 About This Blog:

Steeped by Samia is a space where I can simmer on thoughts & curiosities about life, liminal spaces, digital culture, & more. Far too often, my writing ideas fizzle out in energy; I never get to see them to their full potential. While building my rhythm with writing, I want to share these stories with you. 

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