I was on my way home from work and was waiting for my subway train at Chinatown (Washington, DC) when suddenly police appeared from all over and herded us away from the tracks. They would not explain why, so the crowd started getting a bit concerned and nervous.

   I decided to try and go above ground and leave the station, but we were not allowed to leave either. All the entrances were locked or blocked off. I started getting agitated. I felt like I was now stuck in this underworld, so I tried going to the different tracks, green line, red line, yellow line, trying to see if I could find any train that was leaving the station.

   I started to hear the crowd getting really loud, as if something was happening. So I turned to look in the direction of the noise and saw a single car train come through the station. It was on its own track (a track I had never seen before). It was the president and his entourage. It all started making sense, except I had never seen the president go on metro before.

   Well, after the police let us go about our business again, it was simply mayhem. So many people pushing, shoving, trains full to the brim, it was chaos. So I decided to get on the closest train (even if it was going in the other direction).

   After I got on, I realized this was not a line I had ever been on before. I had no idea where it was headed. I looked at the metro map on the train, and it looked completely different. I was getting so frustrated! I didn’t have a cell phone, and knew my wife would be worried if I was very late.

   The train went on for what seemed like a half hour when we finally came out of the ground. I was relieved until I realized there were mountains with steep cliffs and northern pines everywhere. There were no buildings, just trees, rocks and mountains for what seemed like miles!

   The train started slowing down at last, coming to a stop. I decided to get off so I could find a phone and contact my wife. But when the doors opened, it was in the middle of a clearing with this path that seemed to be going into another reality. Should I get off here? Will I find a phone? Just then the doors were about to close and I heard the familiar warning “Ping….Pong…Doors closing”. I decided to get off.

   I was lost. No idea where I was? I stood there helplessly until I saw this old Hispanic lady walk by. I went to go ask her for help. She told me her name was Maria and she lived in the pastures close to here. Her eyes were so wise and aged, and had a calming effect on me. She showed me how to get back home, and then walked away.

Suddenly she turned around and said :
“You know, most people either see what they believe or believe what they see. Very few see reality as it is.”
I nodded and politely smiled as if I understood.