You row your boat slowly across the lake. You bob up and down with the gentle waves. You haven't seen any fish, and you don't think you're making enough of a splash to cause these waves, but you're no marine biologist or lake-ologist, so you think it's better to not question it. It's hard to see around you; you're inside a giant, domed structure. You've just entered one of the many rooms of the tower that this dome is only merely a part of, and you boarded this boat from a very short pier just past this dome's entrance. It's been a handful of minutes since you began rowing. It's dark here; although there is no light coming from the outside, there's an eminent, sourceless dim glow presiding over everything around you. You can barely see the dome in the darkness, and you think you can see what look like reeds at the edge of the lake. You row on.

"Why are you here?"
Oh, if it isn't the eight millionth time she's asked this same exact question. You want peace for once-- just some quiet for your journey, quiet that lasts longer than an introductory paragraph.
"I'd get bored then."
And she's not yours to entertain.
"I know that, but /you're/ the one bringing me all over the place, aren't you?"
You don't exactly have a consensual relationship, you explain in frank terms. You're tired, and your words are those of exhausted passion. You're tired not because of the tower you're climbing, but because of the dominance she exudes over you. Dominance over your thoughts, hopes, and will. She's not yours to entertain, but she drains you of all your value as if you were a washed up celebrity, day in, day out. You row with the weight of two now.

You remember a room somewhere in this tower. You two were hiking through a forest; large trees surrounded the path you were on, and above you was a roof of leaves that came from larger, taller trees further from said path. You held a hunting rifle to your chest like it was the sole anchor to your reality, and you were deftly attuned to your own fear. She joked about everything you couldn't see, she told stories of every hidden creature out to get you; they were all waiting for the moment you weren't looking. She walked with a controlled grace, and you walked as if you learned how to for the first time last week. The path wasn't ending, and your fear was overtaking you. Your breathes were becoming heavier, overtaking every other sound, and you could break down crying. She finished telling you her stories, and you walked in silence.
"It's okay to be scared."
She walked next to you, wrapped her arm around your own. You still held onto your rifle.
"We're all scared. But you have me, and I have you."
You didn't hear it come from her; the voice was someone you loved more than the world to be found outside of this tower, but the harsh reality was that they weren't here for you; /she/ was, and /she/ was reassuring you. The two of you walked with your arms locked in each other's.
"Do you need a break?"
You asked she not let go. You dragged her to the side of the path with slow, tired steps. You both sat down against a large tree. You spent hours there, you crying, and her telling you it's all okay. When are they going to come? Are we going to die?
"I don't know, and I don't know. But you have to be strong. They're coming, and any moment..."
She looked around the forest.
"...and any moment, they could attack, so be ready."

You cried and held onto your rifle. Your sight was blurry, so you listened instead. You heard the forest's own soul speaking to you; it was comforting. But you also heard beasts. You threw her aside and threw /yourself/ up. You couldn't see, but any moment wasted now could mean your death. You listened for it, in the woods, bushes, behind the trees. Through blurry eyes, you aimed at her own eminent glow and shot it. It dimmed away, and she was gone. You wiped your tears immediately, you held your rifle to your chest, and you ran to her body. Without that glow adjusting your vision, you could see into the woods. Bright, alive, kind. Animals you had never seen before, their families. Flowers, leaves, an ecosystem of love. You let go of your rifle and ran. You played with deer and kept away from coyotes, you sniffed lavender but strayed from mushrooms. The grass was bright and soft, and when you layed down, you looked up and saw where all the chirping was coming from. You fell asleep, you woke up, you walked, napped, woke up, skipped, ran, climbed trees, jumped in ponds, played with animals and picked cute leaves-- you did it all. At one end of it was a door, and you waved the forest goodbye, and you walked onto a pier.

You're holding her head down under the water. She's not panicking, but you want otherwise. More tears. Your teeth are grinding. You're breathing heavy and you're holding on tighter than you held your gun however long ago it was that you had it. She has a grip on the edge of the rowboat, and when she lets go, so do you. You pull away and crawl off your bench and towards the furthest-away point from her that you can reach on your small rowboat and hyperventilate. You look around drastically and see birds, fish, bears, reeds and seaweeds and marsh. It doesn't look like a dome anymore, it looks like four in the morning at heaven. You still can't control your breathing, and you're in panic. You're clutching your shirt and pushing your closed fist against your chest. You see a door in the distance, floating above the lake. It swings open, and it pulls you in. The water flies in, the trees and reeds bend, the birds slingshot around the door to avoid getting caught by its vacuum. You hold onto your boat, but it tips; her body falls out and sinks into the lake, and you're pulled through the door. You see lights and colors terrifyingly bright but so easy to take in for your eyes. You feel strong, cool winds across your entire body as you fly through something bridging this tower to your hopes and dreams. You hear sounds of good life and happiness, and you see spires, purple grass, castles and kingdoms in the clouds. A river of bright blue water, rippling with the force of your flight. Birds and fish and gentle singing, greater beings in the sky above. The end of the bridge comes into sight, and you're launched through it.