Dawn Berkoski

“You have to watch the sunset from Calton Hill.”

That’s what I was told. And I was determined to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site on my first night in Edinburgh. So, I left Greyfriars Kirkyard, and Bobby the legendary dog, and made my way towards New Town. A confusing name, as it houses buildings from the 1700’s, but it is younger than the medieval Old Town where Bobby’s statue sits.

Speaking of names… As I walked up the hill, I remembered the name, Mary, which was whispered in my dream. It wasn’t Mary Queen of Scots that occupied my mind. It was the author, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Possibly because of the giant Frankenstein statue I saw along the way. But there were other reasons.

A madness had come over me, a type of obsession. The castle I’d conjured in my imagination–I needed to find it. Like Victor in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, “The world was to me a secret which I desired to devine.”

Calton Hill was an excellent viewpoint.

Excitement buzzed through my veins as I crossed the famous Regent Bridge and passed the Balmoral Hotel and other historic attractions. There was so much to see at the intersection between the old and new parts of the city. But first, I had to conquer a stairway to Heaven.

It wasn’t easy.

After reaching the top of Calton Hill, I took a moment to catch my breath before realizing, yes, it was worth the trek. Seeing memorials that touched the sky, arches framing puffy white clouds, and later, buildings like the Old Observatory backlit by the setting sun, left a deep impression on me. I had entered a realm where reality and fiction blended together. Doorways with endless possibilities appeared between the columns of the National Monument, beckoning me forward.

This was me chasing a dream.

There and then, I was determined to make my fantasy tangible. Like a heart connects heaven and earth, I would bridge the gap, if only for a second. I would find this dream castle. If not, I would create it. Either way, it would exist in some way, shape, and form!

I paused, sobering. Was this what Frankenstein thought when he dared to play God? Would my search lead down a similarly dark road?

It wouldn’t be the first time. But that’s what happens when you risk bringing dreams to reality. Sometimes you crash and burn, and all the dreams you had crumble, plaguing you with nightmares. Sometimes you get what you want but not what you need. And sometimes you find that which you truly sought.

Dawn B~