text: Logline: A man mistakenly falls asleep on a train and wakes up in a small town he considers paradise, but he can't stay. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ During a long shift, Gregory Decker rechecks his phone, zero sales on the website on which he sells his woodwork. He gets back to work, welding the pipes that will be used in construction. Gregory hates this work; it's monotonous, has little imagination, and pays very little. He gets a phone call from his wife, Rita, about halfway through the shift. She tells him that his father died in Harrisville, Pennsylvania. He hasn't seen his father since he left Harrisville, almost eight years ago, talking to him only a couple of times. The original reason he left was pressure his father was putting on him to take over the family business, which he had no desire to do. Once he found out about the death, Gregory had to see his boss, to inquire if he could leave early, and take the rest of the week off to attend his father's funeral arrangements. His boss is a tyrant, to put it lightly, Gregory has to negotiate every cent he receives from his paycheck, and time off is essentially fantasyland. "Hello, Mr. Wallaby, I just got the news that my father passed away in Harrisville, Pennsylvania, do you think it would be all right if I take the rest of the week off to attend his arrangements?" Gregory asks. "The rest of the week, isn't it just a quick 45-minute flight from here?" Mr. Wallaby argues. "Unfortunately, the only way to get to Harrisville is by train or car, and my wife and I only have one car, and she needs it for work," Gregory says. "I guess you're not leaving me much choice then, huh?" Mr. Wallaby says. "It'll be quick, I'll be back on Monday," Gregory says as he leaves the office. When Gregory gets home, he tries to convince his wife, Rita, to come with him; however, she argues that she has too much work to do, and it would be best for him to attend alone. Gregory has been stuck in a loveless marriage for a while now, when they first moved to New York, they tried to start a family, but they couldn't get pregnant. From that point on, the love in the relationship became stale. So, Gregory's on his own for the train ride to Harrisville. He packs a light bag and heads for Penn Station, the train ride has some beautiful scenic views, but is long, Gregory eventually falls asleep on the train. When Gregory wakes up, the train is no longer moving, he looks at the cab around him, and everyone has exited the train. He grabs his bag and exits himself. As he exits, he sees the most beautiful town, the sun glistening off the rooftops, it looked like a painting. He sees an engineer who is sitting on the platform, "Where are we?" Gregory asks. "Eden, end of the line," the engineer says. Gregory realizes that he has slept through his stop. He needs to get on the next train to reach Harrisville. "When does the next train leave? Gregory asks. "Tomorrow afternoon, at 3 pm." The engineer says. Thank goodness, he'll still be able to make most of his father's funeral arrangements. Gregory pulls out his phone, no service. With just around 24 hours to board the train, Gregory starts walking around the town of Eden. Eden is a small town with a Main Street, a theater and a few restaurants. While Gregory is looking at a menu posted outside the restaurant called "The Watering Hole," he sees a woman confronted by an angry dog. "Help! This dog is trying to attack me," the woman says. Gregory had dogs all his life, and he knows what to do. He runs over to the woman, picking up a stick on his way. When he arrives, he throws the stick, "go get it, boy." The dog goes off chasing the stick, Gregory can't believe it worked. The woman accompanies him to The Watering Hole. "Thank God you were there to save me, my name is Laney," she says. As she puts her hand out, Gregory realizes that she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. "Hi, I'm Gregory," he says. "Well, Gregory, it seems you're a good guy to have around in tight spot," Laney says. "No problem at all, glad it worked out," Gregory says. "Are you going to The Watering Hole, you have to try the Kugel, it's so delicious," she says. "Kugel, my grandmother used to make the best Kugel," Gregory responds. "Well then, allow me to buy you some Kugel, it's the least I can do for saving my life," Laney says, giving a flirtatious smile. Gregory melts with one look at that smile. "Sure, that would be great," Gregory says, finding it hard to turn down her stunning big blue eyes and her flowing blond hair, she is the woman he always has dreamt. The more time that Gregory spends with Laney, the more he is falling in love with her, she's the perfect woman. Beautiful, smart, and laughs at all his jokes. When the Kugel arrives, Gregory can't believe it; it tastes exactly like his grandmother's recipe, it brings him back to a happier time. Gregory and Laney laugh and talk most of the afternoon. Then he walked her back to her house. On the walk back, Laney mentions that the town is looking for items for the arts and crafts bizarre that's happening next week. Gregory jumped at the chance to show her some of the woodworking he sells, there is no internet, but he has pictures of the pieces on his phone. Laney loves the woodworking and says that she'll pay top dollar for all that he has. Even though the pieces are in New York, he offers to make a couple of items while here in Eden. Laney has piles of wood in her backyard, and he shows her how to work with the wood; she is fascinated by everything he has to say. When finished, Laney shows the pieces to a couple of people in town; they love him as well, orders start coming in for more. Also, the story of Gregory's heroism has begun to reach mythical proportions; in less than a day, he has become the town hero. Gregory can't believe his luck, a place where he could earn a living doing what he loves, be adored by the people in town, and spend time with this incredibly beautiful woman. Eden is absolutely an escape for Gregory. Gregory ends up spending the night at Laney's; they sleep together. His connection with Laney is growing deeper and deeper; he never wants to leave her side. The next morning, they go to have breakfast together, and Gregory has become an instant phenomenon. His woodworking pieces are the talk of the town, the women flirt with him, the men want to be around them, and the town offers him a house on the hill if he wants to stay in Eden. But his train leaves at three, he tries to spend as much time with Laney as possible, knowing what's waiting for him on the other side of that train. The more time he spends in Eden, the more he doesn't want to leave. The mayor even told him, joking, "We love ya, don't get on that train, stay here forever." Three has rolled around, and Laney has agreed to go with Gregory to Harrisville and attend his father's funeral, something he had hoped his wife, Rita, would have done. That was the last straw, after Harrisville, Gregory will be returning to Eden and not New York. "I've never been so happy in my entire life, This place is truly paradise," Gregory says. "I love you, Gregory, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," Laney says. They wait on the platform, full of excitement. The train approaches, the door opens, Gregory goes to get on, Laney doesn't move. "Come on; It's time to go," Gregory says. "I can't get on that train," Laney says. "What do you mean, why not?" Gregory asks. "I'm not allowed to," she says. "Well, then I'm not going either," Gregory says. "You have to go, you fell asleep on the train ride to Harrisville, if you don't wake up, you'll die," Laney says as she begins to cry. "Then I'll die," Gregory says. "This isn't real, it's just a dream, you're going to wake up whether you like it or not," Laney says. Gregory finally accepts his fate, kisses Laney goodbye, and takes one last look at the town that made him so happy, if only for just a short time. He then gets on the train, and the doors close. As the train leaves the platform, a train whistle blows, Gregory is awakened when the conductor makes an announcement, "All those going to Harrisville, exit the train now." Gregory takes a deep breath and exits the train. He can't believe it was only a dream because it felt so real. He would give anything to go back, but he knows that it's just not possible. Often, the better the dream, the worse the harshness of reality when it comes. Often, when things get grim, Gregory will allow his thoughts to dwell on Eden; however, he knows he doesn't belong there. Dreams give us something to aspire to; they expose our ideal life, our goals, our hopes, and our dreams. Often, knowing what you want is half the journey to being happy in the first place.