Ficciones, a collection of short stories written by Jorge Luis Borges, contains several works in which the motif of fantasy is repeatedly incorporated into the plot. With this, Borges plays with the idea that fantasy is reality and reality is fantasy. Accomplish incorporation by setting a realistic plot and relatively easy-to-follow story, and drop whimsical, but tiny, symbols and ideas into the plot to create a fantastical twist. An excellent example of such work is “The South,” a story about Juan Dahlmann, a librarian who seeks the pleasures of the Arabian Nights during his trip to his ranch in Buenos Aires; however he never succeeds due to a head injury he suffers while reading the novel. From the concussion onwards, Dahlmann's reality shifts back and forth towards fantasy. Borges shows the unreality of the journey by characterizing Dahlmann and referring to his true reality throughout the short work. After arriving at the ranch in Buenos Aires shortly thereafter, Dahlmann hits his head while climbing the stairs reading One Thousand and One Nights. Several days pass and he finally receives treatment in a hospital quite far from the ranch. During his period of treatment to help him recover, he reflects on his life: "These days Dahlmann hated himself down to the smallest detail: he hated his identity, his bodily needs, his humiliation, the beard that stood on end on his face." (Borges 168) In this scene Dahlmann reflects on his current reality, on his existence to the extent that he has created an extremely different identity compared to his ancestral history. Knowing that his ancestors were actually gauchos and he is a secretary in a library, it is assumed that he, at some point... middle of paper... wishes to succeed in being an authentic gaucho, fulfilling his ancestral history . Finally, with the short work over, Dahlmann proceeds to battle and presumably dies; essentially traveling the distance to his true destination that the train failed to reach: the afterlife. In conclusion, Ficciones, a collection of short stories written by Jorge Luis Borges, contains several references to fantastic themes. This occurs especially in the short work “The South,” in which a man named Juan Dahlmann experiences a whimsical death that portrays his deepest regret: not having followed his ancestral history to become a cultural gaucho. Borges uses the characterization and implementation of his true reality to represent the ultimate idea that nothing is eternal and that one must chase one's dreams in order to live a satisfying life and die without regrets..