After years of deluding themselves, landlords in Dubai have finally made the difficult journey from the mythical world of Narnia, the land ruled by jewel-eyed lions, back into this cruel world that believes in something as dull and drab as "a realistic property market". For the longest time, many Dubai landlords, having swallowed the enchanted Turkish Delight of Narnia, firmly believed they owned a piece of real estate in the kingdom where trees dance, animals talk and prices only go up. Every crumb from this sweetmeat made them forget global downturns, financial crashes and rental caps, things that normal landlords, not living in Narnia, would typically consider. The transition from being perched on reindeer-led sleighs to dealing with stubborn tenants and renegotiating rents had become rude shocks that catapulted them from a dreamy paradise into the merciless reality. After all, how does one go from chats with Mr. Tumnus to discussions about plumbing issues and leakage repairs overnight? To make matters worse, the fall down the wardrobe did more than just make them leave the snowy landscapes of Narnia. It brought them smack in the middle of this era of hand sanitizers, face masks, social distancing, and worst of all, vacant properties. Eager tenants, a rare breed able to withstand Dubai’s desert heat and rent hikes, are now resembling Narnia’s white stags - beautiful to behold and almost impossible to catch. "Adjusting to reality has not been easy," frowned Mr. Caspian XII, a landlord and self-confessed Narnian who is forced into facing the humdrum of mundane reality. "How uncomplicated were my problems in a world where charging over-the-moon rents worked! But in this world? I’m forced to exercise something as outrageous as economic sense." Indeed, the journey back to reality involved a heart-wrenching farewell to Aslan, the lion king who controlled everything but property prices, who too apparently has moved on and is currently in Hollywood, pursuing a career in movies. While the Dubai landlords bid him emotional goodbyes, he did cheer them up with an autographed poster, a far cry from the high returns they were more accustomed to during their Narnia days. However, with dreams of fauns and centaurs slowly fading, landlords in Dubai are finally beginning to acclimatize to their non-Narnian surroundings. "I had to Google 'plumbing solutions' the other day," murmured a flabbergasted Mr. Pevensie while still clutching onto his Turkish Delight box. Its seems the doldrum days are here to say in the Emirati desert for the landlords, or at least, until they find the next wardrobe to lose themselves in.