5

The day started in a cruel, cold forest. The trees seemed to have evil sneers on their faces, their sharp branch arms scratched me as I tried to escape this place. Cold sweat dripped down my forehead and ran into my eyes. I couldn't see where I was going. Brushing the sweat out of my eyes, I blindly tripped through the messy forest floor.

Sweat continued seeping into my eyes –– I couldn't stop it. Soon I was drenched. It felt as though I was swimming through the forest, still torn apart by the trees even through the water. I couldn't breathe, I was so tired. I stopped running to catch my breath and the trees attacked me...

A pool of sweat surrounded me when I woke up, like the kind of sweat in my dream. This strange place (I deduced it was a forest) had been my home for goodness knows how many weeks. My ride with Captain Gloonkk and the Maballms had left completely dazed and utterly unaware of where I was. I didn't even know if I was still near the Castle Apartments or my dancing partner.

I hadn't moved since the pickup/drop off. I was afraid to run into something (or worse, OFF of something) so I generally stayed where the Captain dropped me.

Today though, I decided I needed to move. I had to try to find my way back or find help. I couldn't very well die sitting here in this god forsaken forest.

I spent most of the morning rolling over, trying to stand up. By the time I finally lifted my behind from the soggy floor, I guessed it was about midday. After walking for several minutes, I concluded that the ground was covered in snow. It must be wintertime. I must have been here in this forest for longer than I thought.

The rest of the day I spent walking around, feeling my way through this strange forest –– trying to feel anything familiar. With no luck. What I estimated to be several hours later, a huge rumble escaped my stomach and I decided to find something to eat. Unless I was going to kill something, the only things that I knew for sure to be edible here were leaves and moss. Nothing fancy, but I'd been living off of stale cereal and bruised apples for the last 43 years. I think I could choke down a few leaves.

After my meal, I settled down to rest again, thinking of Felix who was probably more starving than I was right now. Poor Felix.

Just as I was closing my eyes for sleep and inevitable dreaming, I heard a faint neighing. Like a horse or a bull. I froze. Horses would leave me alone, but a bull might charge. And there's no way I could defend myself against 2000 pounds and horns.

The first neigh was soon followed by a second. And a third, fourth, and fifth. I counted nine total. Although one sounded much higher than the others. The baby bull perhaps?

Before I could decide whether I should run and hide or move closer, I heard sleigh bells ringing and tinging –– like the bulls were lining up to do something or go somewhere. A grunt came from somewhere behind the bulls and what sounded like two big boots beat down on hard wood.

The neighing became more frequent. The bulls' hooves pawed at the ground and the bells jittered with every stomp. I could tell they were about to move. And fast. I had to get out of the way or they would hit me.

I tried to stand up so I could move, but couldn't find anything to grab onto for support. The tree I was leaning on was too think. I heard the bulls move. They were trotting. I was rolling around on the ground like a fish. The clomping of the bulls' feet picked up speed. They were running. The bells became louder and louder. These beasts were getting closer! And I was still on the wet ground!

At the last possible second, I managed to swing my body weight forward and stand up. The bells and the neighing and the clomping were screaming in my ears –– they were so close now! I limped forward, trying to get out of the way when the sounds of the bulls and their owner shifted from beside me to above me. My ears were surely playing tricks on me, bulls cannot fly. In my confusion, I forgot to keep moving and something metal, hard, and cold hit my square in the face. I fell to the ground and tasted blood in my mouth.

"Woah there! Touch back down, Rudolph, I think we hit something," a deep, concerned voice said. "To the right, everybody, head for the right and down!"

The man steered his flying bulls to the ground and his two heavy boots swung out of whatever he was riding in and hit the ground.

"Oh my goodness, we've hit a woman!" he shouted to his cattle. "Donner, grab an empty bag from the back. Vixen! Comet! Help me put her on the sleigh."

I must have fainted while all of this happened though because the next I know, I'm sitting up in a cold, metal vehicle next to a man and his nine bulls.

"How are you feeling, little lady?" the man asked.

"Fine, thank you," I said. "What exactly happened?"

"I'm ashamed to say my reindeer and I hit you straight in the noggin. I just feel terrible, ma'am. Would you believe that in the millions of years I've been driving that sleigh, this is the third accident I've had?" He sounded pained.

"Millions of years? What do you mean?"

"Well you see ma'am, my reindeer and I drive the sleigh so long as people believe in us," he said. "They started believing millions of years ago and haven't stopped since."

"Believe in you? So you're some magic elf or something?"

"Oh, no I'm not an elf!" He chuckled. "But I know a couple hundred of them back home," he said.

"I must be losing my mind."

He laughed out loud at that. I still couldn't tell if he was joking or if I was going crazy.

"How about this. To prove it to you, I'll grant you the one wish you've always wanted. Look deep inside your heart. Now tell me, what's the one thing you desire above all else?"

I didn't say anything.

"No matter," he said. "I know what you want anyway. I've always known. You've been a good girl, Sile. You'll get your wish."

And with that, he smiled and snapped his fingers. I sat up in my bed, in my apartment, with Felix curled up at my feet, for once not knowing what was real and what was fantasy.

4

The day started on a cloud. Above me deep blue sky stretched for miles, over the entire world it seemed. I had seen plenty of skies before, but never one as vivid or expansive as this. Still not quite relieved of my shock and awe, I looked below my dangling feet and saw a green patchwork quilt blanketing the entire earth.

I nearly fell off the cloud, I was so amazed. But the more I stared at the green land below me, the darker it became. Light greens turned into darker hues and eventually faded to black. In what felt like a second, the entire ground below me was pure black.

Before I realized what was happening, I leaned over my cloud too far and started to slip off. A hand from above grabbed mine before I plummeted to the ground. I looked up and saw a familiar, handsome man with brown hair and grey eyes clasping my five fingers in his own. He grinned and I knew I was safe. But my hands suddenly slipped out of his and his smile faltered as I was swallowed up by the black nothingness below. He shouted my name, but I couldn't hear him...

My own name was ringing in my ears when I woke up. I heard the rain pounding against my window and felt Felix jump up on the bed. He meowed.

I rocked out of bed and ungracefully slipped into clothes and a rain jacket. I ran my fingers down Felix's back once and then walked out the door. 168 stairs and 24 steps later, I was buying a newspaper and cat food for Felix from the newspaper stand outside Castle Apartments. I was surprised but thankful that it was open on such a dreadful day.

Before I paid for my goods, the paper man, whose name (I found out today) is Jean and who used to work as a farmer in the south of France, warned me of a recent outbreak of the flu. He recommended a flu shot at the clinic, but my disapproval of modern medicine caused me to politely reject his suggestion.

"Well you know, there's an Occupy site behind the Castle Apartments," he said. "You've heard of the Occupy protests, yeah?"

"I have, but what would those protesters have with a little old lady like me?" I asked. Jean laughed and patted my shoulder. His skin was tough and thick. Probably from all that farming.

A little while later I said goodbye to Jean and took a route I've taken before, towards the clinic, to meet a musical, homeless friend.

The last time I visited, I remembered to count the steps to the clinic so I wouldn't accidentally get lost. I followed my mental directions and finally heard my friend humming along with the radio. I was almost surprised he was here –– the weather was so terrible I figured I'd be the only one out and about. But based on the different sounds I heard on my walk to the clinic, I'd chance a guess that it was a pretty busy day.

"Good morning, friend," I said.

"Ah, if it isn't my usual company. How're you doin', Sile?"

"Very well, thank you. How are you?"

"Want to sing?" I felt the smile in his words. "No. Let's mix it up this time. Let's dance."

I haven't dance since after my accident. I wasn't sure I still knew how.

"You'll have to stand before we can do that," I said.

He grunted and I felt him closer. He stroked my arm down to my fingers and clasped my hand. I remembered this grip before. It wasn't as forceful or demanding as I recalled, but I knew I'd held this hand before.

"Everybody Hurts" started playing through his radio and he gently pulled me into his chest. While we danced, the rain seemed to stop. The thunder subsided and everything was calm. We were just dancing –– and the whole world seemed to know it.

Only after we stopped did we realize that the music had stopped a while ago and that the rain had not. We were both soaked to the bone and he sneezed. Realizing I forgot to take my pills in the morning, I smiled. This moment was a more effective cure than those pills ever were.

"And thou salt not be frustrate of thy wish. Now my imaginings have gone so far," he said. I put my wet head on his wet shoulder. I don't know how long we stood that way.

Suddenly the wind changed. A loud swooshing noise came behind me and a wall of hot air hit my back. I fell forward, into my friend, and he fell on the ground. A loud beeping noise rang out in the sound of rain and made me sit up.

"What is it?" he yelled.

I stood up and tried to move away from the beeping. Maybe the thing causing this confusion was a broken car or some other dangerous machine.

"Sile? Sile!" my friend shouted. I tried to get away, but I couldn't tell where the beeping was coming from. Then the ground transformed from cracked pavement to a smooth upward slant. The slant started to lift me up. I toppled forward, sliding down the smooth new surface.

My friend's shouts were getting softer and softer now. It sounded as though there were a wall or some sort of barrier between us.

"Hello? Where am I?!"

"We are on the o6713 Odar ship. I am Captain Gloonkk. What are you?"

"Where are you taking me?!" I heard the terror crack through my weak words.

"We are headed for the Galactic Alliance of Maballm."

I heard Captain Gloonkk mumble something to someone else in the ship, though I had no idea who. Sticky suction cup fingers grabbed my face and forced my head upward.

"This is damaged goods. We have no use for this," something said. It was a difference voice than Gloonkk.

"Ppfft. Release," Gloonkk said. I heard a loud crash, like huge gears fighting against each other. The wind changed again, got louder and I could hear the rain again. Frightened, I tried to stay on whatever surface I was on, but something under me shifted and I fell. I slipped off of the smooth surface into the cold, hard rain.

Whatever had just opened to spit me out, closed a second later and, with a whirring sound, left the scene.

"Hello?! Help!" I shouted. Silence. Clearly whatever had just picked me up had moved me too. Where was I?

I figured it was safe to chance a guess that I was lost.

3

The day started in a field. A pale blue sky faded into healthy, green grass. I couldn't feel any breeze, but I saw the thick blades steadily shifting and so assumed there was some wind in the air.

I am usually met with extravagant scenes when I shut my sightless eyes, but this place was calm. This dream was subtle. Looking around, I realized there was a light fog covering the field in which I was laying. Off to my right, I noticed a figure walking towards me through the mist. It was a man. He had dark brown, silky hair and grey eyes. I had never seen this man before but somehow I recognized him.

The fog started to thicken. I reached for the familiar figure but was losing sight. The fog curled around my face and crept into my eyes. Soon I could no longer see the man at all and then the whole scene was swallowed in foggy darkness...

I woke up but kept my eyes closed for a moment. I tried desperately to find the man again, any sliver of an image of him. Naturally I could not and finally peeled my eyelids away from my glossy eyeballs. Back to reality.

20 minutes later, I was shutting my apartment door behind me and walking toward the staircase. I took the usual 168 stairs to the bottom floor of the apartment building and walked out the front door. 24 steps to the newspaper stand outside the apartment building, and I was ready to go back inside. Before I turned back toward my shelter, though, I heard shouting. I figured it couldn't be later than 8:30 am the morning. Usually I'm an early riser, but I slept in a bit today.

Carefully, I took 15 steps toward the noise and realized it was a bigger commotion than I had initially assumed. I felt my way to the edge of the sidewalk and crossed the street. As I tried to figure out with the argument was all about, I heard a familiar voice humming along to the morning radio station. I didn't recognize the song.

"Spare some change?" a voice asked.

"We've met before," I replied. "We sang Judy Garland together."

"Ah, you've returned," he said. "Unusual. People don't normally stop to chat twice. Or even once for that matter." The sadness in my friend's voice made my heart hurt.

"What's going on over there?" I asked. I pointed in the general direction, but wasn't sure exactly where the shouting was coming from.

"The truth with all its power lies inside me," he responded. "Care to sit?"

"If I sit, I won't ever get up."

"Stay for a while, then." I sat.

I heard a grunt and smelled something strong. It wasn't exactly bad, but it by no means was the scent of cleanliness. My friend's voice was closer now. He'd stood up.

"I'm going to find out what all that ruckus is," he said. "I can't think with all that ruckus." I heard him walk away, taking the unusual smell with him.

While I waited for my friend to join me again, I listened to the radio's morning station, which was playing on a radio near where the man was previously sitting. Suddenly I remembered Felix. He needed his breakfast. Without saying goodbye to my friend, I stood up and walked back in the direction I came, crossed the street and entered the Castle Apartments. I took the 168 stairs in record pace and headed toward my apartment, number 783. Felix rubbed against my leg when I opened the door, craving both attention and food. I fed him, pat his ears, and closed my window. It really was hard to think with all the ruckus.

2

The day started on a rainbow. I can't tell you where I was, but there was every color you can imagine flying above my head -- in the form of hundreds of birds. The plethora of multicolored songbirds whizzed around so fast I could hardly distinguish the colors. Racy reds mixed with glorious greens and yodeling yellows to combine magenta and turquoise and colors I couldn't even name. Occasionally a bird would stop fluttering around too high and too fast for me to see, and I would study it -- the shape of the beak, the squinty eyes, the exact shades of its feather colors. Sometimes I would recognize and name four or five colors before the bird would take off again, in its purposeless but beautiful flight. I liked watching the movement of their wings. Every movement was magnificent -- every turn, every dip. Birds were made to be seen, I concluded. The world was made to be seen. Seeing was living.

This place was lovely. I didn't want it to disappear. But like all my other dreams, I knew it had to.

One by one, the birds began plummeting forcefully to the ground, but slowly, almost in slow-motion. I watched as a stunning blue and violet songbird fell before my eyes from its natural place in the sky. As it reached the unholy ground, it's vibrant feathers began to fade until all the was left was a grey, colorless heap of death. All around me, lifeless and colorless birds landed until they surrounded my body. Trapped underneath thousands of ugly rotten birds, I screamed silently -- I couldn't hear myself. I tried to keep my eyes open as long as possible, tried to repaint the previous, vivacious scene in my head. All I could see for miles was grey feathers. Holding up my hand, I realized that even I was turning grey. Hyperventilating now, I shook my head and attempted to block out the sight of bland greyness. With a final scream I blinked.

I sighed and blinked again. Nothing. As usual. What will come, will come. I thought. If even in riddles, murk and darkness. My dreams always came. And they were always dark.

I decided to go for a walk today. I never explored the city. After swallowing my seemingly pointless depression pills and changing out of my soft nightgown into a musty-smelling pull over dress and moth-eaten sweater, I walked out of the door and down the hallway to the stairs. A perfect 168 steps later, I hit the bottom floor of the humble (humble because it had nothing to brag about) apartment building and shuffled toward the door. Reaching out before me, I grasped the handle and swept outside.

It was quiet. As I walked forward though, trying to count my steps, I heard a strange noise. I lost all sense of where I was and just hoped I wasn't walking in the middle of some alley. God only knows what could be crawling around in this forsaken city.

Music. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was playing somewhere to my right. One of my favorites. Judy Garland's voice was so sweet it made my ears hurt.

As I walked forward, I tripped on something round that made a clanging noise against the pavement.

"It is not your fate to fall at my hands!" A deep but fatigued voice burst from my right. I jumped, unaware that I shared anyone's company.

Unsure how to respond, I stood in front of the voice for a moment. I heard Judy's voice again, and couldn't help myself from humming.

"You like Judy?" the voice asked. I kept humming until the end of the frase and replied yes.

"You're a smart lady. She's one of the best." I smiled. Then I heard the voice humming along with me -- several octaves lower. When we reached the chorus, the voice harmonized and tapped a foot on the sidewalk to match the beat of the song. Our additions were excellent. The song ended and so did our sing-along.

"That was lovely," I told the voice sitting across from me on the pavement.

"All you can say are riddles," it replied. I told him my name and thanked him for the song. As I turned around and started walking away, trying now to locate anything familiar, he shouted his name down the street to me. What will come, will come, I thought for the second time today (although for complete different reasons). If even in riddles, murk and darkness.

I made a new friend today. And while our meeting was somewhat dark, it was also much brighter than the dream that woke me up this morning.

1

The day started in wonderland. I was walking through a sort of tunnel in a forest, bridged over by great trees -- 60, 70 feet tall and at least 200 feet around. Huge, bulging roots lined the trail, begging me to continue forward. Birds of a hundred colors flitted high above my head, bees swarmed around the flowers at my feet. My bare feet. I could see the brown, healthy dirt caked on up to my ankles, in the spaces between my toes, in my toenails. Bright colors burst from every corner of the frustratingly tiny amount of space my two perfect eyes could take in at one time. The greenest greens, bluest blues, reddest reds. But then -- the whole scene exploded to orange and yellow -- the trees, the birds, the flowers were suddenly engulfed in a fire. I watched in horror as my utopia burned to the ground, not feeling the flames licking my feet or smelling the smoke waft to my face. I knew I was shrieking, cursing, but couldn't hear my screams. I didn't want to close my eyes (I knew what was coming) but finally the accumulation of tears overcame my will to keep this world alive and I blinked...

I woke up. A disappointment so strong I didn't think it would ever pass, replaced the so-recent feeling of elation brought with the dream. I welcomed this familiar feeling every morning. Afterall, I couldn't have the dreams without the disappointment afterward.

A swipe of my hand and the covers fell from my body to the floor. After several unsuccessful attempts, sat up then lifted myself from the bed. I dry-swallowed two pills to prevent my unpreventable case of depression and fulfilled my morning routine.

After dressing and cleaning my teeth, I closed my apartment door (I never bothered to lock it) and continued down the hallway of the Castle Apartments -- to which I called home for 53 years. Me moving would be a hassle. And as the apartment building was going nowhere, it looked as though I was stuck in room 783 until death claimed me.

The damp hallway carpet sank under my shoes and smelled old. 57 steps later, my feet reached the first of the many stairs I traveled down everyday. The elevator broke 27 years ago. My feet carried me down 168 stairs to the first floor. I walked out the front door and took the 24 steps to a newspaper stand outside the apartments. Four quarters and three dimes bought me a daily paper. I only ever paid in change -- the sizes were easier to distinguish than dollar bills. The paper was for my cat, Felix. The years were catching up to his bladder and I'd become tired of scolding him whenever I slipped in or smelled his urine. I turned, took 24 steps back into the apartment building, walked up 168 evenly spaced stairs, paced 57 steps more and returned to room 783.

Felix cuddled against my leg as I opened the apartment door. I spread the newspaper around the house, almost randomly. I settled down in my recliner, listening to the sweet sounds of my favorite morning radio station.

Home again, home again.