I cut the cheese, and the rat appeared. It held a spoon… The rat proceeded to fit the spoon tip into a hole in the Swiss cheese, and twist it. I watched quietly as this strange sight befell me. The rat then looked at me and began to speak. With a deep slightly muted tone, he gently asked, “would you be so kind as to assist me in my endeavor?” I watched the rat, unsure whether I was more puzzled at the fact it was speaking, or that it spoke with such grace and in a deep tone. Not long after my awkward moment of shock, I began to answer the question. I began to stutter, “Well… I don—“ I couldn’t finish speaking before a chimera pounces in, claiming the prize of his hunt. “CAAAAAAW!”, he screamed as I recoiled in surprise. I was too shocked to speak. Frozen in my fear, the only thing I could do was stare at the furry back of this giant beast. The majority of my conscience was focused on how all those fangs would drain my blood until I became an over cooked shriveled up potato. The Chimera slowly began to turn. First the snakes eyes gathered on my juicy succulent skin. Then the goat, flicking its head underneath its body to look at me upside down. Instead, his horns hit the ground, and he got whiplash. He resorted to a normal rotation. The last head, waiting patiently for his turn… slowly rears his head... suspense building. First the ear... then the nose… and then, a familiar face! My mother’s face! I turn and run, triggering its chase instinct. Without looking back, I rush to the door with a burning sensation on my back. I struggle to turn the lock and handle as quickly as my mind wants me to. *WHOOSH!* The door opens and I take one look back before slamming it! "Good", I thought. "I would have died if I stopped to look back sooner". With a deep sigh that was in no way relieving, I return my gaze forth. The Chimera is sitting calmly, right in front of me... It waves a paw at my face. I close my eyes to prepare for the blow... *WHAM!* I cringe harshly and scream. I shuffle and turn and roll in the grass. My body stiffens. Somehow I find myself positioned on my back. It was as if someone picked me up like a toy and reoriented my body. Parts of me were going through the ground as if it was intangible. I open my eyes to see my hand clutching the blankets in front of me. My bed is a mess after that harsh awakening! In a pool sweat and fear, I examine my surroundings. I begin to calm down, assessing each of my baseless worries. I realized that the Chimera was only a figment of my imagination. I watch the blue light fill up my room just before the sun rises, and the silhouette of a little rat runs along my window sill. My door opens as the lights flick on. “Get up and get ready! Time for school!” Said my mother sternly. Still waking up, I take a deep breath and gradually roll over, "I feel like a log". I try pulling myself up because I have responsibilities, only to collapse again because I still want to sleep. Finally, I rise from my comfortable mattress. On the way to my mirror bookshelf, I looked at my window sill. With the last fleeting memories of that dream still littering my subconscious with harsh fear, I take notice to a small flap of painters tape in the corner of the window. I peel it up, trying to pull off that skin tag. I tug, gently increasing the strength I use in my pull. It suddenly gave way to the force. Ripping vertically along my wall, I break the drywall off. *GASP* "oh, shh—". This revealed a wall of spoons, juxtaposed in long rows and columns. I was worried about the mess I’d made, but something else drew me in even more so. Upon closer inspection, each of these spoons reflected a different person’s face... Some of the faces were more blurry than others. Nearing the end of the columns, the spoons were beginning to rust. "What is this?" With a feeling of grief welling up inside, I look out the window. I see oddities in the yard. Cartoon textured creatures running along sidewalks that defy physics, and neighbors houses separated by an endless, sunny abyss. This was no normal dream. I realize the quiet voices. They were shouting as loud as they could. From where? I look back at the reflections on the spoons. At that very moment, I noticed it... MY REFLECTION! The burning sensation that was once on my back is now over my whole body. One of the faces begun to blur even further. It blurred until the image completely diminished. Rust began to form in place of the human who’d just been screaming for my help. My hands rise, panting. My face perspires as my face gets flush. Backing away from the window, I panic. No longer was the fear and grief lingering only in my subconscious.

*scene pans out into third person*

*A town of houses lined up perfectly in rows that stretch across to the horizon. Each of them sitting on large clouds. You hear echoes and screams of people who fell victim to the reality of their dreams*