A Unique Dream

Here I am, encased in a tank within a laboratory. What an odd dream to have—to become the very thing that indulges my curiosity. Being in this tank gave a strange sensation to the nerves. It was like an itch that I could never itch. Is this what it feels like to be preserved in formaldehyde?

Outside this tank, there were researchers closely resembling my team. Gandalf was at the computer, looking at the compiled data. Adam and Via analyzed the samples, while KoKo examined the chemical composition with Charles. It was very imprecise in their roles on the research team, but it is a dream after all.

And since this is a dream, I should be able to do whatever I want. What should I do? Fly? Build a country? Or maybe something simpler? Traveling to another planet is expensive in the real world. I'd never get another chance to do this.

The whole room suddenly became distorted. The tank went dark, and the room itself disappeared. In an instant, everything had disappeared, and now I was in space, just floating around and around. It stayed like that for a while, just me, staring blankly at the distant stars bound by whatever physical form I was in. Sometimes I would enter a solar system, passing by planets I never could have imagined seeing, which is ironic.

The planets all had a unique look to them. There was a pink planet with large mountains on it, surrounded by small patches of green, and another planet was covered in blue gas, erupting through the atmosphere to dissipate into space. There was a recent one that looked just like Qupiter, although there was a creepy laugh echoing behind it. Imagine if Qupiter had a weird face, just laughing at us endlessly. Yeesh, that would be uncomfortable.

The planets were endless. If not for this fact, I would've gone crazy in my dream.

The sounds of windchimes sounded out loud. It was an indication of a dream that would now end. As I blinked away the remnants of the dream, a glimpse of the real world appeared. Slowly giving myself a peek into my room, the sunset painted the room with a warm, amber hue. 

To the side of me, out the window from a distance, the skyscrapers always stood tall among the other city buildings. Once, the sunrise would have bathed me in a picturesque glow. But now, the view appeared as a coated canvas in a purely yellow and gray city. I reminisced about those peaceful mornings until the sun rose above the building, reminding me why it was so bad.

"My eyes!"

Rolling to the other side of my bed, I buried myself under my pillow for eye relief. How could I forget? Sleeping with the sun directly beaming at you can still damage the eyes. That day, I set up a timer so it wouldn't happen, just like now. With a simple look at the alarm, it says five fifty-nine. Seconds pass. It blares its obnoxious sounds, reminiscent of ship sirens. Annoyed, I hit the alarm, and it fell from the desk in silence. Yet, as soon as I was relieved, it blared again. Slipping myself between the pillows, the constant assault on my ears didn't stop.

"Argh! I'm awake! So stop it with the sirens, Wynter!"

Once it stopped, a red holographic window materialized before me, accompanied by Wynter's soothing voice.

[Good morning, Miss Arial.] [I'm sorry for the abrupt wake-up call.] [If I had not used ship sirens, you would not have woken up.]

"Morning."

Giving a polite but hoarse greeting despite his wake-up call, Wynter gives me a sense of security. He is an AI assistant installed into my brain a year ago to keep my mental and physical bodies in check. A personal decision of mine ever since my eyes worsened and it seemed cool.

[Miss Arial, it's time to wake up.] [It's six o'clock.] [Also, here is a morning fact that you may like. Did you know a chicken once lived for 18 months without its head? They say that Dike, the headless chicken-]

But then again, having a voice in your head every day can be a pain sometimes.

"Wynter, please, spare me the facts and forget about it."

[Of course, Miss Arial] [Memory wipe in progress] […]

"…Not literally."

As Wynter floats on the top right of my eye, I can't help but feel a splintering pain in my head. It seems like the hangover is starting to kick in. Standing up for a cup of drink, I had overlooked that my alarm was on the floor, tripping over it and falling face-first onto the ground.

After collapsing to the floor, my belly growled, giving me a nauseating feeling. Knees down and hands on the floor, it suddenly became worse—the headache. For a few seconds, it was unbearable, but then the agony went to my stomach.

"Oh god."

Checking the room, my eyes landed on a small trashcan on the other side. Even though the chances of it being a trashcan are low, I had no choice but to take my chances. With weakened legs, gravity became a hundred times heavier on me; they shook like twigs just from putting pressure on them.

Move it, dammit!~

"Hurmph!"

With only a hand to crawl inch by inch, it seemed like forever to get there, but when I looked up, it was in front of me. Shoving my face inside, I hurled out all the rainbow glitter in my mouth. It felt never-ending as my gag reflex kept activating.

[Memory Wipe Complete.]

[Miss Arial.]

"Hurhghgh!"

[…Miss Arial, from what I can tell from this morning, you appear to be sensitive to the light of the sun and the sound of the old clock.]

"Wynter, please, not again."

[The squeezing of your stomach and the furrowing of your brows also suggest stomach discomfort and vertigo. You may be suffering from a headache in addition to your compulsive drinking.]

[A shower will be healthy for your body as it will momentarily reduce some of your symptoms, such as sweating, overheating, and having your senses refreshed.]

[Would you like me to mention any more recently identified symptoms that have been linked to obsessive drinking?]

"No, Wynter! I-Hurghfh!"

On an empty stomach, the acidic feeling lingered. Waving a hand above me, I grabbed the table, lifting my head just over it. When I looked in the mirror and saw myself in the reflection, my entire face was pale, as if it had been sent to hell and back. With my bloodshot eyes, shaking hands, and the touch of leaves buried beneath my hair, I might as well be a homeless crackhead.

"Ugh, why is this happening to me?"

~Just what did I do last night to become like this?~

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During the night, unlike others who sleep to work the next day, I was always out in the woodland wilderness, walking on a dirt path in my backyard. On these walks, an alcoholic drink would be in my hand to warm me up.

"Ooo, hallo, little blippies."

Taking on these little midnight walks so many times, I gained the attention of some flickering balls of light that would float around me called elfes, not elves, L-Fes.

They are what you would consider to be fairies, but, unlike the magical fairies that you know of, these biological entities are like mosquitoes, attracted to any warm-blooded beings at night; they follow you around, absorbing the heat emitted off the body. Funnily enough, considering how they were named, I always have a light laugh at who the name reminds me of.

"Elvish Presley. El…vish… Presley. Heh."

Reminded of him, I sang to the tune of one of the Emperor of Rock n Roll's songs.

"Wise Maann Saaaayyy!! Only Cloowwns rush in!"

On that night, all the elfes that were idling around me scattered, except for one that may be tone deaf to my singing. It sang along with me, guiding me through the woodland. Continuing on my path along with my little friend, I take notice of the ones that had scattered just seconds ago and regrouped in one particular spot.

"Hehehe. Come here, little blippies."

Step by step, sneakily approaching them. It seemed like they knew I was there. Me, a giant woman with a witch's laugh, who just moments ago was singing.

"Gotcha!"

They quickly scattered away, leaving me to trip over, face flat, onto the ground.

"…Ow."

Laying on the ground for a moment in silence, one by one bursts of laughter came out of them. With the state of mind, I was in, I only took notice of the bump I felt.

To my surprise, the floor under me was the deck of a bridge. Back up on my feet, I was in awe. Looking over the railing as my arms hung over, the scenery was astounding. Having clear night skies, along with the moon's reflection off the river, added a nice romantic feeling, especially the nocturnal white flowers blooming along the river.

The little elfes who weren't bothered by my behavior sat by my side, enjoying the starry night with me. As we hummed simultaneously, a streak of lights appeared above. It was a meteor shower.

"I know this! As the ancient saying goes, When you see a shooting star, cover your eyes, make a wish, and it will come true. Oh, please, please, let my life be as interesting as it has always been."

With a moment of silence, hoping for a dream to come true, I take a peek.

"… Nothing changed."

In an emotional spiral, the occasion brought me to tears for a few seconds, crying over the railing, and, now from happy to sad, it drove me to anger.

"You motherfuQ#%#$%#5!!"

A single bright meteor hung back from its other friends.

"What!? Are you upset that I yelled at your friends?! Come at me if you want a piece of me!"

Raising my fist towards it, the still meteor was coming closer and faster than I would have thought. The anger turned into worry as the meteor began to look bigger.

"No, wait a second. I didn't mean it!"

Walking backward and hitting the railing on the other side, the meteor flew right over the bridge. Looking at where the meteor had landed, it left a small trail in the river. In confusion, my whole body is shaken, but for only one reason.

"…Awesome!"

Driven by instinct, I rushed off the bridge after the meteor and into the shallow river. As I drew closer, my eyes were fixated on its form. Unlike any other medium, instead of the typical faceted or flattened surfaces, this one had a shimmering surface with an eerie glow.

The only other way to think of it was as a pitch-black shape that implied a box. It was reflectionless, incomprehensibly smooth to the touch, and utterly creepy. So after checking it visually, there was only one proper way to respond to this situation. Hugging it.

"So smooooth. Hehehehe"

Feeling around this strange meteorite and pressing my ear against its surface, I heard a sound; it sounded like gears rotating on the inside, each piece going at its own rhythm.

"Click, clack, click, clack… Aw, it shtopped."

Rubbing my whole face on it, I felt a shiver run down my spine as the vibration on the inside spread throughout my body. Backing my face and hand off of it, the black box splits open, revealing a translucent cylinder case with a crystal of no color floating in the middle.

Suspended above me, the crystal changed color each time from green to blue, white, black, and purple. Continuously changing until a certain simple color appears: red. It emits its red glow on me, hovering close to a specific area.

As I looked down at where it was going, all of the pain started to set in once I realized.

My body was being scorched alive as it gravitated towards my chest. Enveloped in searing flames, every inch of exposed skin prickled with intense heat. The air turned into a furnace, scorching every breath. My lips, glued shut by the heat, were ripped from my silent screams. The heat seeped into my skin, causing it to ache and throb. It finally pierced my skin, burrowing into my chest as my ribs broke, making room for it. My consciousness faded away as the heat dissipated.

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"This can't be real."