bedtime stories

I arrived at the distant new planet, alien and unsympathetic.

I vaguely remembered my flight here: I didn’t fly like a bird, it was more like an extended elevation.

Moonlight spilled over and a smokey river called out my true name.

I approached it… the waves were beating at a huge rock and laughing at the way I walked.

It then lifted the rock and said to me,

“Meet my twin, but you’ll need the VLM”.

VLM (Very Large Microscope) is the twin of VLT (Very Large Telescope) and both proved to be very useful.

Under the rock and lens, it was finally visible: tiny glowing particles.

Syncronized, both emerged from their habitat and morphed together into a human shape with vibrating waves and particles colliding to create an increasingly blinding yet beautiful light, stained only by their cynical remark.

Waves: “We supposed that this form…

Particles: …ugly as it is…

Both: …will make it easier for you”.

What was on my mind at that moment was beyond logical incarceration, as though open and ready for anything, I asked, “Am I dead”?

Somehow that sounded like a joke to them.

So I asked again, “Is he really not that into me”?

That crafted a seriousness to them and they replied, “ Yes, that is true. He is not that into you because you are not that desirable”.

“Oh…I see…” were the only words I managed.

“You are ugly and doomed to fail”, the diabolical human shape said to me, rather indifferently.

It was getting unpleasant so I left. Truth be told, I ran away from the blinding light to a dark corner where the ground was uneven and the temperature felt warmer.

Here in the dark lived a leper.

Me: “How did you end up here”?

Leper: “I can’t remember but you are so beautiful”.

Me: “How did you get this disease”?

Leper: “I don’t remember, does it matter? Your voice is so lovely”.

I guessed it didn’t matter so instead of more questions, I simply shrugged. What happened next was weird: the leper drew near to me and kissed my hands fanatically.

“You are so wise and unique; I think I am in love with you”.

The leper was on a roll.

“God sent you here to aid me from my sufferings”.

It was unnerving so with no sudden movements, I slowly backed away from the leper.

Slightly traumatized by both encounters, I retreated to the edge of the planet and attempted to light a cigarette to calm my nerves. My lighter fell to the ground, right on top of the words in the rough sands that read Hey You.

I knelt down to take a closer look and like a really cool magic trick, the words kept coming:

This is for your own good.

Please answer the following questions:

Ha 1. Have you in any way harmed or injured a zebra before in your life?

2. Have you in any way harmed or injured a zebra before in your dreams?

3. Do you own anything made out of zebra’s skin or body parts?

4. Do you enjoy watching zebra being killed by predators on TV?

I answered no to all by yelling my answers out loud but not without a slight hesitation to the last question. I then waited for what felt like eternity for new words to appear or something to happen before something finally did.

The lines were forming in the sands but clearly not of words; it was of a zebra’s face. I quickly learned that it was a pretty cool prelude to the actual zebra that miraculously appeared few nano seconds later, complete with all body parts.

It was quite a funny image: imagine me riding on a zebra; but as a matter of fact I really enjoyed it, less commercial as riding a unicorn.

Time spent with Z (for zebra) felt relatively inadequate before the interruption occurred, and it came in the form of a white rabbit, the most obvious clues possible. What else could I have done but follow it? And follow it I did, to a large tunnel made entirely of metals.

There was a sign at the mouth of the tunnel that educate readers about its procedures. Travelers need to keep their mind blank and those with poor control will just have to take their chances.

I didn’t understand it and all I felt was intense fear from looking at the monstrous beasts who were guarding the tunnel; how on planet could I keep my mind blank I had no idea but I did what I felt right: I followed the white rabbit.

I remembered feeling uneasy when the intimadating gatekeepers let me through, I couldn’t help but noticed and bothered by their snickering, like they knew something I didn’t.

Inside the tunnel, I was right behind the rabbit and Z was tailing me. It felt and appeared like a good quality tunnel, its maker put in great efforts and solid materials. Damn, my mind was anything but blank.

First there was a rumbling sound then an explosion of light. I tried to keep my mind blank by closing my eyes and that was when I felt it: great pain as though being hit by a trillion balls. The force that came at us was so strong that it carried our flesh away, literally. I couldn’t close my eyes anymore because I had no eyelids; they flew away, and for a brief moment, I saw stuff that blew my mind, right before my eyes flew away too.

For the record, there were more than a trillion balls, each the size of a ping pong. They traveled fast and when came into contact with our vibrating flesh, two outcomes presented itself: 1) they stamped-out or simply disappeared 2) they became something else.

Several millions of them crashed straight into my left arm and just vanished with a bang. Others took my right leg off but instead of vanishing, they merged and drifted away before I could make out what they’ve become.

Before long, I was no more but a thought. I am trying my best to describe what it was like but what it was like is really beyond words.

I thought for sure I’m dead or finally liberated but guessed my mind wasn’t blank so I woke up to this nut house world instead.