By: Marina Han

I am on the ground, in a park. Under me is a large bed of lush green grass tickling my back. Behind me are flourishing trees and blackberry bushes. In front of me is a paved concrete path leading to a small playground with a color scheme of light green and bright yellow. The sky is pale blue with no clouds in sight. There is no one here. But soon there will be, I think. So I slowly close my eyes, cherishing this valuable moment of silence. Not even the birds are chirping-in my mind I thank them for letting me have a time for peace.

I hear a ring somewhere far away; I raise my head and open my eyes to find its source. I do not see anything so I lay my head back down and close my eyes. I can feel myself slowly drifting into a deep sleep when I hear it three times.

Ring….

Ring….

Ring….

Where is that noise coming from? I reluctantly sit up and sigh. I guess my few minutes of quiet are gone now. I open my backpack next to me and grab a protein bar, my stomach growling. I open the wrapper and I am about to take a bite when a huge, brown, furry hand with sharp, black claws reaches down and grabs it from me. Startled, I yelp and immediately stand up. I turn around and find a ginormous brown bear staring back at me. Wait, no… I think. It has the body of a brown bear, but it has the head of a parrot with a long yellow beak, its feathers a mix of bright green and red. It has two orange chicken feet. And its ears are from a cat, furry gray ones that turn pink on the inside. He clutches a shiny bell in his left hand while his right hand is holding the protein bar I was going to eat.

I scream and sprint away frantically while my brain tries to process what I just saw. I hear the creature chasing me from behind. I try to plan what to do next-I cannot outrun such a creature. Suddenly, I trip on a small twig and I fall face first onto the path. My head hits the ground with a hard thump and my face scratches the concrete. I flop onto my back, groaning in pain.

Then everything goes black.

***

“Honey?”

I open my eyes and sit up, swinging my arms, screaming: “No! I am not honey! I am a human! DON’T ATTACK ME!”

I quickly realize that I am in my room, on my bed, beneath a cozy white comforter. I look to my left and see my mom, staring at me with her mouth wide open.

I think, was that all a dream?

“Sweetheart, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?” Mom asks with concern.

I nervously chuckle. “Y-yeah, I must have.”

But that was so real. The grass, the path, the massive pain of hitting the ground….

Mom softly laughs. “Well, okay. I hope you’re good now. I have already made breakfast, come down when you’re ready.

I nod and she walks out. I take a deep breath and jump off my bed when something catches my eye. Is that… I think. No. It can’t be. I walk closer while my heartbeat quickens.

There. On the floor.

It is a piece of brown fur.