A Dream Come True

I was sitting at my grandmother's old oak table, a large square of her famous lasagna steaming in front of me. The scent of the perfectly melted cheese layered between the tiers of homemade meat sauce overpowered the concern of a burnt upper palate. I hastily speared a chunk onto my fork, salivating as I brought this slice of heaven closer and closer to my eager lips -

A sharp thud interrupted my dream. I sat up in bed and scanned the room, looking for something that may have fallen, but nothing was out of place.

Another thud. I tried to ignore the nuisance and go back to sleep.

Then again a third thud echoed through the walls, louder than before. It sounded like something clashing with metal.

Was there perhaps some construction going on in the apartment building? I checked my nightstand clock: 3:58 a.m. No, that couldn't be it. I was about to leave my bed and inspect the strange noise but by 4:00 a.m. everything was quiet again.

I tucked myself back in and closed my eyes...

Instead of returning to my lasagna dream, I envisioned standing in the doorway of a nice house with two suitcases in hand. A woman was shouting at me to leave, saying she couldn't wait to meet with a divorce lawyer.

Then the scene morphed into an office space with a boss calling me over to have a word. He explained that sometimes corporations have to make tough choices to ensure their companies' survival. That they often need to make cuts for the betterment of the business, and that it was nothing personal.

Then I was outside, underneath a poorly-built tent made from a ripped curtain and rusted shower rods. The back door of a nearby restaurant opened and the busboy tossed the trash into the alley dumpster, only a few feet away from my dilapidated domicile.

I swiftly dove into the stinking garbage and recovered the trash bag, hoping there'd be more than stale crumbs for my dinner this time.

This dream was much different than the others, as I was alert and conscious of myself laying in bed instead of being fully immersed in a deep sleep. But it was just as vivid and felt just as real, although my head ached terribly as it played out.

I turned on my side and buried my face into my pillow, breathing in the comforting, minty aroma that clung to the pillowcase. The familiar scent quickly dispelled the horrible visions from my mind and led me into a more pleasant dream, one where my lasgana was still waiting for me.

I was skiing down a mountain far ahead of the other competitors. The snowy slope sparkled in the sunlight as my skis glided effortlessly toward the end of the trail. Despite the tricky serpentine path, the icy sting of the wind, and the burning in my leg muscles, I was determined to push myself across the bright red finish line in record time.

The cheers from the crowd grew wilder as I raced closer and closer to victory -

A loud thud woke me from my dream. I glanced at my nightstand clock: 3:58 a.m. again. Could this just be a coincidence?

Another thud. Maybe someone else in the building had a new early morning routine? That would explain the reason for noise at the same time two nights in a row.

I approached the door to see for myself what could possibly be making such a racket at this hour. As I reached for the knob a third thunderous thud shook my entire room. I raced back into bed and stared at the door, terrified of what the next thud might bring.

But it was 4:00 a.m. now, and the thuds had stopped, just like last night.

Again I started to experience the unpleasant visions and the strange sensation of still being awake while they flashed through my mind.

The visions started with me on the side of the road, holding a dirty cardboard box in front of me in the hopes that someone walking by would drop money or food in it. After a long day of begging I only had five dollars and a packet of peanuts to show for it.

Then, a businessman in an expensive suit approached me and deposited a pamphlet into my box. He said that the offer within would not only pay, but it would also block any bad memories from my past.

I went to the address provided and arrived at a building that appeared to be an enormous apartment complex. It must've held rooms for thousands of tenants, as it stretched so far up that I couldn't see the top.

Then, I walked through the front doors, hoping the pamphlet's promises awaited me inside.

My head was pounding at this point so I nuzzled into my pillow and inhaled the soothing minty scent. The sweet smell swiftly chased the bad visions away and brought me back to the moment I crossed the finish line and heard the crowd erupt into deafening cheers.

It was sundown as we drifted along in my newly-purchased catamaran, a lifelong goal that I'd finally achieved. The pink and orange hues of the setting sun glistened in the small crests formed by the calm rocking of the ocean. Nearby, dolphins jumped playfully out of the water as a symphony of seagull cries filled the evening sky.

The air was warm, the drinks were cold, the night was young, and I felt -

Not a thud, but a booming CRASH violently threw open my door. I grabbed my nightstand clock - the only thing on hand I could use to defend myself - and saw that the time again read 3:58 a.m. What on earth was going on?

Suddenly, a man wearing a lab coat burst into my room holding some sort of makeshift battering ram.

"Come on, we've got to go!" he said urgently.

So many thoughts, emotions, and questions swirled around in my mind at such a strange sight, but all of that came out as:

"Huh?"

"We've got to go," he repeated. "The gap in the guards' shift change is only about two minutes. I need to get you out of here before they catch us."

"What are you talking about? Who are you? Why are you in my apartment?" I demanded.

"I'm Dr. Nasir, and you're not in an apartment. I'm here to set you free, but we've got to move now!" he said impatiently.

"Set me free? From what?"

Dr. Nasir checked his watch and beckoned me over to the doorway.

"See for yourself."

In all the commotion I hadn't noticed that the outside of my door was made of steel, much like a bank vault. I looked at the battering ram in his hands and knew I had been right about the sound of something hitting metal. But why did my door have metal on the outside?

I peeked out and saw endless rows of metal doors like mine and a glowing sign above that read:

DREAMSCAPE LABORATORY

A strong, painful vision of me sitting in a seminar appeared, the speaker's information overlapping in my mind:

"New studies have found that prolonged periods of uninterrupted REM sleep generate enough brain activity to power an entire household."

"Our newly-developed drug swiftly sends you into a deep sleep, filling your mind with delightful dreams. Plus, it smells like mint!"

"Escape from the painful hardships of your past - and get paid!"

"They're memories," Dr. Nasir explained, pointing to my head as I violently shook it to dislodge the awful visions. "The bad ones, I mean. The longer you're awake, the stronger they return."

"I'm starting to remember now," I said, trying to focus on what I'd forgotten. "The man with the pamphlet said...I would be paid...for some sort of sleep study...so I went to the building and...and..."

"It's a scam," Dr. Nasir said bitterly. "They draw you in with false promises and make you sign the dotted line without showing you the fine print. You're a prisoner here, kept asleep and content with your dreams as you're drained of your brain power.

"I didn’t sign up for this, so I'm trying to make it right." He glanced at his watch again. "But we only have about thirty seconds left to get out of here. Come on!"

I took a step toward the hallway then stopped myself.

"What happens to me if I go with you?" I asked.

"You get to experience reality and live in truth, in the real world." Seeing my hesitation he added, "What they're doing to you here will cut your lifespan in half. Please, come with me."

If I walked through this door I could spare my life and go back to living as my true self. Terrible visions - no, memories - surfaced, ones of cold nights sleeping in an alleyway. Ones of battling feral cats and gigantic rats for moldy scraps in the alley trash bins. Ones of seeing my house go up for sale and my wife never speaking to me again.

Or, I could go back to reliving my best memories in the comfort of my dream world.

I closed the door on Dr. Nasir and returned to bed by 4:00 a.m. I immediately pressed my face into my minty pillow and absorbed the delightful smell through every pore.

Soon I was back on my well-earned catamaran, cracking open a can of my favorite beverage, surrounded by my best friends as we floated toward the sunset on the horizon.

At least here, my life was a dream come true.