I was in bed, sitting up. She was sitting with her back to my front, using me as sort of a chair back. The covers were wrapped around us, and we were talking, enjoying each others’ nakedness. She was a petite woman, elfin in features.

(She always is.)

Dave Welfare came into the room, and I knew that it was a hotel room at a convention or something. I immediately became defensive about her, as if there was some sort of competition between Dave and myself over her. He was very polite, jovial, and smiling to the point of laughter. Then he left.

SHIFT

I was dressed and in the same room. Though, for some reason, my computer was there, and I was unplugging it to swap out a card or something. People came into the room and informed me that they were taking me away. I asked why, and they stated that I was insane and listed their proof. It was undeniable, and it proved that the woman from before didn’t exist. She was in my head.

SHIFT

I was in some kind of insane asylum. My room had a mirror, and I was trying to brush my hair. It wouldn’t untangle, and they wouldn’t let me take a shower (my hair always straightens when it gets wet). As I brushed it, it got really thick and suffused with color. First dark red, and then dark purple. Like dye was coming out of my hair, and then getting soaked into it. I tried to tie it with a hair tie, but no matter how many times I twisted the thing, it would only set my hair into a loose ponytail.

SHIFT

I was in a minivan. I was in the passenger seat, and no one was sitting in the driver’s seat. The van went where I wanted it to, though. On some level, I realized that I must actually be sitting in the driver’s seat. This unnerved me, because I still made sense to me. I couldn’t be THAT gone, could I? The van obeyed my vague commands, and we drove for a bit.

SHIFT

I was in the lobby of a hotel, and I recognized someone. Everyone here was dressed formally. The woman that I recognized had something to do with my best friend from high school, Eric. She came up to me and said, “Steven?”. I said “No, my name is David.” I turned around, and my mom was sitting on a bench. I immediately thought, “Right. Aries. Steven (Eric’s older brother) has a wedding reception today.” My mom said to me, “They need you in there.” I replied, “I’m going to go upstairs and get ready.” I was a little worried, because nobody was making snide remarks about my purple hair. She said, in a firmer voice “They need you now.” I remarked, also firmly, “I’m going to go upstairs and get ready.”

SHIFT

I was back in the original hotel room, and noticed that my computer was still unplugged. So I began to plug it back in.

That’s when the phone rang and I woke up. Good god damn.