Waking up today was unlike any other. If not for the new smells, a sweet chocolatey aroma. The fabric of the bed, softer than I remembered. Not quite awake, there’s a knocking at my door. My door? It used to be in front of my bed, and now it’s to the left, weird. Sitting up, I’m greeted by unfamiliar sights. Surrounded by a room I’ve never seen before. The anxiety hits me, I don’t know where I am, why I’m here, or who is knocking at the door.

Rushing to the door, I gently open it curious who’s on the other side. Greeted by an older man, his grey hair slicked back. His shirt- no a fancy dress shirt is tucked into his suit pants. He must have important work here. He seems surprised to see- “Dr. Shawns, your speech is in 20 minutes. I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Have you not prepared for it yet?”

“My speech, yes! What was the speech for again? I know, obviously but do you know?”

Sighing, he provides the answer “your speech on the meaning of life sir. The one that you planned in May.”

I nod in agreement, quickly planning what I might say. Several ideas roam around my brain. Tell them there is no real meaning, that everything you could ever do never really matters in the end. Or I could go opposite, telling them my real opinions on the question that civilization has had for too long. I decide that I’ll do a mixture of both. Telling them what I believe they’d want to hear. Most people, at least.

In an attempt to compose myself, processing what’s happening. I ruffle my hair, my hand soaking into Lucious strands of blonde, a curl in it I never thought I’d see on myself. Quickly, I hop into the suit the man had brought me. Ten, walking out into the hallway I see them. It had to be thousands of people and I hate crowds. Don’t get me started on public speaking. I was not prepared for this. My body falls to the floor with a thud, alerting the crowd of my existence once more. Once I had woken up, I was back in my own body. My room smelled the same, everything was back to normal. Rifting through my hair, it was my brunette waves again. I had never been more relieved. I guess it was just a bad dream?