It felt like being trapped inside of a snow globe. The haze of the fog blurred the edge of reality; like there really wasn’t anything past the edge of the direct vicinity. Katrina looked down and didn’t see her rabbit. Panic spiked immediately, sharp and instinctive.

  “Katrina…” The voice was soft, almost an exhale, as if the fog itself had learned her name. It wasn’t threatening—it sounded worried. “Don't wake up. Time is thinning. You’re slipping between the cracks.” A brittle sound echoed through the fog—like glass under pressure. "Remember...she doesn't lie. "

  The fog fractured. Lines cracked through the air like stress fractures in a mirror. The dream shattered sideways, falling in sheets all around her—breaking apart into the beach she had been walking only moments ago. Katrina was back on the beach. The forest met the ocean at a jagged seam, where the earth seemed unsure of what it wanted to be. Then she noticed the shift; all the tar started to pull together. She felt the rabbit pulling on the leash with fervor; Katrina realized he wasn't scared- he was trying to get to the portal. Katrina stole one last glance over her shoulder; the tar had almost finished forming a human silhouette that was walking towards them. Something deep inside her recoiled—not in fear, but in a strange, unplaceable recognition. Katrina scooped up her rabbit and ran for the portal; if he thought it was safe- it was good enough for her.

  Is this way up? Or am I going around the bend? No, this is the way forward- it must be! I clutched Houdini tighter against my chest; if he jumped or fell, I may never find him again in here. The world around us was a vortex of swirling darkness, a haze of fragmented half-memories—but none of them felt like mine. Maybe I just didn’t remember them anymore. A blue bird flies overhead slightly about us in the dark vortex swirl, yet I swear it sounds like a mourning dove. Next thing I know I fall to my knees and instinctively hold Houdini tighter; my right hand stabilizes my balance. The earth beneath my palms felt warm, humming faintly like it was alive and reacting to my touch. The resonance here is off the charts; it's like a whiteout of logic. The air smelled wrong- sweet, but sharp. Like flowers that have been made by chemicals, not mother nature. I looked up to see a field stretched out in every direction, drenched in a light that had no source. The sky was at twilight, the colors too deep, as if someone had over saturated the world and forgot to stop.

  “Hello?” I whispered. My voice didn’t seem to echo; It didn’t disappear either—it dissolved, like it had been absorbed by the air itself. "Oh no," I sighed. This was my recurring dream. Or nightmare, depending on persuasion.

  This place feels like it has been waiting for us.

  I stand slowly, looking in all directions, unsure of what to do next; for there was no going back. That tar shape seems to not have followed us at least. Overhead, the sky flares white for just a second, then goes back to being a black sky full of constellations that I no longer recognized. Thinking danger was coming but looking down at Houdini, he doesn’t seem remotely bothered. He noses my hand, head butting me towards the right.

  The blackness fades and shimmers to reveal a path; I guess we're meant to walk it? The path is filled with flowers. I could see that there was a warm glow coming from inside the forest line up ahead. I set Houdini down, and we started forward. I have so many questions and no answers; maybe I really have lost my mind. But Houdini isn’t scared—not even a little. If anything, it feels like he’s on a schedule.

  “Well,” I muttered, “what other options do we have?”

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