“Run, Daisy,” the strange woman whispered in my ear. Sweat was pouring down her face like salty rain.

She let go of my arm and fell to her knees. Below us, the ground cracked open. Then the earth swallowed her whole.

I tried to run, but some invisible force held me in my place.

Without warning, the whole world tilted and I was sucked through a pitch black hole. I screamed, but no sound came out. I began spinning around and around.

As if by magic, I flew out of the hole and the spinning stopped.

Now, I was floating through space. I gasped as I looked down and saw the Earth. It seemed so small. I felt a sense of peace as I swam among the stars, the world at my fingertips.

Suddenly, the galaxy spun again and I started falling to Earth. I grasped at clouds as I plummeted toward the ground, desperate for anything to stop my fall. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the end.

My breathing slowed.

Time stopped.

PING!

I opened my eyes and felt soft cotton sheets and the familiarity of my own bed.

It was just a dream.