I was at a loss for words and could only stare as he took off . The sun was beginning to set . The vivid amber glow of the sun was slowly fading , and night was about to fall . I didn ’ t want my mom to get worried , so I hastily shimmied back through the narrow gap and sprinted as fast as my spindly legs could , back home .
“ Mom !” I yelled , kicking my shoes off , shrugging off my backpack and tossing it onto the couch , all in one practised and fluid motion as I entered my tiny living room . Tiny as it may be , it was well lit and quite spacious , with just a two-person couch propped against a wall and a TV in front . “ Hey honey !” Her head popped out from behind the little pantry cupboard in the kitchen . “ Where were you ? You ’ re over two hours late .” “ Sorry . I had a lot of homework I had to do . My friend offered to help so I stayed at his house for a bit .” I lied , hoping she won ’ t see through it . I ’ m not a particularly good liar , so I was crossing my fingers . Her eyes widened and her mouth slowly spread into a big smile . “ I ’ m proud of you honey . You finally have a nice friend !” I grimaced , quickly regretting not opting for a lie that didn ’ t hurt me so much . I considered telling her about the strange man I had met just now , but dismissed the idea after some more thought . I turned to the left , running down the hallway , wrenched the doorknob to my room and shoved the door open . My room is only big enough to fit my bed , my desk and swivel chair and give me two or three feet of unrestricted space . Although it may seem small , it ’ s pretty big by my standards , so , whatever . I flicked the light on , and plopped down onto my chair and swept my hands across the table to clear it , as it was cluttered with stationery , tissues and whatnots . I fumbled through my coat pockets and delicately pinched it between my forefinger and thumb . As much as I didn ’ t want to take a pill that I didn ’ t even know what it was , which , not to mention , had been given to me by a total stranger , I did not want to suffer any longer . I wanted to live my life happily , without needing to fear the contempt and ridicule I always received from my peers , teachers – virtually everyone , except my loving mother of course . No longer would I be self-conscious , self-loathing and detested by everyone . I stared resolutely at the tablet one last time , before uncorking my water bottle , letting go of it and watching it dissolve slowly . I tipped the bottle into my mouth , chugging all that had been left in it and wiped my mouth dry with the back of my hand after I ’ d finished . I sat still , buzzing with barely contained excitement . I didn ’ t know what was going to happen . I knew that drugs such LSD could work some serious magic on the mind , but this probably wasn ’ t it . I waited . A minute passed . Then five . Then ten . A whole half hour had passed , and nothing had happened . I drummed my finger on the table impatiently and spun around on my chair all the while waiting for something spectacular to happen . After a whole hour had passed , I realised that the man had tricked me . Cursing myself for my stupidity , I retreated to my bed and for some reason , even though it was a bit past eight , I was already exhausted . Talking to that conning idiot was what had probably left me so drained . I fluffed my pillow and got into a comfortable position . As I was on the verge of falling asleep , I thought I saw the man again , this time in my room and right beside me instead of in a back alley . “ Jake , you must go where the sun sets . If you want your life back , you must journey to the west .” He told me , before my eyelids closed and I fell into a deep sleep . I opened my eyes slowly , snapping them shut again as the sunlight stung my eyes . I cupped my hands over my eyes , squeezing my eyes hard to get rid of the grogginess and to acclimate to the unusually dazzling sun . I lethargically slap my hand onto the alarm clock , wanting it to shut up so I could get a few more minutes of sleep . I missed and hit something soft . Odd . I slapped at it again . Missed again . My eyes refocused onto the alarm clock – that is , where my alarm clock should have been . Instead , I was looking at dirt . Literal dirt – as in earth , dirt . I stood up and looked around . I was surrounded by colossal trees with gnarled roots , interweaving and spreading over the dirt . All around me were these roots , forming endless networks which looked like they could be used for hunting . To trip an unfortunate creature escaping from the jaws of a predator . The canopy was thick and barely any sunlight could penetrate through the barrier of leaves , but I just so happened to be under a patch of glaring sunlight . Twigs and dead leaves carpeted the dirt floor , and brush sat along the trees . Apart from the occasional dapples of light , the darkness was pervasive and anything beyond ten , maybe fifteen metres , faded into nothingness . This felt like a dream – perhaps a lucid one . I had never had the fortune to experience one , but if I ever had one , this would be it .