My perception of time is twisted. My first day as a second year, even landing the spot on the position of president. I can't take all of this. It just shows that I'm a person that cracks under pressure. I'm not suited for this. I notice my classmates sitting down. Those movements! They all seem so artificial. I want to know what. What is happening in this school!
"Heyo!" A teacher emerged from the door. She says that she's the substitute teacher for today. I couldn't even pay attention to what she's talking about. I could only stare at the wall clock. Noticing that it's hands are coming to a halt. Boring. This is too boring! I can't take it anymore. Just for a little bit...
After swimming in an endless abyss, I finally found my destination. A garden. It is full of bright, vibrant colors. A very nice sight. However, my eye caught a huge castle. From where I am, I estimate that it should have around... 70 floors! Holy... Who lives there? Why would you need that huge of a building?
My discovery was interrupted however by the sound of a crunch. I turned to the sound. Around 20 feet, there's a figure walking among the swaying flowers. Trampling them and making a crunch sound in every step. It was a man. As it got closer, I saw that he wore a robe and slippers. It... He.. had the head of a child. A body of an old man and a head of a child! It freaked me out. What I'm seeing in front of me isn't natural. Upon seeing this, I should've woken up, realizing that my real body is still in class. But why? Why am I still in this dream world of mine?
"You know, falling asleep during class, shouldn't be what a model student is doing. You're not an ordinary student. That's why you have a position in class."
"Yes, I'm the class president. I feel like I'm unfit for the role. Maya. Maya, that's right! She should be the president."
"You see her as some perfect being. Like she can do everything. Can she? Doesn't she feel stress, burdens, fatigue... doesn't she feel like she's going to fall over soon? Because she's almost perfect. Because of her actions. She's the one who's worn out this day. The one who should be sleeping. And yet, she isn't. She endures. Because she's a model student. She is what many aspire to be. But enough about her. I came here to talk to you."
"Here? where is this anyway?"
"Hmm... This is where I live, Paleolithica. That's the name of this place. It's in your dreams, but it might just be the realest thing in here. By the way, you see that castle in the distance?"
"Yes, that's one of the first things I noticed upon arriving here."
"That is a skyscraper. Masked to look like a castle. An illusion. It's within a dream. That means whatever I wish for, will certainly happen. I'm in control. Remember that."
"O...kay? So, what are we going to talk about. Make it quick because I might wake up."
"Hmm... So, Maki, do you know about the trolley problem?"
"No, what's that?"
Our surroundings changed. A mine. I see five people on a track and a person on the other. They seem to be workers. I also see a switch beside me.
"It is a moral dilemma. Treat it like a psychological evaluation. A question without a right and wrong answer. So it goes like this. Suppose that there's a trolley speeding down on the track that has five people in it. there's a switch beside you that switches the trolley into another track. There's also a person on the other track. 2 choices. Do nothing and kill five or use the switch, and kill one but save five. What do you do?"
"Me? I'll throw myself in the track if that prevents other people dying."
"Ha? You'll die if you do that. And not guarantee that they will all live. At most, the only life you'd save would be a single life. You'd just add a casualty that isn't present in the original problem. Your action was less than logical. A speeding trolley with the speed to ram through five people can't be stopped by a single person. No doubt. And, I'm pretty sure with your speed, you would be too late. The trolley would've hit five people before you arrive."
"Even if there's a sliver of chance, I'll take it. I won't be able to bear it if I am the cause of someone's death. A single life or the lives of five people, it doesn't matter to me. If any of them die because of my action or lack of one, it would be a burden. It would act as an unbearable guilt I'd bear my entire life. And that's why I'll do it. I'll throw myself in front to protect them with all my strength."
"So you're escaping from the guilt?"
"No, I'm taking my chances to save all of them. It's my gamble with death. I bet that I'll be able to save six lives even with unfairly low chances, I'll still carry on. I'd do it."
"Go on then, do it."
It was like a simulation. Everything seemed so artificial here. The people all fell from the top of the mine. Falling to their respective positions without even making a sound. It's like they just spawned there. And then, The trolley. I heard it's wheels blazing through the tracks. That sparked a reaction within me. Inside me. "Move." "Move. Move!" If I'm moving, then I'm not moving fast enough. "Faster!" "I have to be faster!" If I'm fast then I also have to be strong. "Stronger!" "I need to be stronger to stop the trolley!" My body adjusted to my needs. I was able to get to the track on time. I held out my right arm. Trying to stop the trolley when it eventually comes. I know it would be futile, so I'm using only a single hand.
The sound of it's tires screeching on the tracks. It cannot stop. Not by itself. And not by my strength. "I need something else! Something to stop this." "If I don't do something, everyone will die!" I know that this was a simulation. But I still have strong feelings for these people. These workers. Even if they're in a dream, I care for them.
And then, I close my eyes. A huge metallic thunk can be heard. I open my eyes to inspect. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even feel anything! The trolley, which can absolutely run me over, has been thrown back several feet to the air! I imagine that's what would happen to me. Wait, then what would've happened to me happened to the trolley instead? I'm confused. I- I-
I opened my eyes.
"Wake up, wake up! Classes ended a while ago. You're out cold for awhile. Are you okay? You should take it easy tomorrow and rest. I know you'd want to go. So I'll cut you a deal. After school I'd come over and bring you food, so don't go to school tomorrow okay?"
"Deal." I couldn't say no to her cooking.
"By the way how do you know my house?" I ask her since she seemingly knows where my house is.
"Me, uh- I don't! I don't know where your house is."
"Then how will you come over tomorrow?"
"Uhh pick me up somewhere?"
"That defeats the point of staying home but okay. Where will I pick you up?"
"The 7/11 near school."
"Okay! See you tomorrow then."
"Right, my house is on the opposite side. Pick me up tomorrow after school!"
And with that, we're on our separate ways. Still, I can't get the man from my dream out of my mind. That childlike face and grown up body. What a bizarre image. I can't get it out of my head. And whatever I did in my dream. It's all so supernatural. I don't feel like I'm in the real world even now. It's like it's been five seconds since I woke up from my dream. The trolley problem huh. I solved it with my own hands today. I hope that someday I can really save people. Not in a simulation. Not in a dream. But in reality. I just want to do something greater, you know. That's what I feel, but when people need saving, that means something else happened. And that "something", is a bad thing.