I climbed into bed and closed my eyes ending another unremarkable day. When I had come to I was leaning against a tree, surrounded by a lush forest on the verge of sunset.
- Huh?
Before I had a chance to collect my thoughts my body began to move autonomously, walking forward with nonsensical determination. As the novelty of being dragged along by my own body wore off, I tried once again to collect my thoughts. It was a strange occurrence, no doubt, waking up in a strange forest unable to control my body. It felt unlike any dream I had experienced before, since I was aware of each muscle in my foot as I took a step, conscious of the position of my tongue in a pool of saliva since I had forgotten to swallow. gulp. The likelihood of this situation being part of a dream dwindled. With apprehension, I carried on. Not that I could do anything besides carrying on.
Another strange thing I noted was that I saw no other living thing in this forest. Aside from the endless sea of trees, there were no insects, birds, deer, snakes, no, there was nothing of the sort. For a forest to be completely void of life, that would be unnervingly strange anywhere in the real world. Now that I think about it, I couldn't hear a single thing. No rustling of leaves, no chirping cicadas, which should have droned on incessantly at this time of year.
- This time of year? What time of year was it?
I tried to remember my walk home from the train station after work.
- Had the sakura bloomed yet? Was snow covering the streets? Were the school children wearing their summer or winter uniforms?
I realized that I had no clue. How was it that I could not recall the answer to a single question despite walking through this town every single morning, every single evening? I wasn't particularly excited to go to work, nor did I have a wife and children waiting for me at home. For what reason had I completely blocked out the real world?
My thoughts snapped back to the present as I saw a large tree just metres away and I braced for impact since I could not do anything to prevent it. Just as I closed my eyes, my body took a sharp left turn followed by a sharp right one. I had narrowly avoided complete collision. Even in this state, my body had some sense of self-preservation, this somewhat calmed my nervousness. This event made me aware of one detail; I had control over my eyes. Previously, I had also swallowed consciously, leading me to believe that I still had control over some of my body. My first instinct following this realization was to scream for help, however there was no doubt in my mind that no one would be around to hear it. It was just me and my thoughts. Come to think of it, I didn't hear anything as my foot touched the ground. I couldn't hear my heartbeat despite the pain in my legs making me feel as if I had been walking for hours. The sun behind me isn't any closer to setting, so I can only assume not much time has passed.
- If not for the sake of alerting others, I should try to make a noise simply to find out if I am able to.
I opened my mouth to let out a sound, any sound, and that's when I heard it.
A woman had just screamed. I collapsed. I had gained control of my body. I considered heading off right away in the direction I had just heard that scream, it was just a little to the right of the direction I was already walking in, after all. I hadn't made contact with another person since I left work today, a thought which left a bad taste in my mouth. I had also considered walking back in the direction I had came from. I could just follow the setting sun and make it back to where I had started. Operating under the assumption this isn't a dream, maybe there would be some indication of how I can get back home.
-Ah. I don't really want to go back to work. I don't have a wife waiting for me back at home, either. I don't need to go back right now.
I stood up.
-Yeah. I'll let this dream carry me forwards a little bit longer.