“Wheeze, wheeze... gosh if I keep wheezing they’re going to find me.” I thought to myself. Being an asthmatic heavy breathing and hard running make my lung tubes contract and then I have major difficulties breathing. Fortunately it‘s not contagious. To give you the just of my situation I am playing hide-and-go seek with my aunt, uncle, and my brother and his friends. I have been hiding in my greatest hiding spot ever- the linen closet- top shelf- behind the sheets. For about five long minutes the seekers have been walking right in front of my spot. Right before they opened the door the shelves began to collapse from under me and I fell right through the laundry shoot.


“Ugh, my head.” I mumbled to myself. “I really hope I don’t have to pay for this mess. My allowance isn’t that big.” I rubbed my throbbing head.
“Saammy? Is that really you?” I turned slowly and the already dim lighting dimmed even more. My eyes searched the darkness for answers.
“Please Sammy don’t look for me. Don’t look.”
“I don’t know where I am, so please you have to help me!” I screamed into the vacant black world. My eyes started to tear up when the sun sprung up over the landscape and brought light with it. My hand was about to go to my face to wipe away the tears, but the colors and trees made my hand drop loosely to my side. All around me were vibrant colors splashing onto the trees and flowers. The grass was a rich clover green, the trees’ were perfect in all ways and the heavy dark green covered the naked branches like a blanket. The sky was showing no signs of my world only the signs of peace and happiness. I turned and took a step towards the lush fruit trees when I heard a voice,
“Oh, it gets much better then this. Much better.” I whipped around bracing myself for anything that might come at me. All I saw was that rabbit- stripping off his skin.
“Like what you see?” he said jokingly. One by one the layers came off first the rabbit skin, and then a strange sweatshirt looking thing, then, finally, he peeled off the last layer.
My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as I watched him take the “costume” off.
“No offense, but you aren’t a rabbit?”
“Wow, I always knew that you would be the last to catch on with everything.”
“Okay so you aren’t a rabbit. So what are you?” That was when he got the last layer off and revealed himself as an otter.
“An otter, really?”
“What it’s your dream not mine!”
“Excuse me a dream?”
“Well yes did you think that this was all really here? The tree, the birds, all of this isn’t real!” The sun, cheeriness, and my wonderful world were disappearing in front of my eyes.
“Please stop I am begging you.” I pleaded. Soon everything was gone even my otter rabbit friend. The light from the laundry chute was shining again, and I began to hear voices.
“Hurry, splash her with water!”
“Call 911!”
“NO! Someone go get Mom!”
“Moooooommm! Help!!! It’s Sam she fell!”
I heard running as my parents heard the cry.”
At once I knew that I had to get back to the real world before the real me was gone forever.
I screamed for the animals of my dream world to come and help me. I yelled for everyone. Everyone had abandoned me. Or so I had thought. Suddenly the light came on in one section to reveal a large metal box. I stepped forward and touched it lightly. The top split open and shattered into animals large and small. They formed a ladder to about a foot from the top a barrel of monkeys led me the next yard or so and then left me gently at the top. I smiled and said, “Thanks so much you guys. Take care!”
At that moment I walked through the barrier of imagination and reality.
“Sammy! Babe, wake up!”
“Mom? Mom!”
“I’m so glad your okay!”
“You have no idea where I’ve been. We have so much to talk about.”