I never thought falling asleep while watching One Piece would actually drop me in the show. But when I open my eyes and find out I’m not in my room anymore, but rather on a cloud, a real, fluffy, bouncy cloud, I almost scream. Before I could even process what was going on, I saw the Going Merry floating nearby, and I nearly exploded.

“Hey, who are you?” Luffy shouted, grinning like I was already a part of the crew. I stammered something about being lost, and in response, he laughed, telling me to hop on. That’s how I, Sasha, a totally normal 15-year-old from Earth, ended up in Skypiea.

Everything was bright, too bright, and weirdly peaceful at first. The sky was endless, and the clouds felt like soft sand under my feet. Nami was trying to figure out how I got there, but even Robin didn’t have an answer, and she always seemed to have an answer to everything. Usopp kept asking if I was a ghost. Honestly, I wasn’t sure myself.

When we reached Angel Island, I couldn’t stop staring at the people with wings; it looked unreal. They looked so calm, but there was tension in the air. Everyone was whispering about “Enel”, and I remembered from the show that he wasn’t exactly good news. I wanted to warn them, but how would I explain that I already knew what was going to happen? I would look crazy.

Later, when the crew got separated in the Upper Yard, I ended up with Chopper. He tried his best not to look scared and to keep a brave facade, and I admired that he was trying. We hid behind the trees that were made of clouds, which still seemed totally abnormal, listening to thunder rumble in the distance. It was Enel, I know it was. And I definitely didn’t want to be struck by his lightning. I told Chopper a bit about my world once I saw that he was practically trembling. I told him about music, school, and how I once failed a math test so badly I thought it was the end of the world. He laughed so hard he snorted.

By the time the battle was over and the golden bell rang, I knew my time here wasn’t forever. Still, when I woke up back in my bed, I could swear I smelled the clouds and heard faint laughter echoing from the sky, one that sounded like Luffy’s. Maybe it was just a dream–or maybe, for a little while, I really was a part of the Straw Hat crew.