It was a restless night. Tossing and turning, grousing and groaning, Casey was twisting her bedsheets in every direction, until she had nearly dislodged all her sheets off her bed. Despite the unsettled slumber, this was not a light sleep.  Lightening and thunder hollered outside, flashing white, crashing vociferously, as if raging at the oblivious sleeping world of men. Undisturbed, Casey slept. While her body was slumbering, Casey’s mind, which was now thoroughly deprived of rest, was racing inside, neurons sparking and crackling in her brain like a fireworks display that seemed to never end. Involuntarily, Casey was locked in her dream.

Casey felt like she was rushing through a narrow tunnel at high speed, one more turn and she just knew she was sure to crash. Abruptly, the tunnel ended, and without even consulting her, Casey’s body began to pirouette up and up and up. Spinning round like a mad ballerina, Casey felt like her brain was about to be flung out of her head, she simply could not stop! Frightened by her unmanageable spiralling, Casey was immeasurably relieved when her body finally came under control once more. She looked underneath her feet. There was nothing there, only space. Beneath her, countless thousands of kilometres below, lay the earth. When she realized she was simply hanging in empty space, with nothing holding her up, Casey’s terror returned ten times stronger. She felt like she was going to vomit, yet she could not turn her eyes from the terrible spectacle which engulfed her; hanging in space. Casey was imprisoned inside her dream.

Hanging in space, with seemingly nothing to keep her from falling, Casey saw the earth, laid out flat like a map beneath her. In fact, this earth was flat! Desperately trying to fight the panic that was inexplicably surging through her chest and thudding into her brain like a giant jackhammer, Casey thought to herself, with a bizarre jolt of curiosity; “This isn’t a round earth, it’s flat, like…a, a giant pizza!” Around the edge of this arcane pizza-earth ran a huge mountain range much like a tough pizza crust, against which the world’s oceans burst upon in vain fury. Undisturbed by the madness of the angry oceans, the great continent which seemed to make up most of the landmass of this pizza-earth, stood resolute, like a majestic ocean-liner. Casey’s attention was irresistibly drawn towards it. Although Casey was so distant from this pizza-earth, she could see each detail vividly. Regal mountains, vivacious rivers, beautiful forests and grassy plains unfolded before her eyes, as she roved to and thro over the western half of this new world. A fresh west wind blew upon her face. Refreshed, Casey began to feel the panic recede. Then she turned her eye eastward.  A muffled scream caught in her throat. Again the panic returned like a vengeful monster. Casey was trapped in her dream.

Enshrouding the earth like a grey shawl, a thick soupy mist was gradually covering the face of the eastern part of the earth. Inexplicable terror threatened to take control of Casey’s mind. Casey found it harder and harder to breath; the air seemed thick and sluggish. Frantically trying to suck air into her lungs, Casey felt like she was about to faint as the worst panic of all began to envelop her like a funeral cloth. Then, relief! Blowing hard from the west, the refreshing, soothing, comforting west wind blew against her cheek again. For one split second, Casey felt the panic recede, only for it to return wilder and stronger than ever. She could see the mist close up now- swirling, thick and impenetrable. While the western wind had calmed Casey down, now the mist was pushing the breeze back; Casey felt faint, she was falling, spinning, falling once more! The mist and the wind seemed to be contending for control over her. The battle grew fiercer, Casey grew fainter. Beating down on her like the noon sun, a repressive heat scorched her skin. Casey felt like she could scream, she was dizzy, panicky, hot, falling, sweating all at once! Just when she couldn’t stand any more, a vicious heat wave passed through her body at the same time as a blinding flash of light seared her vision. Defeated, the terrifying mist receded. Still Casey’s dream continued.

Gasping, battling for breath, Casey could only watch as the whole universe, stars and all, flashed past her, leaving her, speeding away like a train at the railway station. As if the universe was being sucked away, while she could only gasp for breath. Finally, mercifully, she awoke; she awoke in her customary bed, in her customary room, in her customary universe.  Casey’s room, typically, was in a mess. Bed sheets were tossed everywhere, her alarm clock ringing madly. Outside the window, lightening crackled, as rain pattered against the windowpane. Casey felt relief flood through her. “Okkayy.” She muttered to herself as she gathered her pillow from the floor. “That was weird.”