silence.
nothing but silence as your eyes scan your pitch black yet somehow hazy surroundings. it has been like this for longer than you can remember. or so you had thought, until a barely audible tune begins to play in what seems to be the back of your head. the soft piano sounds as if being played through a scratched record as it gradually grows louder and louder. however, the music itself does not change. you recognize the pattern of which each dull note is played, and start humming along.
a, e, a, b, c#, b, a, e, d, f#, c#, e, c#, a, and repeat. you don't recall ever taking any music lessons, but this knowledge seems natural. these notes continue to grow louder, to the point where your head begins to ache. the final a of the pattern is held out longer than it should have been, and a searing pain shoots through your spine. at last, everything flashes a brilliant harlequin, temporarily blinding you as your eyes attempt to adjust to the sudden change in light. the last note is still playing, but is now mere background noise as it turns to a monotone buzz echoing in your mind. the soft clicking of shoes against a hardwood floor is distinguishable behind you now. you quickly turn around, and are met with immediate silence once again.
of course nobody is there. nobody has ever been there.
oh.
you open your eyes. you lay awake on your mattress, your blankets and comforter discarded somewhere in your room, but you aren't too worried about them. you shift uncomfortably and sit up as the sunlight shines through your blinds, illuminating your room. you stand up and head over to your closet to change out of the clothes you had slept in. you pick out a white t-shirt with a smile—your favorite youtuber's merchandise—as well as a white hoodie with the same logo on it. you have been watching dream for about four months now, and have watched all of his current videos well over ten times. you do not care for the others involved with him; you only care about dream. you aren't even aware that the "others" actually have names. you don't even remember your own. you idolize dream. you want to be dream. in your eyes, he is the peak of humanity itself. you strive towards a better world in which everybody is as perfect as he is.
begrudgingly, you slip into a pair of black adidas sweatpants. they aren't related to dream in any way whatsoever, but you wouldn't feel comfortable not wearing pants, so you make certain accommodations. you exit your room and walk through the hallway, paying little attention to anything around you. you turn on the light in the bathroom and grab your toothbrush—a silver quip covered in smiles drawn with a sharpie. your eyes travel to the mirror to admire your reflection, but alas, you are unable to see anything through the smiles painted on the mirror, overlapping in different colors, obstructing your view. it's only a minor inconvenience to you, as you would rather see the multicolored smiles than your own face. you quickly but thoroughly brush your teeth and comb your hair, making sure to turn the lights off when you leave the room. you do not want to upset him.
you walk through your kitchen, once pure white, now forever stained with endless smiles, and reach into a cabinet just beside the stove to grab your toaster. you aren't too hungry, so you don't want to prepare a proper breakfast only to be wasted. you open the freezer, your hands smearing off some of the paint that has not yet dried, and grab a box of frozen waffles. there are only two left, but that's enough to satisfy the twisting feeling of hunger in your stomach for now. you make a mental note to buy more from the grocery store later. you place the two waffles in the bread rack and push them down, making sure the toaster is at just the right setting. as you wait, you pull your phone out from your right pocket to check twitter. you see a youtube banner slide down from the top of your phone screen notifying you that somebody you're subscribed to has just uploaded a new video. you smile happily knowing it was dream who had just uploaded. you are not subscribed to anybody else. you'll be sure to watch the new video as many times as humanly possible in a row. dream takes priority over the things that are necessary to survive in life. dream takes priority over everything in life. and beyond life.
