Complete darkness.

No sound or light or anything to feel.

Nothing existed yet, at least in this world.

Something was laying on the ground.

It started amorphous, having nothing to draw from for appearance.

The thing’s eyes opened and looked around the endless darkness.

As they stared, the black shadows began to peel away.

Bright light shined as ground began to form wherever it touched. The darkness faded into a variety of colors.

A large field of grass with sparse trees and mountains in the distance. The amorphous being rose and looked around, floating like gray and light purple blobby mist staying together in a small cloud formation. As the cloud searched, it spotted something in the distance. It very quickly began to move towards it, floating through the grass at a high speed, creating rushes of wind as it moved.

It stopped and floated above the ground, staring at a strange creature.

It was a mixture of ape and human, standing on the hind legs yet covered in hair. It was staring at a tree, its head tilted as it stared, as if thinking.

The cloud observed the creature, staring as it began to move around it slowly to observe every angle it could.

The cloud began to huddle closer as two long portions began to stretch down towards the ground. The limbs began to slowly shape into the same as the creature, changing color and texture as it did to match those of the creature. The cloud began to slowly shift more and more into the shape, the body very slowly forming into place as the colors and textures were slowly added in after, washing over until it looked as if an exact copy.

The being stood, moving very slowly as it tried to figure out how to move the same way. They very slowly lifted their arms, slowly turning them and curling their large and stubby fingers. They looked down and shifted weight back and forth before very slowly lifting their leg up, then put it back down. They lifted their foot again and pushed it forward, losing balance but stomping down to collect themselves and stay standing. They kept moving slowly until they stood next to the creature.

They were both staring at the tree, but then the creature suddenly ran forward and jumped up, grabbing hold of a branch and swinging around from one branch to another. The being watched on before attempting to run, but quickly fell forward and hard onto their face. The being tried to get up, but was still trying to figure out how the body worked and how to do it.

The being was struggling to stand before lifting their head, seeing the creature on their hands and knees, their faces inches away as they stared curiously at each other.

The being and the creature very slowly got to their feet, looking at each other before they both raised their arms up slowly. They kept staring while moving in sync, as if they were reflections of each other.

As they stared, the world they were standing in began to shake and disappear. Everything was fading back into darkness. The being looked around in panic as the creature didn’t see to notice. The creature suddenly faded, disappearing completely as the being was turned back into the amorphous cloud of blob. It floated around while panicking as the world was crumbling and fading rapidly.

In the distance, there was a single light.

The being quickly raced as quickly as it could, the world crumbling behind them faster and faster and faster. It began to catch up with the being, only a few feet off as they raced faster. The grass on the ground would be blown violently to the side before being forced quickly back in the other direction and disappearing all together.

They kept racing and racing as quickly as they could as the light grew brighter and brighter. The world disappeared behind them as they raced. They could feel the warmth of the light on their form as they grew closer and closer.

The world was preparing to swallow the being whole and turn everything into nonexistence, but just as the world was about to grab them, they were swallowed by the light.

The being woke up in a very similar world. Grass everywhere yet it was much more uneven with hills all over. There were trees sprawling everywhere as the being floated around, turning as if looking.

It continued to spin before slowly changing itself back into the form it was before, a hairy human figure. It could walk at a slow pace, learning just enough to keep moving.

Once they got to a hill, they put their arms out to grab it, yet were unsure of what to do next.

They turned to see another one of the creatures crawling up the hill, using their arms and legs together as the being watched and studied. They very slowly began to copy them, stiffly and unevenly moving their limbs at an inconsistent rhythm. Once they were halfway up the hill, they were able to move smoothly and speed up slightly. They continued to rise up faster and closer before reaching the top, getting to their feet and staring upon an endless sprawl of beautiful land. Cliffs with massive waterfalls of clear water sparkling brightly with sunlight, a large lake with crystal clear water that perfectly reflected the bright blue and white sky on itself. The grass was filled with vibrant and colorful flowers with the massive trees full of fruits along with small bushes holding berries.

The being went to walk forward, yet misstepped and very quickly began to fall and roll down the hill at a high speed, only accelerating as they went. It was completely silent as their body was flipping and rolling aggressively and rapidly until they landed on the ground with a violent thud, yet their form was unscathed. They stood back up as if nothing happened, not feeling any sense of pain or even feeling anything.

They made their way to the body of water, staring into the reflection.

Staring back was the cloud of mist and blob, floating around and staring at the hairy creature. The being raised their arm, with the cloud reflection slowly lifting up with it. They slowly went to feel their face. Their hands stopped on their skin, yet they couldn’t feel anything. Their hands couldn’t push further, but they didn’t have any sense of touch.

They lifted their head to look at the sky, the white clouds floating peacefully through the bright blue expanse. The sun shining violently bright yet having no effect on the being, as if they couldn’t feel it.

The being could see, but nothing more.

There was no thought, no feeling, nothing but existence. As they stared, the world once again was beginning to fade and disappear.

Millions of years later.

It was 1920s New York, the city loud and vibrant with color and noise. Every window and door held bright lights that obscured whatever was inside, yet nobody was seeming to react or even notice them like they weren’t there at all. Everyone was dressed in expensive and lavish clothing, one man quickly walking down the sidewalk with a massive smile on his face while carrying a large briefcase and wearing a bright yellow suit and pants with suspenders under the jacket and a large hat covering the top of his head.

He quickly made his way into a small establishment, sitting down at a table with his continued wide smile.

He looked around curiously at all of the people, the walls covered in pictures of places he had never been to before.

As he sat, he looked over at one of the tables in particular.

A man was wearing…a dress.

The body shape was quite similar to the man’s, large and muscular yet not bulky, yet the figure was obscured by a large gray and light purple dress that covered everything but the large arms and legs. The man got up and walked over.

“Hey, what do you think you’re wearing that dress for?” The man had a very thick New York accent as the man looked up.

Their eyes were a strange color, but they quickly changed to match his own.

“I’m sorry sir?” The voice had a similar accent but was deeper.

“Are you one of those gay fellows?” The man asked as he clenched his fist, putting it inside his other open hand.

The man didn’t react at first, looking around the establishment as everyone else was staring. They noticed the clothing of everyone, then looked down at themselves.

“Oh I apologize, I’m new to this place.” They said.

The first man went to speak, but stopped as the dress very quickly and suddenly reformed into a suit matching his own, but instead of yellow it kept the gray and purple color scheme of the dress.

“What the hell? How did you do that?” He shouted loudly.

“I’m just here to enjoy myself. I don’t want any…”

They slowly turned as if they could sense something.

“I have to go, it was nice talking to you.” The man quickly stood up and went towards the door, but was grabbed forcefully. They were pulled back, but as they fell their form suddenly changed into that of the mysterious cloud, phasing through the man as he was left holding the clothing.

The cloud quickly rushed out through the front door, looking around as the busy street was beginning to crumble down. The sky was turning dark black and disappearing completely as the cloud kept racing around.

The cloud looked around at the buildings filled with multiple bright lights before quickly racing through the front door of a French cafe.

As they raced through, their form suddenly changed to a human being as they fell into the streets of Paris, France. The people were ignoring the ***** human body laying on the street as it quickly looked around. Every window and door held bright lights that everyone else seemed to be ignoring, as if they couldn’t see them at all.

“Okay…I have to…” They began to speak in French, looking around quickly at the people around them to get a sense of the fashion.

An elaborate dress began to form around him, but then he quickly shook his head and the dress formed into a plain brown and gray suit to cover his body.

The man quickly began to walk along with the others as if joining in with the crowd towards something.

They made it to a large stage in the middle of the city, a large red curtain obscuring whatever sat behind it.

Piano music suddenly began to loudly play, as if from Heaven above as it filled the entire world with soft tones and beautiful sounds.

The curtain pulled open to reveal a single man sitting in front of a piano and slowly beginning to play.

“What is this?” He asked as he leaned over to the person next to him.

“Why that is Mr. Erik Satie, performing his incredible Gymnopédie Number Three.” The person responded quickly as the music continued on, filling the world with beautiful yet sad and emotional tones.

The piano player was pale with circle glasses covering his eyes and a long beard running down and off his chin, a mustache moving out and off above his upper lip.

The entire crowd of people watched him play piano, enamored by the music as he continued to play without issue or thought, like it came naturally.

The being continued to watch and listen to the music.

“This is beautiful.” He said quietly.

The music continued on, but then the being could feel the sensation again.

They turned to see the clouds turning black and dark in the distance. The music finished and the crowd erupted in loud applause.

Satie stood from his piano and bowed before sitting back down to play more.

He began to play 3 Sarabandes No. 1 as the clouds of darkness were drawing closer and closer. They noticed and very quickly tried to push through the dense crowd, but none of them were moving. He had to keep pushing as he could feel the ground beneath him giving way, yet nobody else reacted. The music seemed to grow louder as the darkness raced forward, consuming more and more of the buildings as the lights faded. The being grunted and suddenly turned into their cloud form, racing towards one of the windows and disappearing just as the final note was played of the piece, everything quickly being swallowed by darkness as the final notes resonated.

The cloud had once again been turned into a ***** human as they landed on a sandy beach, sand flying up as they lifted their head to spit it out.

“That one was close.” They said as they slowly got to their feet.

They looked around the beach with the blue water calmly and slowly washing up before going back. They walked around as a grass skirt formed around their waist. As they walked, they spotted a small family playing in the sand and water. The being quickly hid behind a tree and watched. An older man was laying on a chair smiling while an incredibly beautiful woman was wearing a very revealing bikini next to him. Three young children were playing in the water and sand while two other young women in bikinis were keeping them safe.

“I’m getting hungry, baby.” The first woman said as she rubbed the older man’s chest.

The man stood up and quickly ran into the ocean, diving in. Within seconds he came back up carrying a pile of fish in his arms. Everyone cheered him as the being continued to watch from the tree.

“Go prepare the fire.” The man said to the woman, who quickly ran to a pile of wood already set up. The man sat back down as the being emerged from the tree, looking at the man wearing a speedo before changing to match him.

“Excuse me sir.” He said.

The man jumped from surprise.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Well I…um…well it’s quite difficult to explain.” They replied.

The man looked angry and ready to fight.

“Nobody stands in front of Mr. Murphy without an explanation.” The man said.

“Alright. Well…this is a dream.” The being said.

Murphy laughed loudly.

“A dream? Preposterous. This is my life. My lovely wife, my children, my assistants. I am a rich business owner!” He said loud and proud.

“Right…sure.” The being replied.

“And who are you supposed to be?” Murph asked him.

“Well, I don’t really have a name. Since the beginning of time I have been running from dream to dream. It’s the only…” They stopped as they cleared their throat.

“What? The only what?” Murphy asked.

“Dreams are the only place I can exist. It took me thousands of years to learn how to hear or feel. I just…I don’t know. I just exist in this state of…” They once again stopped and rubbed their eyes.

“Well I don’t appreciate you being here. Go back to dreams and not real life.” Murphy replied.

“No you don’t get it. If this was real life, I wouldn’t be here. I can’t go into the real world.” They replied.

“Uh huh, sure.” Murphy replied.

“Babe, I can’t get the fire to work.” The woman whined as she struggled.

Murphy turned and stared at the wood with an intense look, the wood suddenly bursting into flames.

“Yeah sure, cause that’s possible in the real world.” The being said.

“How about you tell me what’s really going on here huh?” Murphy asked with an annoyed tone.

“I wish I could, and yet I can’t.” They replied.

“Oh yeah, and why’s that?” Murphy asked.

“The last person who I explained things to had an existential crisis and went insane to the point they were locked up in an asylum…then a few weeks later they killed themselves.” The being replied quickly, but was having a hard time with the words.

“Oh really? If you’re just a dream person, then how do you know that?” Murphy asked, thinking he had outsmarted him.

“Dreams are powerful things. It’s where people reveal the most about themselves and who they truly are. It’s people showing the things they want and desire without a filter.” They replied.

Murphy swallowed as he turned to look at his family, his wife beginning to cook the fish he caught with ease.

Murphy slowly turned back, tears in his eyes.

“Who are they, really?” The being asked him.

Murphy looked down as his hands were shaking.

“The woman…was…the love of my life. She…she never really cared for me in that way. We were friends, but nothing more. I always wanted three kids and money, and so…” He waved his hands over at the children and the two assistants.

“You just want a family. But a family without her is one you won’t be happy with?” The being asked him.

Murphy’s tears began to roll down his face as he quickly wiped them away.

“I guess you could say that.” He replied as he forced a smile to his face.

“Love is something that changes with time. If you go on and live your life, you will find someone who you will love just as much, if not more. You can’t hold onto something out of reach and expect to be happy or benefit from it.” The being said.

Murphy softly laughed as he cried. The woman, children, and assistants all began to slowly fade away.

“You’re right…but it still hurts…” He said.

“Love hurts…or so I've heard.” The being said.

“You don’t feel love huh?” Murphy asked curiously.

“Feeling touch took me a long time to learn. Emotions are…complicated.” The being said.

Murphy softly laughed again.

“You’re lucky then.”

“How so?”

“Emotions hurt more than anything. A punch goes away quickly. Something like a knife can hurt badly, but if you survive you don’t feel it after a while. Emotional pain, those scars…well those don’t heal, and the reason why is often because you don’t want them to.” He said.

The being nodded along and looked down at the ground. The sand was beginning to grow darker and fading away. The water was a light gray color that was getting darker and darker.

“When you wake up…live a good life. One that makes you happy.” They said.

Murphy smiled.

“Will do…Dreamrunner.” Murphy said.

The being looked at him curiously.

“You talked about not having a name. You run from dream to dream…I thought it worked.” Murphy shrugged.

They both had a light laugh.

“I like it…thank you Mr. Murphy.”

Dreamrunner suddenly turned into an amorphous cloud and quickly raced into the water, looking around before spotting bubble floating, each one full of light. They quickly raced into one of the bubbles.

Back on the sand, Mr. Murphy sat on his chair with a smile, tears still running down his face. He looked out onto the horizon of the water as everything around him was quickly being overtaken with shadow and darkness. All that was left was him in the chair, which quickly was taken over. He closed his eyes with a smile.

Mr. Murphy slowly opened his eyes in bed, tears running down them.

The Dreamrunner was sitting alone, underneath a tree.

He didn’t know where or when he was.

Existing only in dreams meant keeping track of time was impossible.

Seconds turned into days into months into decades.

The Dreamrunner was eating an apple, chewing on something with no taste. No feeling. He knew he was chewing, but he didn’t know what he was chewing on until he looked at the apple again.

The Dreamrunner looked around.

He was in an empty field, not a single thing visible except for the world that he was living in.

He took another bite of the apple, chewing on the formless and tasteless mush as if it was nothing.

He didn’t need to eat, but it made him feel better about himself.

It helped him feel like he did exist.

It was necessary.

Everything was slowly beginning to turn dark.

The Dreamrunner sighed, sounding depressed as he stood up.

There weren’t many places to go, but The Dreamrunner began to climb the nearest tree. The leaves themselves were glowing bright golden light.

The Dreamrunner grabbed one, immediately being sucked into a new world.

The Dreamrunner was now in a new world.

He looked around, floating aimlessly in space.

As he turned, he was staring at a massive blue, white, and green sphere. The Dreamrunner smiled, staring at The Earth as he began to float away from it, landing softly and peacefully on the moon, as if gravity wasn’t a thing.

The Dreamrunner sat on a pile of moon rocks, looking to his side to see a young child.

A young child smiling as they stared at the Earth from the Moon.

The Dreamrunner kept sitting and watched the child’s enthusiasm and joy…emotions that he couldn’t understand or feel.

“Hey, you like space huh?” The Dreamrunner asked as they made their way over, sitting on the moon next to the child.

The young and small child turned and nodded.

As they squatted to sit down, the surface of the moon slightly shifted to create a small stump the kid could sit on with ease.

The kid looked up at the moon with wonder and curiosity in his eyes.

“You wanna go to the moon?” Dreamrunner asked, smiling at the kid.

The kid smiled and nodded.

There was something…off.

Dreamrunner looked at the hair on the kid’s head. It looked fake and thin, like he could run his hand through it and it would all float away.

The kid’s body was quite thin and frail.

His face looked tired and weak.

“How are you feeling?” Dreamrunner asked.

The kid didn’t respond at first.

“I…don’t feel good.” The kid said in a weak voice.

“What’s wrong?” Dreamrunner asked.

The kid weakly cough, clutching his chest with frail and shaking hands.

“I’m sick…I’ve been sick for a long time. My parents…promise me that…when I get better I can go to space. But they’ve been saying that for years and nothing has gotten better. I feel worse and worse.” The kid rambled slowly and weakly with pained and slow breathing.

“What are you sick with?” Dreamrunner asked.

The kid sighed.

“I don’t know. They say words, but I don’t understand them.” The kid said.

“How old are you?” Dreamrunner asked.

“I’m five years old.” The kid replied.

“You’re pretty smart for a five year old.” Dreamrunner said with a warm smile, trying to make the kid smile.

“Thanks. I spend so much time in hospitals, all I do is read. I don’t go to school or anything.” The kid replied.

“Do you have any friends?” Dreamrunner asked.

“Can I say the nurses that take care of me?” The kid asked as they looked up at Dreamrunner.

The hair on their head was slowly beginning to fly from the hair and fly across the surface of the moon despite there being no wind.

“Sure.” Dreamrunner said.

“Then I have quite a few friends.” The kid said, trying their best to smile.

The two sat in silence as they both looked at the Earth again, which spun slowly thousands and thousands of miles away.

“Are you my friend?” The boy asked.

Dreamrunner looked at the kid, who had reached out and softly took his hand in his own.

“What?” Dreamrunner asked.

The kid looked up at him as the hair was disappearing more and more.

“Are we friends?” The boy asked.

Dreamrunner smiled and scooted closer to the kid.

“Yes. We’re friends.” He replied.

“Yay.” The kid said quite weakly and rested his head against Dreamrunner, who lifted his arm up and wrapped it around the kid.

The two continued to sit.

The universe around them was slowly beginning to grow darker and darker. The stars twinkling were disappearing into a cloud of darkness. The shadows were slowly moving their way around, surrounding the moon and Earth.

“What’s happening?” The kid asked.

Dreamrunner kept holding the kid close.

“You’re going to wake up soon.” Dreamrunner replied.

“Really?” The kid asked.

“Yes. You’ll get to wake up and live another day.” Dreamrunner replied.

“So, I’m going to be okay?” The kid asked, looking up with teary eyes and the final hairs hanging onto his head.

“You’re going to be okay. I’ll be here waiting for you.” Dreamrunner replied.

The kid shifted and wrapped both arms around Dreamrunner’s waist.

“Thank you.” The kid said quietly.

Dreamrunner stared at the Earth that was slowly disappearing in the shadows.

He looked down.

The kid was gone.

Nowhere to be seen.

Dreamrunner stared with a frown and sad eyes, yet he didn’t feel anything.

Dreamrunner didn’t have emotions, but his face was doing its best at what he thought a sad face was supposed to be.

Dreamrunner sighed and slowly stood up, looking down at the two stumps while a very small pile of thin hair was sitting on the surface.

Dreamrunner looked around to see more and more of the moon being swallowed by the shadows.

He turned around and walked slowly to one of the craters on the moon, which had a faint golden glow.

Dreamrunner held his arms out and jumped forward, being swallowed by the light as the shadows overrun and swallowed the moon whole.