As mentioned yesterday, I’m taking part in the #300DaysofFlashWriting challenge, where participants write for ten minutes only on a prompt posted online by my friend Shekina on her blog and social channels. I’m posting the odd piece here on this blog.
Read on for my piece from the Day 3 prompt, ‘Dreams’. Unfortunately my timer didn’t even go off, so I wrote for longer than I was supposed to. I’ll get the hang of this one day…
Not as Advertised
It took a while for the dream to make its way to me, but when it did, I wished it hadn’t.
I’d read so many glowing reviews of this dream:
Wonderful! Exciting and escapist. I’d give it six stars if I could.
Unforgettable and so, so good.
I loved this dream so much I’ve ordered it for all of my family.
I suppose it was exactly as described in the rather vague product description:
Takes the dreamer far, far away from everyday life. A must if the daily grind is dragging you down.
Unfortunately, I can’t say I cared for it much. It started promisingly; a solo rocket flight from Earth and through our solar system, past poor demoted Pluto and out into the unknown. Dazzling visual displays through the window: shooting stars trailing pinks and purples, the sheer face of an asteroid that came almost alarmingly close, the far-off red, green and orange implosions of alien stars.
Then the rocket stopped, and I was suddenly on a violet sand beach at which a sparkling sea lapped as the three suns of the planet set together. I would have been fairly happy if the dream had ended there.
Sadly, it didn’t.
There were others on the beach. Most were too far off for me to discern who or what they were, but one shimmering being sidled up to me just as I’d settled into a prone position on the sand to watch the sunsets.
They were ethereal, whoever they were; I could see the ocean through their iridescent body, which was a shapeless mass that constantly shifted from shape to shape.
“How would you rate this dream, madam?” the being said to me in English, its voice barely above a confidential whisper.
“Sorry, excuse me?”
“Please rate this dream on a scale from one to ten, with ten being most enjoyable.”
I sat up, annoyed. “It hasn’t even finished yet. Can’t you leave me alone? I’ll review the dream later, like I’m supposed to.”
The being floated slightly away from me, then returned two seconds later.
“I do apologise, madam. The dream you have purchased was on special offer, yes?”
“Yes. And?”
“The low price includes a requirement for the dreamer to provide feedback while in the dream. It’s part of a new pilot project-”
“Oh, for goodness sake.” I stood, thoroughly irritated. I could see the edges of the dream fade in and out of existence, revealing the shadows of my bedroom at home.
“I do apologise,” they said again, not sounding particularly apologetic. “I will leave you in peace once you have provided your rating.”
“One!” I shouted as I walked away. “One out of ten!”
“Thank you, madam!” they called as the beach flickered and I was suddenly in bed again.
The clock by the bed said it was two o’clock in the morning.
“Well, that was a waste of money,” I said to myself.
© 2021 Dipika Mummery
Dipika Writes 
I love this! It made me laugh out loud.
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Thank you! It was very enjoyable to write.
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