Billy, Unlimited

A young boy slowly walks down an oft-traveled path. Wind ruffles the trees above him, and leaves stir around his feet. He is living a carefree life, and had quite a good day. It wasn’t often that he got to dance with Jenny, and the fair had been quite fun. He called for his dog, and was promptly knocked unconscious.

He slowly surfaced from the dark pool that had gripped his body, to find himself surrounded by oddities. First off, he was no longer in his sleepy little town any more… The room almost seemed to breathe around him, air rushing in through a vent. A strange box nearby also seemed to be alive, making a low whirring noise, and scrolling an odd message on an illuminated screen. All of this was rather odd, but obviously, he had just experienced time travel. There was no other explanation. Perhaps he should go out and greet his new parents. Yes, that would be the right thing to do. He opened the door, went downstairs, and was promptly knocked unconscious.

This time, he quickly came to, so fast that it made his head spin. He glanced around, and found himself to be surrounded by large, floating pictures. One had people brushing their teeth, others displayed rather graphic images of two men engaging in intercourse, and yet another showed a flying, talking pie. That was odd. What had happened to the place where he just was? And what was this, even stranger place? Well, only one way to find out, he decided, and searched for a door. He found one, turned the knob, and was blinded by a bright light. His eyes slowly adjusted to the new light source, and he saw a large man outlined in front of what appeared to be a glowing chair. He hit some buttons on the chair, and the room behind the boy went dark. Well, this man will know what’s going on. I think I’ll ask him. He tapped the man on the shoulder, and was promptly knocked unconscious.

He snapped suddenly into the world of the living, rubbing the back of his head. This was starting to get rather annoying. His surroundings appeared to be right out of a fairy tale, for stone made up the walls, and straw the roof. Maybe he needed to wait, for these worlds to solidify around him, before he moved around. Yes, that must be it. The boy sat in the bed, and was promptly knocked unconscious.

Well, that didn’t work, he thought as he slowly came to, quite painfully this time. He glanced around, taking in this new place. It appeared to be a cave, and there was a fire burning near the entrance. A small, well-dressed man sat attending to the fire, mumbling under his breath. The boy slowly, cautiously, approached the man, but the man whipped around before he could, and began speaking.

“Hello, Billy.”
“My name?! How did you know my name? Who are you?!”

The man turned back to the fire, and continued his poking of it whilst he explained.

“I am not real. This fire is not real. This cave is not real. This world is not real. Everything you see, everything you smell, taste, feel, hear, everything, has been created by your mind. This universe only exists in your head, Billy.”

Amazed, and with his 12 year old mind struggling to grasp what this meant, Billy stood, transfixed, before finally regaining control of his mouth.

“Really?”
“No, of course not, don’t be silly!”

And Billy was promptly knocked unconscious.