Work Text:
I was walking in a meadow with some friends one bright, sunny day when we came across a strange platform. Two of my friends stepped onto it to investigate, and then suddenly disappeared! Left in the place where they once stood were what appeared to be paper silhouettes of them.
We weren’t sure what to do. Where did they go? How do we bring them back? Can we bring them back? Why were paper silhouettes of them left behind? After carefully removing their silhouettes, the rest of us left and went back to our usual hang-out.
We discussed at length about what happened. What could we possibly do to bring our friends back?
Later that night, a couple of us snuck out and went back to the platform. Ready to face the consequences, we stepped onto it. Nothing happened. That confused us even more. Why did it not work?
We went back out to it the next day at the same time the others disappeared and still nothing happened. Why?
Later, someone came up with the theory that maybe the platform only works when the sun is shining on it? It was sunny that day after all, and it was cloudy the next. So we decided to try again on a sunny day.
The next day was bright and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. We all went back out to the platform and just stood there facing it, unsure if we should really step onto it or not.
The bravest of us (or maybe the most reckless?) couldn’t stand the suspense any more and went ahead and stepped onto the platform. He disappeared, leaving his paper silhouette behind.
So the theory about needing the sun in order to work was true.
Now, how do we get our friends back?
Eventually, we came to realize something. These silhouettes are made of paper . Are we supposed to write something on them to get our friends to return? Perhaps the word “return”? Could it be that simple? And, does it matter what time of day, or even if it’s sunny or not? Do we even have to physically be at the platform to do it?
So, I grabbed my friend’s paper silhouette; then took a pencil out of my pocket and slowly wrote the word “return” on it. No fancy script. Just plain, precise, legible text.
My friend reappeared. Not in a flash or in an instant, but quickly enough. Gradually, his paper silhouette morphed into his proper form. Apparently, the silhouette does not, in fact, have to be on the platform for the return trip from wherever it was he went.
He looked around him like he was on edge and surprised to suddenly be here. We took him back to our hangout and got him something to eat. Gradually, he came to tell us about his experience.
He said the world he was transported to was rather surreal. It was like being in a dream. You could experience all kinds of things, yet feel no hunger or get hurt in any way.
Then my alarm wakes me up.
I assume, if I hadn’t been so rudely awakened, the dream would have continued with the return of the other two friends, where they regale us with stories of their adventures. Or the rest of us, along with the friend I brought back as our guide, end up going to this other world to experience it ourselves and rescue our other two friends.