In My Sickbed

A peaceful breeze flows gently into my room. It brings with it the afternoon scent of freshly mowed lawn and sweet flowers, and takes with it the contaminated air from my terrible cold. The breeze dances across my aching throat and warm forehead, promising me that a healthier day is soon to come. I try not to think about all the things I have to do as soon as I am well, because it only makes my body ache in far too many places. I feel my body weaken and tire, but my mind stays feverishly active. (Instead of "it", which I think is vague, how about: "because thinking of that".)

An unknown amount of time passes and I'm suddenly sitting on a throne on top of the world. (I think this first sentence would be stronger re-written this way: "I don't know how much time passes, but I'm sudenly...) What can this all mean? "Why, you're the ruler of the world!" an elf exclaims to my right. (What does the elf look like?) "The ruler of the world?" I think in wonder to myself "Amazing!". I open my mouth to ask the elf what that means, but another elf hurries up and shoves a notepad and feathered quill into my hands. "Quick!" he says, "you must write down five things you want to do as ruler of the world!". Normally, I would have set aside the notepad and quill, had a cup of tea with sweet cookies, chatted with some old and wise elves, and then maybe scribbled down my first action onto the notepad. However, since this is not a normal situation at all,  and the elves do seem to be in a hurry, I quickly write as best as I can (feathered quills are so difficult to write with!) the five things I want to be carried out immediately:

1. Please make sure that everyone in the world is well fed and not hungry!
2. Everyone shall be granted a month's vacation anywhere they'd like.
3. All Illegal drugs and weapons will be confiscated and incinerated at a secret location.
4. Free healthcare for all!
5. _________________

But for the life of me, I cannot seem to find anything else to put down for my fifth and final thing to do. I hand the notepad to the elf on my right and say to him, "Why don't you fill in the last one for me?". His eyes widen and suddenly turn hungry with greed. Noticing this change in behavior, I move to take the notepad back, but he quickly dodges my advancement (my advance, I think, is better) and scribbles something across the paper. I read his messy writing, "Elves are now the rulers of the world!!!".

Everything turns red, black, green, dark gray, yellow, brown, beige, and white. Suddenly I stand in front of a massive tank inching closer toward me. It seems as if I am no longer in America. This must be a seriously bad nightmare. A voice that is not my own blares loudly all around me, "This is exhilarating! Will the tank stop? Should I run? Oh my god, is this worth it? This was supposed to be a regular day...I was supposed to drop the groceries off for my grandma. Are they watching this now? Does anyone recognize me? My parents are going to slap me upside the head if they know it's me. They will tell me 'It's okay if it's someone else standing where you are, but NOT you!'. He stopped! Oh thank goodness, he stopped! What should I do now? I'll jump onto the tank and tell them not to go on. We are protesting for the greater good! My singular life is worth saving the future of China! Please, stop!" So, according to the panicked and somewhat excited voice, I am in China.

Now everything seems to disappear and reappear. Tanks, men, weapons, streetlights, gravel, wood, hair, streets, street signs, bags, shoes, shirts, pants, light bulbs, and yellow paint all come into and out of focus at one point or another. I am now sitting inside a cramped and humid tank. An eerie red cast is placed on everything including my own skin. Another voice screams out, "Is that a man standing in front of our tank? Is he mad?! I will not run you over! We were only supposed to threaten you and your fellow students with our big tanks and weapons. I will not kill a man today. I must stand down... He's climbing onto the tank! What do I do? The hatch is open and now he's pleading with me to stop. He screams with a combination of passion and fear. He will not stand down."

I feel pain now. The pain engulfs me and takes away all of my surroundings. I shake and tremble. I feel pain in knowing that, as the ruler of the world, I foolishly let the elves take over. I feel pain in experiencing the feeling of standing on opposite ends of a protest and I feel pain in knowing their feeling and passion in that moment in China. Now I feel the pain of my body as the darn cold continues to run its course through me.