She awoke to a bright green glow shining through the crack in their curtains. She shook her brother awake so he too could gawk at it in his half-awake state. In silent agreement, they slipped out of bed and snuck through the house to go out the front door. The whole sky was illuminated with an eery ethereal green; it looked like the source was somewhere toward the coast. Wearing only their pajamas and slippers, they trotted down the sloping street toward the beach. The streetlamps were shining in their usual yellowish hue, but the color barely registered amidst the odd sky light. They ducked through a hole in an old fence taking them through the alley between shops. The water was just on the other side of the tree line now; the glow was intensely bright through gaps in the foliage. The two pushed their way past branches and leaves, and finally broke through onto the sand. The sight before them transformed their curiosity into pure awe. They continued at a snail’s pace toward it, moving as close as they could before actually getting in the water. When the waves just barely brushed against their slippers, they stopped, staring at the immense form in the distance. The siblings jumped in fright as a huge metal submarine broke through the surface of the water and skidded to a halt in the wet sand. Someone inside threw open a hatch on top and climbed out. It was a scrawny man with greying hair; he looked disgruntled as he pulled off a boot to empty the seawater; evidently his submarine had a leak. “Hello there,” he said looking at the kids from on top of the sub. “My name’s Arthur.” He lowered himself precariously to the beach. “I’m sure you’re a little confused right now, but don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for.” He stopped to admire the enormous jellyfish out at sea. “Someone has quite the imagination,” he said looking at them. “I’ll be quick because I’m in a hurry, but essentially what’s going on here is that your dreams have slipped into reality.” He put his hands up to halt any forthcoming questions. “I know, I know. There’s really no time to explain. All you need to know is that in order to get things back to normal, you have to go back to bed.” They all looked in the direction of their house. In the time they’d taken to investigate the jellyfish, the streets and buildings of their town had become overgrown with a dense tropical jungle. “Easier said than done, though.” He materialized a machete from somewhere and put on an expeditioner’s hat. “Well there’s no point in dwelling; we’re on a schedule.” He set off toward the thick underbrush, and the kids ran to keep up. Insects chirped and buzzed, and some far-off animal howled in the night giving the jungle its characteristic soundscape. The bright green light emanated down onto the forest floor, just bright enough to see. Arthur’s machete slashed through branches and vines, cutting a path for the three of them. They passed by the corner store; the lights were still on inside. The sign was barely legible behind huge trees and brush that had sprouted up through the asphalt. A small guilty-looking monkey ran out the door with an armful of oranges. The streetlights blended in with the jungle, but their luminescence served as a guide. He continued hacking at the jungle in front of them. “Be on your guard, kids. You never know what the subconscious mind is cooking up.” Their steps grew lighter as they progressed, like a weight was slowly lifting from their shoulders. “Do you feel that?” Arthur asked looking back with a smile. Another good few chops and they felt even lighter, like they could jump straight into the forest canopy. “I think we’re experiencing the next bout of your imaginative inner thoughts,” he said as he came off the ground slightly; it was like walking on the moon. He struggled to get enough grip on the ground to swing the machete. They only made it another few strides before he lost hold of the knife and it went spiraling upward through the branches; it didn’t come down, just kept floating up and up over the treetops. His brow furrowed slightly, then he shrugged nonchalantly. “We didn’t need that anyway. Follow me.” Gravity had seemingly disappeared by now. Arthur hopped into the air, floating up above the thick brush into the clearer understory. There were plenty of branches and vines to use for grips and propulsion. The siblings leaped upward, amazed that they didn’t fall back to the ground; they were giggling uncontrollably at this point. “Careful now!” Arthur warned. “Grab onto something before you float out into the open air. Who knows what would happen then.” The two scrambled around feeling for things to cling to. She managed to clutch a vine, and a bit higher up, her brother grappled a tree trunk. “Very good, now let’s keep moving.” Arthur led the way, and the kids pushed off their respective trees and floated on their bellies through the jungle. They dodged thickets, branches, and scary-looking yellow snakes. Every so often they would tug themselves forward with a handful of foliage or a trunk. Their only means of control was the environment. The green glow grew brighter as they flew. Arthur shouted back at them, “It looks like we’re getting to the edge of the forest. You might want to slow down; I don’t know what’s coming next.” They let their hands drag through leaves and twigs to get rid of some momentum, then they turned upright to float next to a tree with Arthur. The three of them were overlooking their neighborhood now. It looked just like normal, except there were hundreds of smaller, normal-sized jellyfish floating around in the air; they all shared the same odd green glow. Arthur looked at her. “You’re rather fond of jellyfish aren’t you.” She smiled bashfully and nodded. “So am I, but let’s get you two to bed so these little fellas stay in your imagination where they belong.” He pushed off again, floating down to street level, gently touching down on the sidewalk, and grasping a stop sign for stability. The siblings floated down out of the trees behind him. Arthur’s head swiveled looking around the neighborhood. “So which one is yours?” The kids pointed in the direction of their house, and Arthur turned to follow their gaze, but one of the jellyfish had wandered over in front of them; it was only an arm’s length away. “Oh, my,” he started. He lost hold of the post and began floating away. He extended his legs and wrapped his ankles around the sign enough to get a grip, then reeled himself back in. The jellyfish continued its slow and graceful dance, gliding around them in spirals. It was so tempting; its color and composition were so unlike anything she’d ever seen. She reached her arm out to touch it, one arm still wrapped around a fire hydrant to stay grounded. It came closer as if it also had an interest in her. “Wait a moment!” Arthur shouted. But it was too late, her tiny finger made contact with a tentacle. Instead of shocking her, she simply fell to the ground. A light went off in Arthur’s head, but her brother had already made the connection. He touched a jellyfish too, and gravity came back to him. Arthur pushed off the stop sign floating on his belly toward a jellyfish, touched it with his index finger, and landed on the ground into a squat. “That’s handy!” he said brushing himself off. “Now, to your house.” They ran across the street under the green glow of all the jellyfish. The light grew brighter as they approached their front door; the green glow became almost white. They looked up. The enormous jellyfish out at sea had moved directly overhead. It was idle, casting down an intense light. “Well, I’m not quite sure what that means for us,” Arthur said slowly. “But I think we should hurry up.” They had left the door unlocked, but when they tried the handle it didn’t budge. The siblings looked at each other casting silent blame, but then a voice caught their attention. It was… the door knocker? “What are you?” it inquired. “Oh, my well, this is strange,” Arthur murmured. “What are we? Well I suppose we’re people.” The knocker grunted, its brass lips moving into a dissatisfied expression. It asked again, “What are you?” Arthur looked at the kids. He was scratching the top of his head, and she had her chin in her hand. “Um, well, I’m a schoolteacher,” Arthur said trying to convince the knocker. It grunted again shaking its head. “What are you?” The girl’s eyes widened as she came to a reality-altering conclusion. She opened her mouth to speak, “Asleep!” Suddenly her eyes were open, and the world came into focus for her. Their room was illuminated in crisp bright morning sunlight that shone in through the curtains.