I awaken. The room is a padded cell with very bright flourescent lighting that is never extinguished. I am snuggly wrapped in a straight jacket and I can see from my one working eye there is blood on all the walls. The bed is basically wire springs with a thin, soiled cotton blanket for a mattress. The faint sound of begging can be heard down an unseen corridor and Muzak eminates sleepily from a crusty speaker in the ceiling. There are no bathroom facilities. The air is warm with the smell of feces and urine. I resume knawing.
The forrest consists of tiny pine sapplings and thorny undergrowth. The sky is filled with a bright sun watching my every move. There are many gallows about with the rotting carcasses of teachers and neighbors. I recognize Coach Jones who cut me from the baseball team and am secretly very satisfied to see birds picking his fleshy cheeks, consuming his yellow eyes. Not all the dangling bodies are corpses yet. Some struggle to pull themselves up for a seconds worth of breath and their whole bodies tremble with exhaustion. They cannot speak, but look at me emploring me to release them from their bonds. I continue to walk and whistle.
The path is wide and clear. It is made of soft, crushed bones and baby hair. The poisonous snakes travel easily its course. I am accompanied by a beaver and a roach.
There is a river of crystal clear water that moves gently to the south. The beaver quickly builds a bridge from the saplings and disappears into the water. Through the water I can see many fish and alligators with tentacles for mouths. Mermaids have pulled several fishermen down beneath the surface and have drowned them as they attempt to sever their privates and make their handbags. I see the nude form of my mother among them and look away, but secretly continue to peek over my shoulder uncontrollably. I smell rotted fish and roses.
There on the opposite shore is a beautiful crystal goblet, a lovng cup. It is finely crafted and jeweled by rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and the two handles are made of gold. Etched on the side is my name and my sister's name and a date. The exquisite goblet is filled with blood and urine and floating in the mixture is a dead mouse. My mouth is cotton-dry.
As I walk along, I find a key that is approximately 6 inches long. It is new and very shiny. It has very sharp teth and appears to open a treasure chest of some sort. Perhapse it opens the lock on my straight jacket. Along the thick shaft of the key is a riddle: "Who is about to eat their roach companion?"