“We’re glad to have you,” Walter responded, smiling at him. “And please, call me Walter.”

The four males ate their dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread and chased it down with milk. They discussed the previous World Series and talked about the next one. By the time they had finished dinner it was well after seven o’clock.

“That was great Walter,” Russ said, thanking him for dinner. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told Pete before turning to Joe. “You know, for one of the most popular kids at school, you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” Joe said a bit confused. “See ya Monday,” he added.

“You betcha,” agreed Russ, leaving.

“I guess I had better split too,” Joe said. “Thanks for dinner and having me over.”

“Anytime,” Pete said. “Maybe we can get together next Friday afternoon and check out the next episode of Gundam.”

“Sounds like a plan” Joe agreed, turning to leave.

“Wait a minute,” Walter stopped Joe before he reached the front door. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”

Walter ran into the kitchen and quickly placed a phone call then snatched a cola from the fridge. He popped the lid and put a pill in it that dissolved in seconds. Making sure the fizz was back to normal, he grabbed a brownie and left the kitchen, returning to the foyer where Pete was keeping Joe occupied.

“Here you go,” Walter said, handing Joe the soda and brownie. “I thought you might like one for the trip home.“

“Thanks,” Joe said, touched at his thoughtfulness. He held the cola up. “I thought they had quit making them in glass bottles.”

“I think they brought them back for some promotion,” Pete said.

“Well, thanks again,” Joe said, exiting the house. He paused at the end of the walkway and took a swig of the soda before popping half of the brownie into his mouth. They really were the best he had ever tasted. He continued on his way, polishing off the brownie. By the time he reached the center of town he had finished the soft drink as well and was feeling a bit peculiar. He aimed the empty soda bottle at the trash can a few feet away and missed. The bottle fell to the ground and broke into countless pieces. Not noticing the mess he had created, Joe continued on his way.

He had only a few more blocks until he reached the last turn off to his house but he was no longer sure in which direction he should go. Images started fading together and colors became brighter. He saw a butterfly flit by and followed it for a block until it flew out of his line of vision. “Home,” Joe said, the word sounding foreign to him. He looked around but didn’t recognize the area although he was only two blocks from Mr. Pizza, an area he knew well.

Joe turned around but only saw blurred images. He heard something loud that sounded like a foghorn. The noise grew louder, turning into a scream as it reached him and then faded away in the distance. Joe looked at the boat that had made the noise. No, it couldn’t be. A boat on wheels? Joe shook his head and started grinning as little fairies began dancing around in his head. He tried to take hold of one, but they always evaporated before he could bring it down to eye level.

Joe’s feet propelled him down the street. He neared an alley, to him, an open meadow tucked neatly inside a small box. He saw the arm of an octopus reach out from the meadow and pull him into the grass. He felt a slight pain scrape his arm then the arm of the octopus dove into his stomach.

His hands reached for the arm and held the cold arm as a brilliant liquid began to slide down his stomach.

A red waterfall, thought Joe as he fell back against the wall. He sank to his knees beside the rocky brook and watched the water spill from his stomach into a small stream until his eyes closed and all thought left him.