Friday, November 4th, 2025.
Today was long and boring. In fact, now that I think of it, every single day since I was twelve has been like that—and it shouldn't be this way. I have the job that I've always dreamed of, I have enough money for a comfortable life, and everyone I know admires me; however, I can't help but feel something is missing.
Well, I shouldn't dwell on it now. This is just my occasional depression talking. I'm tired and need sleep. Tomorrow is Saturday. I think I might visit the library tomorrow, and then I'll hit the gym. I should also call my mother and check up on her. I can't remember the last time we spoke. That doesn't sound good. She's old and needs my help. I should start checking up on her more often, maybe even visit her soon.
With these thoughts, I collapsed onto the bed and drifted to sleep, waiting for tomorrow to come—to wake up and live my boring life like I always do.
But the world had other plans.
Saturday, November 5th, 2025.
I woke up to something licking my face like a dog would lick someone's face. But I don't own a dog. After hurriedly jumping out of bed and slamming down onto the floor, I looked at the creature that had just made me wake up. It sent shivers down my spine. Before me was something I had never seen before—a green creature, the size of an alligator, which could be described as salamander-like but covered in a hard, green exoskeleton instead of skin. Strangely, its large eyes seemed innocent—there was something almost human about them, something which would make the creature almost... cute. Cute, yet frightening. Despite my fear, I had to stay calm. I took three deep breaths before deciding what to do next.
Now, this obviously isn't your regular animal. In my last 12 years of research, I had never seen anything like this, and my entire job is studying animals. Even if it were real, it would never be able to show up in an urban area such as Singapore without anyone noticing. From this, I concluded that there are only two logical possibilities:
I'm dreaming. Unlikely—if I were, I wouldn't be capable of rational thought like this. Unlikely, but not impossible.
This is a hallucination caused by the chemicals I get exposed to at work or by some unknown factor. This seems more plausible, as rational thought would be more likely in a situation like this; however, it's still uncertain.
These possibilities are the only two logical explanations. A creature like this simply does not exist. I take a cold shower—this will probably help if it's a hallucination, and if it's a dream, then it's about time I wake up.
I entered the bathroom and poured cold water over myself. It should've raised my awareness and snapped me back into reality.
But it did not.
The creature was still there when I came out, waiting for me patiently. However, for some strange reason, I was not shocked, not frightened; rather, I was calm. Its presence felt... familiar. I sensed that it was trying to communicate with me. It did not utter a sound, and yet, I somehow perfectly understood what it was trying to communicate. It was telling me to look out the window.
So I did.
And what I saw there made the world I knew fall silent.