Sometimes my brain just goes on a vacation without me. Ah, vacations...remember those? Good times. Anyway, when my brain goes on vacation, this is the kind of thing that happens. It's short and sweet.
The alarm chirped in my ear. If it weren't my phone, I'd have chucked it across the room. Hate alarms. Not a big fan of mornings either. I blinked at the sunlight and scowled, then threw back the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I scratched my belly before tucking my feet into my pink, bunny slippers.
After using the bathroom and washing my hands, I padded down the hall to the kitchen. I was still half asleep, when I flicked on the coffeemaker and grabbed a box of Cheerios out of the cupboard. Plucking a bowl off the shelf above the sink, I poured the little O's into it and snagged a spoon out of the utensil drawer. I walked over the refrigerator to retrieve the milk. I'd just opened the carton and was about to pour it over my cereal, when I spotted a green alien with purple bug-like antennae seated at the kitchen table.
The milk slipped from my fingers, bounced off my bunny slippers, then spilled onto the tile floor. I cursed and took a step back before my bunnies could drown in the expanding milky lake. When I looked back at the alien, it was still sitting at the table, not even an antennae had twitched. I blinked, then squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, nothing had changed.
I picked up the milk and checked the expiration date. It was still good for another week. I sniffed it just be sure, but it smelled okay. There was no sourness or thick clumps. Whatever was causing this hallucination had to be something other than my food.
The alien's buggy head cocked to the side as it regarded me. I reached for one of the kitchen knives in the block and slowly pulled the silver blade out.
"Hand over the Cheerios," it said in a chirpy voice. "And you will be unharmed."
Something beeped. The beep came again, steadier, more rhythmic. I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. I spun around to look for it and fell out of bed onto the floor. I scrambled out of the covers and ran into the kitchen. The alien was gone...and so were my Cheerios.