Vincent was finally done with work for the day. He was tired and couldn't wait to go home and fall asleep. On his way home, there were a lot of red lights. He felt a bit frustrated at this and kept cursing his bad luck. His impatience was jabbing his head while he clenched the steering wheel. He had nothing to do but stare at the red light, thinking of how boring his life is. He would give away his soul to get rid of his mundane existence.
Next thing he remembered was waking up next to a tree. This is a gigantic tree, he felt apprehensive and puzzled. How did he get there? He felt nauseous every time he tried to speculate and his vision was a bit blurry. He tried to walk. It was more like his legs were moving on their own. He felt this disturbing sensation around him. As he walked on, his vision deteriorated. Aimlessly, he proceeded, starting to get tired of this unchanging path.
His stomach finally gave in and he fell on his knees. He could see a cardinal gleam. It glared and stopped. Panic-dews trickled down his neck as the light grew closer and brighter -- angry.
Red.
Red.
Red.
He was out of his wits as the vermeil beam blinked, getting monstrous by second.
Red.
Red.
Red.
It reminded him of the all the red lights he had to go though, and his vexation.
RED!
RED!
RED!
He was petrified, being in denial of his horrible state.
'This has to be a dream', he kept on repeating, like a chant -- as if it will make all of this disappear.
“THIS IS A DREAM!”
RED!!!
“THIS ISN'T REAL!”
RED!!!
RED!!!
RED!!!
The sinister light finally reached him. Scared to death, he shut his eyes tight, his face crunched and wrinkled. It was hot. Blazing hot. He could feel his face melt. An eerie noise breathed onto his ears. He was panic-stricken. He sucked in air, sufficient enough to scream, but there was no sound, except for the menacing whimpering of…
He could not tell what it was. His thoughts were indulged with perturbation. The ground below his feet started to shake vigorously, getting furious as time increased.  There was no way out for Vincent. He felt hopeless -- oppressed and powerless. There was no light left for him as his terrified mind knew his body was sinking into a dark abyss.
Vincent opened his eyes to find himself on his bed. He smiled, as he realised the fringe of daylight from his curtains. He sat up, thinking about his day, making plans of having eggs for breakfast -- delicious eggs; he realised how hungry he was. His dream would be a great story to tell all his co-workers. Finally, he had experienced something out of ordinary.
The room felt stifling, so he got up and went to open his window. It was a new day, he had nothing to be afraid of, except his boss of course. He closed his eyes, sniffed in fresh air, feeling the warmth of summer, the blazing sun melting his face off. That same eerie voice whispered. Shocked -- his mouth hung open as the beautiful morning faded right before his panicked eyes, turning into the deepest black.  His nightmare hadn't ended.

Shazmeen Haq, 17, is an A-Level (private) candidate.