In his dream he was standing in a tunnel. All around him, people in strange clothes were rushing around. It was dark, but there was a bright light down at the end of the tunnel. No one could see he was there, so they all jostled him as they went past. He bounced back in forth between them, trying hard to keep from falling. He tried to warn people that he was standing there, but no words came out.

The people who were bumping into him were coming from both directions, but the result of their bumping was that they were pushing him toward the light at the end of the tunnel. It was like being caught in the pulling tides of the ocean. The light was too bright now, searing his eyes. He looked away and turned back from the light but felt the surge pulling him along just the same.

A young boy wearing an odd hat, with a symbol he didn't recognize on the front was looking at him now. The young boy darted into the sea of people, weaving his way in and out, disappearing behind them and reappearing in open space. Soon he was in front of him, looking at him quizzically. The boy had reddish blond hair underneath his hat, with giant blue eyes.

"Sir…do you need any help?"

His mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"Its okay to need help. My Dad tells me to not be afraid to ask for help when I need it. Do you need it? If you can't talk, just nod."

He nodded "yes" as the light grew brighter all around him. Even though he was facing backwards, he knew he was close to the light. The people had faded away, and it was just the boy and himself in the tunnel.

The boy looked into the light. "We can take a peek in there if you like. We don't have to stay. I come and go as I please. Do you want to peek?"

He nodded "no" and the boy looked confused.

"Why not?" the boy asked. Then, he seemed to understand. "You're scared aren't you? I was scared the first time I looked in there. But I'm okay now. There weren't any monsters." The boy took his hand and they stepped into the light together.

He felt immense sadness when he looked into the light. He heard a thumping sound, repeating over and over and there was a large shape just ahead, moving slowly…it was rolling slightly and it was so large he couldn't make sense of what it was. He only knew that it was dying.

"We can't help it. Not anymore." The boy said. There were tears coming from his eyes. "You shouldn't try, even if you thought you could. It wouldn't do any good."

There was a low moaning sound coming from the dying shape, so deep it rumbled the ground beneath his feet. The boy had taken his hand again and was walking him back toward the tunnel.

He felt on the verge of understanding something. He was witnessing something important, but its meaning escaped him. He didn't want to leave the light, but he didn't resist walking away. Part of him wanted to stay there forever, to run to the dying creature and help it. But he felt its misery was too strong and that if he went too close, he would be caught in its wake and would drown.

He turned away from the boy just as they walked back into the tunnel and this time his voice worked perfectly.

"I'll come back for you. I promise." He said.

Then he was back in the tunnel. The boy wasn't there anymore, just the swarm of people again. He let them carry him back the way he came, bumping and twisting his way through a dark tunnel.