Have you ever closed your eyes one minute as a Baker, and the next, you're a world-class racer in a cosmic race that could lead to the possible end of your new universe?.
Well then, if you haven't, let me tell you the story of mine. Here, I was baking my pastries for my customers like every other day.
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"Tsk!, What's wrong with the oil today? It's been splashing close to my face since I started frying these pancakes!" He grumbled under his breath, staring at the frying pan with an annoyed expression.
He moved closer to the pan, still keeping a distance within an arm's length, using his spatula to scoop and flip the pancake when suddenly an oil spill went into his eyes.
"Ahh fck!" He screamed, using his hand to rub his eyes quickly.
With his fingers, he tried to reach for anything that could help, but unfortunately for him, his hands found the frying pan, and he unknowingly flipped it.
The oil spilt all over his body, and his screams turned to screeches. It was extremely painful for him.
The pain spread fast, slipping beneath his skin. Before people could respond to his sudden cry for help, the pain suddenly disappeared.
The pain he felt in his skin and eyes all disappeared like they were never there. Even the shouts of those rushing to help him vanished in an instant.
The sounds of spluttering oil swapped to the sounds of roaring engines. His live TV show programme playing in the background swapped to the voice of a commentator announcing the start of a race.
"What the hell?!" He slowly opened his eyes to wonders his eyes could not believe, and a sight his brain could not comprehend.
All around him were creatures of different natures, shapes, and sizes. Both big and small, tall and short, mortal and immortal, gods and mere humans.
Even creatures he thought of as mere myth sat before him as spectators while some of them buckled in the engines around him.
They all gathered from different parts of the universe, sitting on the seats provided for the spectators.
He glanced at the area he was sitting in, and he noticed it was a roving engine as well, and it looked so much like an F1 Indy.
All around him sat creatures of different natures in their own race cars, like the spectators who watched from above them.
And each of them sat in engines just like his, they all seemed prepared and ready to take off at any moment.
Instead of the usual streak of fear or shock that others will normally display, he started off laughing loudly.
"Oh my God, is this what it finally led to?. Now I'm hallucinating, I guess working ten hours a day, and seven days a week can really put stress on the brain." He chuckled, relaxing his back on his seat.
"Now I'm seeing things that are not real, or probably I'm dreaming."
He shook his head, using his hand to spank his face continuously, trying to snap out of whatever he was now viewing as his reality.
"Alright that's enough, I have to get back to work. We can continue this fantasy later at night when I'm ready to sleep."
The method he normally used to wake himself up didn't seem to be working, and he didn't know why.
Also, he noticed the spanks he gave himself felt real, like everything he saw was real and not the birth of his imagination.
"Come on now brain, it's not the right time to be joking around. I have to get back to the bakery and finish baking before my customers leave a bad review on my page!.."
The realisation was slowly settling in, though he still refused to believe everything he saw was real.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the commentator, sitting on a cloud above them.
"Racers, are you ready for the race of the century?!!" He announced loudly, trying to increase their adrenaline flow.
'Race of the century?!, what does he mean by that?!'
"The race that will decide the fate of your universe!!." He continued.
"You all have come from all over, including the different corners of the universe with your best racers to take part in the race of the century that will decide yours and the fate of your universe."
He cleared his throat with a heavy cough before he continued.
"And to see whose racer is the best among the rest."
"Last time it was my father but this time, I've been given the special opportunity to be your commentator for this race. I will be fair in my words and not support anyone, including my own race."
"Now before we begin, please make sure you're fully prepared as you already know. At the ending of each week, the losing universe will be erased."
'Erased? What is this dream about? Squid Game?!.'
"Each race earns you points, for spoilers, good drifts earn you additional points. Those who come out last will lose a lot of points, and at the end of the week, those points are added together and the losing universe gets erased from existence."
'Existence?!, okay now I know I'm definitely dreaming. But how do I wake up?, I don't see any other way out of this.' His thoughts churned inside his head.
'I guess I'll just have to play along until I wake up from this bizarre nightmare.'
He glanced at the environment and the racers. From what he noticed, it looked like a planet and it looked like he was in space because he had an oxygen helmet on and he didn't want to remove it to test his theory.
The Planet looked like it hadn't seen life in centuries, with dry, decaying plants. The light came from a blue star far ahead of them.
When he placed his hand on the stirring wheel, it felt so real like he was in an actual race.
'Man, my dreams these days seem so real. I can't tell it apart from reality anymore, I guess I'll have to start sleeping early from now on to stop this madness.'
The numbers on the speedometer looked different, there was no handle to change gears.
The car looked automatic but it had a clutch and a hand brake placed carefully.
It was a two-seater, though only one racer was allowed to race. He didn't understand why it was built that way, if the rules were clearly stated.
The steering sat on the left side of the car, and the car felt way too comfortable for something made for a race.
"On your mark, get set. Go!!." The commentator yelled, drawing Jeremy's attention back to the race.
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And just like that, I was no longer a baker. I was now a racer, a cosmic racer in a universe that wasn't mine, with everything to lose.