Author: David Dumouriez

Daniel opened his eyes and blinked. At first, he thought that this was the answer to the great mystery, and he didn’t know whether to feel disappointed at the sheer mundanity of it or simply relieved that he’d turned off the unbearable noise in his head. Then he began to reconsider. That flickering light and those grimy walls were very much of the living, as was the slightly-too-bright smile that was lowering itself over him.

“Daniel, my name is George Simmers. Welcome back!”

“But I thought-”

“Yes, you thought …” Simmers raised his jagged eyebrows. “… But it didn’t happen.”

“I wanted … I wanted it to be over.”

Simmers nodded, not without sympathy. “I know. But did you? Did you really? … Look, there’s another way. It doesn’t have to be so radical.”

Daniel looked away from Simmers’ smooth face for the first time and noticed that he was wearing a light blue windowpane suit rather than a white coat. A consultant maybe.

“Take a look.” Simmers presented Daniel with a rather large, seemingly leather-bound volume.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, that’s the menu.”

“The …?”

“The menu.”

While Daniel read, Simmers disappeared into a corner of the room. After ten minutes Daniel’s eyes relocated him. “So it’s saying that you can just … take a break from it all?”

“Exactly.”

“For as long as you want?”

“Well, yes. The minimum is one year. But if you have the funds, there’s no limit!”

“Would my mind still be working?”

“Of course.”

“And dreaming?”

Simmers thought about it. “No. No, you wouldn’t be aware of anything.” His voice seemed to echo around the room. “You just make your choice. Then we monitor you and wake you up at the appointed time. Couldn’t be easier as far as you’re concerned.”

Daniel studied the menu again, then pronounced: “I’ll take 75.”