‘Where am I?’ she asked, looking at her mother.

‘You’re in hospital, Natalie’ she said. ‘You’ve been asleep for a long time’

‘Really? How long?’

‘Ten hours’

‘What?!’ she then sat straight up on her bed, with a face showing utter shock. She looked at a window to her left, it was dark outside. Later on a young female nurse with blonde hair walked up to her holding a clipboard.

‘You’re awake?’ she asked

‘Yes’ Natalie started looking at her ‘Apparently I’ve been unconscious for ten hours, is that true?’

‘Yes’ Natalie then sighed, lying back down on her bed.

‘God’ she muttered 

‘So, you’re name’s Natalia, right?’

‘Yes, but please, call me “Natalie”.’

‘OK, Natalie’ the nurse was looking at her last name, it was spelled “Kalamic”. ‘How do you pronounce this?’

‘Ka-la-mitch’

‘Oh, are you Russian?’

‘No’ Natalie started chuckling ‘You’ll never guess where I’m from’ the nurse started smiling

‘Where are you from, then?’

‘Australia’

‘Oh, really?!’

‘Yes. Everyone thinks I’m Russian, or something along those lines’

‘I see’ the nurse paused for a while, writing on her clipboard ‘You don’t… sound very Australian’ Natalie didn’t say anything. The nurse brought over a trolley with a screen on top. ‘I’m just checking your blood pressure and temperature’ she said, as she put a cuff on Natalie's right arm and a thermometer under her tongue. ‘You have a bit of a temperature, Natalie. Your blood pressure’s a bit high, too’

‘Well what did you expect? I’ve hit my head on the floor, after all’ the nurse put the cuff away and threw a plastic covering from the thermometer in a bin. She left her, leaving Natalie on her own. Later on a doctor came to see her, asking the same questions the nurse asked her, she didn’t say anything about her visions or what she saw while she was unconscious. Later on she was alone and after two hours she had fell asleep.

Shortly afterwards she was awake in a mostly white room, candles were hung on the walls, illuminating the area around her. Not too far away was a bed, which had a yellow humanoid cat creature inside of it, staring at her. Natalie walked ever closer towards it, later on it pulled down the bed sheets, revealing itself to be a female creature.

‘Eeek!’ Natalie gasped ‘I… ummm, didn’t ask for this! Get back in the bed, now! At this instant!’

‘Does looking at something every mammal has frighten you, then?’ taunted the cat creature. Natalie grunted, not saying anything back ‘You have them too, you know’

‘Well no shit’ Natalie groaned, turning away from her ‘Are you my subconsciousness again?’

‘Yes, you could say that’ she answered ‘But what do mean “again”? We have never met before’

‘Ughh! You’re… really creeping me out!’

‘But I am indeed your subconsciousness. You’re creeped out by yourself?’ later Natalie turned to face her, looking at her in the eyes.

‘I suppose am I’ she then sat on the bed alongside her, sitting in silence for a little while.

‘Don’t you find it unusual that we are the only animals on this planet who wear clothes? No other animals wear them’ Natalie looked away from her again, getting off the bed ‘Is it because we find our own bodies repulsive?’

‘It’s to keep us warm’ said Natalie ‘And other animals have fur, feathers and other things like that’ she looked at the cat creature again ‘How come we don’t have any? Though come to think of it, rhinos, elephants, fish and reptiles don’t have anything like that’

‘Strange, isn’t it?’

‘Nah, it’s just nature’

‘And that’s what I’ve been trying to get at. We’re all animals, my dear. Fish, birds, insects and all other animals simply accept each other for they are. How is it humans can’t do the same with each other?’ Natalie was silent, clearly thinking of an answer.

‘I don’t know’ Natalie looked at her in the eyes ‘Are you saying all of us should be naked or something? Don’t you think that’s a really bad idea?’

‘I was not saying that at all. It’s more a matter of self-acceptance’

‘I see’ Natalie turned back around, walking away from the bed. ‘How the heck did I get here, anyway?’ she muttered, to herself.

‘Natalie, there is one more thing you must know’ the bed somehow got closer to her ‘Clothes desensitise us. We as animals were not designed to wear them, nor were we born with them. Many people die of heart attacks every year, do you wonder why?’ Natalie then sighed.

‘Go away, I’ve had enough of you’

‘Ah! But remember what I said earlier? I am your subconsciousness, I am your very self!’ Natalie turned around and looked at her in obvious terror.

‘OK, that’s enough! Let me out of this… dream, or whatever it is!’

‘A dream, you say? What if this is the real world, and “reality” is just a dream?!’