Nat began feeling ill the moment he reached his worn-down apartment complex.
He came home feeling hot, flushed. He thought it might have been from the heat of walking home carrying heavy groceries on an unseasonable warm fall day, but as he entered his one-bedroom apartment, he realized that his entire body still felt warm. He was beginning to ache all over, signs of an impending fever.
Must be coming down with a bug, he thought.
Nat took a couple of Advil with a glass of water and decided to lie down.
Exhausted, Nat made his way to his small bed, intending to lie down for a brief moment just to catch his breath before putting away his purchases. Instead he had passed out almost immediately before his head had even hit the pillow. He fell deep into REM sleep, thoughts of his wish still on his mind.