“Wake up. We’re late!”

Through the dream in which I was running through the green fields, I heard my mother’s distant voice.

But I wasn’t going to wake up. After all, ahead of me, there were mountains and waterfalls. And I would rather reach that little house that looked so comfortable.

“Okinizeus! Get up! I know you’re not sleeping!”

I tried to run as fast as possible, because a little more and my consciousness will return me to reality.

And I wanted to be in such a nature.

“Wake up! If we’re late, it could have a bad impact on my reputation!”

The sleep was interrupted. I never found out who lives in that cozy little house among the trees.

I opened my sleepy eyes, and the first thing I saw was my reflection in the mirror.

What a dissatisfied and tired face I have. It’s like I haven’t slept in days. Perhaps this is because I rarely sleep, and even if I sleep, it is only a few hours.

“I told you to reinstate your regime. You can’t walk if you don’t sleep. Your body is young and you need sleep,” my mother said, who went to my wardrobe.

I closed my eyes and covered myself with a blanket.

“Today, we will have a very important day and you need to look perfect. You’re beautiful, but you just don’t care what you look like,” my mom continued.

While, in the meantime, I continued to fall asleep.

And when I fell asleep, it seemed to me as if I was swimming on the river.

I was adrift, and the sky was crystal clear. And these trees, the grass, the sounds of birds, the sound of water, I felt so happy.

How I wanted to live in such a place, far from everyone, from all these tall skyscrapers and flying cars, far from all the starships and other dimensions, where all sorts of terrible and ugly things were happening.

I just wanted to live here forever. Forever among these mountains, by this calm river.

I looked around. The water was touching my face. It was nice and easy for me.

I knew it was just a dream. And that soon, I will wake up and replace myself in a house which walls are made of mirrors and looking out the window, see rows of bright houses and rings of earth.

“Okinizeus! If we’re late, it’s going to affect my career!”

This time, my mother’s voice brought me back to reality very quickly.

“I get up. Don’t scream,” I said, and pulled off the blanket.

Finally waking up, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed that I have to rest and bring myself back to normal state. These circles around the eyes and the eternally tired expression of the face, along with the ungroomed hair, which I have not washed for several days, were the signs to me that it was time for me to go to the hairdresser and to the shower.

Catching on full of tenderness and excitement look of my mother, I turned to her and smiled.

My mother, whose beauty and mind elevated her to unprecedented heights in society, gave me a little hug and said, “You’re still reading those books. Maybe you should make friends and have fun. Sometimes I look at you and I feel like you’re older than me.”

“I have an eternity ahead of me. So, I’ll have time to have some fun.”

“Just look at your face. Probably all over the world, there is no person who would look so tired. It’s like you’re working like those people from the 21st century. What did they do?”

“In the 21st century, people did a lot of things. They worked in the hospital, at the construction site, in the bank, in the shops.”

“Well, yes. And you look just like a 21st century man. Maybe you should stop chasing the past. Or do you want to be a historian so badly? You know you shouldn’t work so hard. You may not work. Just live and enjoy life,” she said and kissed me on the forehead.

The reality that was in the house was the only reality I liked.

My mother created a whole world for me. And this world belonged only to us.

“Mom, what’s that dress?”

She stepped aside and showed me her beautiful dress.

Despite her age, she looked my age.

She had short, slightly white red hair, which was neatly wavy. A thin face with big, gray eyes and a dazzling smile, which could at any moment be replaced by seriousness, created her image not female or masculine.

But if you look into her smart eyes for a long time, you could see a man and a woman.

My mother kept the qualities of both of these genders.

But looking at her very slender body, and the graceful movements of long hands and long fingers that stretched upwards to show grace and her new ring, one could see the real lady.

But still, my mother was a scientist, as well as a great artist. And there was nothing in the world that she didn’t know.

“How do you like my dress?” she asked, acting like a real lady.

I was looking at her dark green dress with small shiny beads and I suddenly felt sad. I didn’t know the reason of this sadness. But the longer I looked at my mother’s happy and calm face, the sadder I became. So, I looked away.

Noticing this, my mother came up to me and said, “I know you want to leave. You don’t like it here. But this city, this planet, is our home.”

I knew what she was talking about. Namely, that I still missed that small town, which looked like a city from past centuries. With small houses and a quiet rhythm of life.

But ever since we came to this big city, above which there were Earth rings for cars and starships and other dimensions, inside of which there were the arena or the concert venue, since then, I began to feel as if I had ceased to be myself.

I needed peace of mind, and nature. But alas, nature in our time, is hard to replace.

If in the very distant past, on planet Earth there were many forests and mountains, steppes, seas, but now, all this has disappeared and instead, everything is filled with skyscrapers, portal rings that led to other dimensions and of course a celestial parking lot for spaceships and cars, which overshadowed the whole sky.

And yes, people began to park their flying transports right in the sky or in the orbit of the Earth, and now, the Moon or stars have become a luxury, well, about the Sun all completely forgotten. Now, instead of the Sun, humanity had “bright” batteries that were around the earth and emitted artificial sunlight to provide people with vitamin D and other useful substances.

But as for me, it’s a complete absurdity. I’ve read a lot about the Sun. And I think that nothing can replace natural sunlight. But science has decided to bypass all natural and overshadow all its power and progress. Therefore, everyone can only rejoice that people have reached such a level of existence that now, no one depended on resources such as water, oil, and so on.

Everything was in abundance.

And often, when I wandered the nooks and crannies of this huge city without stars and the moon, I always remembered that small city, which may have forgotten everything, but which still keeps in itself comfort and naturalness. Even if there was no more nature. But I liked the little house we lived in.

And now, because my mother, we built a five-story house with mirrored walls and ceilings. And here, even the floors were mirrored. You probably wonder why we chose such a design. Well, the answer lies in the fact that my mother decided to try herself as a creative person. And now she has become an artist and sculptor. So, the idea of a mirror house was entirely her idea.

I looked at my face again.

“Don’t worry, soon, you’ll get used to this place. You just have to replace yourself, your passion and then everything will be fine,” she said, and stepped aside. “Now, get dressed. It’s time for us to go. And don’t forget to get your hair in order. Don’t you think you need to cut them?”

I looked at my reflection again and for the first time, I noticed that my hair had already reached my shoulders.

“No. I guess I like this length of hair,” I replied and headed toward the bathroom.

Listening to my mother’s conversation on the phone, I completely forgot about what it is today.

It was only when the cold drops of water touched my skin that I fully recovered and all the desire to sleep just disappeared.

I remembered what must have been today.

Today was the day when my mother will be presented with the award of the best artist of the city Amber Tiger. (Yes, since humanity has embarked on the path of development and progress, some cities of the earth have been renamed)

That’s why my mother was so excited and for the third time she managed to change her dress and in the end, she returned to her first dress.

When I got out of the shower, I quickly put on a white shirt, then black trousers and a jacket. These clothes were no different from the clothes that were in the 21st century.

Although, that’s not counting the fact that my suit had a little shine and my bowtie at the base of my neck was attached, to the top button of my shirt with a magnet. But men of the 21st century had to be able to tie a bowtie. And as the books show, this case was not an easy one.

Having combed my hair back, I looked at myself once more. I looked like a lion. And those gray eyes, which sometimes changed color and turned green, gave me a strange look. I really looked like some kind of alien. It’s not for nothing that everyone called me that. Alien. Probably because my oval face was thin and I had a slightly pointed chin. And also, too pale skin, which sometimes seemed artificial to me.

And now, with these long, brown and white hair, my appearance looked like an alien. And a little like a lion.

Not lingering in front of the mirror for long, I went out and my mother looked at me from head to toe and said, “What a beautiful son I have.”

“Mom, just don’t say it in front of everyone.”

“What’s the big deal? It’s no secret! Everyone already knows that you are a very handsome young man.”

“Are you ready? Let’s go.”

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