The bear and the orange juice.
- joneworlds@mailbox.org

I was deep  blue, far into the sogs  of fall.  One
day, I  thought of  the hot  dog forgotten  in the
microwave.   I   reached  for  its   handle.   The
microwave gave me a troubled look, and spoke.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, it's about time."

I  opened its  door.   There was  no  hot dog.   A
bear's  head  was  there  instead.   Its  fur  was
brown. It spoke to me.

"Go to  your front door,  and there you  will find
what you need."

At the door,  before I could open  it, a bluetooth
mouse   leaped  off   the   table   and  onto   my
shoulder. It whispered in my ear.

"Do not drink it."

I opened  the door. The  sky was oddly  purple. On
the mat  was a  glass of orange  juice. I  had the
thirst,  so  I picked  up  the  glass and  took  a
sip. And then I saw a large maple leaf fall from a
tree.

I took a second sip. Then I saw that the stop sign
across the street had fallen over.

I took a third sip, and  set the glass down on the
mat  once   again.   The  bear  from   inside  the
microwave appeared before me  on the doorstep, and
knocked over the glass.  To my horror, the tiniest
goblin crawled  out of the bottom  of it, laughed,
ran  across the  street, and  disappeared under  a
bush.

"That seems a bit off," said the bear, who now had
black fur. It lumbered around me through the door,
and lay down on the couch.  I noticed that exactly
eleven  muddy paw  prints  stained  the rug.  This
being  two more  than  nine, for  a  moment I  was
filled with fear.

That  bear  remains  on  the couch  to  this  day,
slumbering softly  but has never awoken.   And the
bluetooth mouse no longer speaks at all.