Harry lay tossing and turning in his hospital bed, his throat burning, plagued by vivid dreams.

The sweat and heat behind his head melted and twisted as he slipped in and out of consciousness. A white angel

with sky blue shoulders came to him.

"This is not a brain hemorrhage, Harry. I am watching over you. Just a tiny squirt of blood, that's all.

To appease the king. You won't even feel it, Harry. Just a tiny drop of blood down the back of your neck. Everything

is fine. Just watch the pinwheel go round. Remember your father, Harry. Remember all he did for you..."

Harry found himself back at his house, a few years before his father died.

"Harry," his father said, "I need you to do some work for me outside."

"You know the weeds outside next to the cellar door?"

Harry nodded his head.

"I need you to pull all of those weeds out this week. I will pay you $5 an hour. Keep track of how long it

takes you. When you are all done let me know how many hours you worked and I will pay you."

Harry smiled. He hadn't seen his father in a few years. It was nice to see him again.

"It's nice that you're back home again, Harry. You can help your mom and I out a bit. You're a good boy, Harry.

But you'll never know. You'll never know Harry."

Harry became confused. "I don't understand, dad. What do you mean I won't know?"

"Everything is going by faster now, Harry. Time isn't the same anymore for you and me. This work has to be done

very quickly."

"Ok dad," Harry said. "I will pull out the weeds as fast as I can. You know you can trust me."

"It's not that, Harry," his dad said. "I'm not worried about the weeds. I'm worried about the blood. The blood

is in your head, Harry. You have to sneeze as loud as you can. All the blood will come out then, instantly."

Harry became even more distressed. "I can't sneeze, dad. I can't sneeze right now."

"Look at the sun, Harry. Look at the sun."

Soon a white light overtook Harry's entire plane of vision. He came out of his unconsciousness and began dry heaving.

The white light then diminshined and became smaller and smaller until it was a tiny black hole that seemed to

sit right above where his nose was in his line of vision. Dr. Alkens was standing above him.

"Dr Alkins," Harry spoke with every last bit of life in him, "there's a hole."

"I know, Harry. I know there's a hole. Just sit tight. The medicine is almost over. Soon you'll be back in your

black head again. It's only a passing phase. Nothing bad will happen to you, I promise."

Just before drifting back into unconsciousness Harry saw Mr. Kim leafing through a copy of Modern Man, grinning

behind the counter. And Harry could just barely see the picture Mr Kim was looking at. It was Pac Man being chased by a blue transparent ghost.

To be continued...