I had a dream one day. It was a mesmerizing yet terrifying experience. I woke up from my bed, this time not by the piercing rays of the summer sun. I got dressed and left my room to ask my parents what’s for breakfast. However, as I entered the living room I saw a scene I would never forget --- a deep azure glow that replaced the bright sun. I waited for a few moments to understand what was going on, “Was my neighborhood now surrounded by an ocean?” I thought, perhaps I’m hallucinating because of the stress from school finals and I justified it with the dark shapes I saw in the distance. To my horror I soon realized that my weren’t my eyes going bad, those shadows were the silhouettes of fish.
I rushed to my parents, pointing at the marine life outside. My mouth struggled to logically explain what I had just seen, yet my parents understood my intentions from my pale face. They told me that the sea levels had risen at a drastically rapid pace overnight and the ocean had overrun our society. As I ate my daily breakfast of toast and milk, I stared at the fish. I asked myself, “What is going on? What am I going to do? How am I going to live?” More and more questions flooded my mind, drowning out my surroundings. I felt my gaze losing intensity and focus, as I pondered how much my life would change from this day onward.
I took an elevator down to the lobby of my building. As I stepped out of the elevator I suddenly didn’t feel alone anymore. I saw other worried faces, pale in confusion, and their eyes unfocused. Among them, I saw a familiar face.
“Mr. Hong,” I called out, “How are you?”
Mr. Hong was one excellent man. He always had his clothes in check and a polite accompanying smile. He had a plan for everything and worked tediously at his job to provide for his family. However today his suit was ruffled and misaligned, his smile replaced by a frown, and his hair untidied.
Mr. Hong whispered quietly to me, “To be honest Jason, I’m not sure if I am doing so well. You see, I like planning, a lot. But this, Jason, is not something I can take into account when I plan. How am I going to get to work? Will the government suddenly now supply us with submarines?”
We both chuckled quietly, intuitively knowing we were trapped in this building by the beautiful ocean world. Opening doors and windows to the outside no longer gave us freedom, instead we faced a flood and even risked death. I looked into the distance and realized the impossibility of going to school. While on the inside I cheered for no more schoolwork, I was saddened at the thought of being permanently separated from my friends and classmates.

As I walked to the transparent windows, an ominous feeling crawled under my skin. As if responding to my intuition, a large shark came charging at me, jaws gaping wide and teeth razor sharp. It flew over like a torpedo, and the glass window exploded from the muscular, violent force of the shark. I tripped and fell down, paralyzed in fear. The last thing I felt was the cold sea water flowing onto my skin as the flood began gathering in the building. The last thing I saw was the bloody rows of death spikes swallowing me whole.
I screamed.

My eyelids slammed open and my torso suddenly ripped upwards, sitting upright from the fright I had just experienced. My fingers gripped my blanket, the skin turning pale around my knuckles. My mouth trembled uncontrollably yet my throat refused to express my hysterical fear. “What was that?” I asked myself, “Was it a nightmare? Did it actually happen?” Part of me meekly hoped that it was all part of a stupid fantasy of a toddler, yet I could feel the needle-like sting from the cold sweat on my forehead and back; it felt so real. I ran to my bedroom window. With what remaining strength I had, I ripped aside the curtain. My body crumbled to the ground and my mind turned blank at the scenery outside. The fish had really done it --- they conquered the sky.