"My name is Jeffrey Atlas. I'm a twelve-year-old kid. My father's name is Adrian, and my mother's name is Ala."
He repeated the words like a prayer.
His hands trembled, damp with sweat, shaking from a mixture of fear and loss.
Outside, winter winds followed their silent path through the city. They carried dust and fallen leaves, striking against windows and whispering into the ears of the people inside their homes.
In the year 2012, on what looked like an ordinary day, a young boy named Jeffrey Atlas sat alone in his room, staring at the ceiling.
Two years ago, when he was ten, his life had shattered.
His mother had been driving home from a trip when she decided to pick up Jeffrey's girlfriend along the way. It was just a coincidence that their routes crossed.
But fate had other plans.
A truck crashed into their car.
Neither of them survived.
Even now, Jeffrey replayed those memories in his mind, recalling the faces of the people he once loved. His friends tried their best to keep him smiling, refusing to let the sadness swallow him whole.
But depression is patient.
It only needs a single crack.
And through that crack, it slowly drips—one drop at a time—until darkness fills the heart.
Jeffrey had lost his mother and his girlfriend, yet he still had someone left: his father, Adrian Atlas, and the friends who surrounded him.
On the outside, he pretended everything was fine.
At ten years old, when the accident happened, many people pitied him. They believed a tragedy like that would break someone so young.
But Jeffrey smiled and told them he would move on.
He focused on what remained.
He laughed with neighbors, hung out with classmates, and spent time with old friends and new ones alike.
To everyone else, he was a bright kid with a promising future—rich, smart, and handsome.
Popular.
Perfect.
Yet inside, he never felt like it was enough.
You could've done better.
You should've tried harder.
Those words pierced his heart again and again.
No matter how hard he tried, Jeffrey felt like he was always falling short of someone's expectations. So he kept everything locked away inside.
But depression is patient.
And eventually, the crack grew wider.
As Jeffrey's mind sank deeper into darkness, his father wasn't doing any better. Adrian had fallen into the same abyss.
Perhaps that was the only thing the two of them truly shared now.
Depression.
Exhausted from another sleepless night, Jeffrey dragged himself into the shower.
Warm water poured over his head as his eyelids grew heavy.
Then his phone rang.
It was the middle of the day. One of his friends was calling, asking him to come hang out. They hadn't seen him in a while.
Jeffrey answered briefly before hanging up.
His eyes slowly closed.
And the moment he opened them again—
Everything was different.
The ceiling wasn't the same.
The colors felt strange.
Even the air smelled unfamiliar.
Two enormous figures leaned over him.
For a moment, Jeffrey thought they were giants.
But then he realized something else.
They weren't big.
He was just… small.
The woman on the left smiled warmly.
"Oh darling, look at this cute little face."
The man beside her chuckled.
"Hmm… you're right. He has your face."
Jeffrey's mind raced.
A couple…? They look strange… none of this makes sense.
He forced his brain to think, squeezing out every bit of logic he had left.
Then the horrifying realization struck him.
I'm… a baby.
Those two people must be this baby's parents.
Jeffrey frowned inwardly.
This must be a dream.
He tried to remember how he fell asleep.
I was in the shower… right?
But something felt wrong.
He could swear he did something after that—something important.
Yet he couldn't remember.
Since nothing made sense, Jeffrey came to a simple conclusion.
If I die… I'll wake up.
That was how dreams worked, right?
So he waited.
He listened as the two adults happily talked about him, discussing plans for his future.
Night eventually arrived.
The room around him was enormous and luxurious, decorated with golden ornaments and intricate architecture. It looked like a room meant for royalty.
Jeffrey didn't care.
All he thought about was escape.
An hour later, he tried to sit up.
But before he could move, someone entered the room.
A maid.
She had blue hair, glasses, and an elegant figure that made Jeffrey awkwardly avert his gaze—even in a baby's body.
She approached quietly.
In her hand was something glowing with a faint blue aura.
Jeffrey couldn't see it clearly.
The moment she raised her hand—
Darkness swallowed him.
He fell asleep.
The next day, sunlight filled the room.
It looked almost like summer outside.
What…?
Confused, Jeffrey tried again.
Slowly, he climbed toward the window.
"I must escape," he muttered weakly.
"I have to leave."
Each step felt like a challenge.
Then he glanced to his left.
Another baby lay in a bed beside him.
Jeffrey didn't care.
Without hesitation, he climbed onto the windowsill.
And jumped.
The wind roared against his tiny body as he fell. It tore across his face and shoulders.
The ground rushed closer.
He crashed into the bushes below.
Pain exploded through his body.
Yet before death could claim him, Jeffrey looked up.
Thousands of buildings stretched across the horizon. People filled the streets, and the entire city glowed beneath the sky.
It was breathtaking.
"Gorgeous" isn't enough to describe this… he thought.
Even as a dream, the view was beautiful.
For a brief moment, Jeffrey felt calm.
Maybe even happy.
Well… time to wake up.
He opened his eyes.
But instead of the shower—
Two figures stood above him again.
At first, he thought he had returned to the royal room.
But this place was different.
As their faces became clear, he saw a young girl and a man who looked to be in his twenties.
The man's expression was filled with anger… and sadness.
Jeffrey recognized those eyes.
And the woman—
She looked happier than anyone he had ever seen.
Did I just go from one dream… into another?
No.
The pain from his fall had been real.
The warmth of the woman's arms holding him now felt real too.
So why did everything still feel like a dream?
Jeffrey asked himself these questions as his mother carried him away, while his father watched from a distance with a look of disgust.
The life Jeffrey tried to escape had followed him.
It had simply changed shape—
from dream…
to reality.
But what Jeffrey didn't realize yet was that this world was neither a dream nor reality.
It was something far worse.
A nightmare.